Medical students from 18 higher institutions participated in the 15th biennial Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) Games tagged: “Imo 2014”. EKENE AHANEKU (200-Level Medicine and Surgery, Imo State University) and EDDY UWOGHIREN (200-Level Medicine, University of Benin) report.
Students of Medicine and Surgery are not the types to be seen playing. But they did, penultimate week. Members of the Nigerian Medical Students Association (NiMSA) took a break from their busy academic engagements to participate in the 15th NiMSA Games hosted by the Imo State University (IMSU) chapter of the association.
The sporting event, which was held at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, the state capital, had medical students from 18 universities nationwide participating in the games.
The event featured football, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, shot put, javelin, high jump, long jump, badminton, table and lawn tennis, scrabble, taekwondo, chess and ayo.
The event started with the arrival and accreditation of participants. There was a bonfire and film show on the night of the first day to prepare the students for the task ahead.
The second day began with the opening ceremony graced by the Imo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, represented by Eric Ihesiaba, the Vice-Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, represented by the Acting Provost of IMSU College of Medicine, Prof Bamidele Ezem, and the chairman of the Imo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Hyacinth Emele.
The ceremony was followed by first match of the tournament, which was between IMSU team and its counterpart from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State. The match ended 2-1 in favour of the host institution.
On the same day, the University of Calabar (UNICAL) team took on the Enugu State University of Technology (ESUTECH) team.
Other games came up on the third day of the event after which a capacity building workshop was held. Spectators watched the participants displaying uncommon sporting skills, which showed that medical students can engage in extracurricular activities beyond the precinct of the teaching hospitals.
The semi-final match was played on the fourth day. The IMSU team met with University of Benin (UNIBEN); Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) took on the UNICAL team to qualify for the final round.
The UNIZIK and UNIBEN teams qualified for the final, while IMSU team won bronze after beating UNICAL in third place.
At the end of the final match, the UNIBEN won the trophy, defeating the UNIZIK team, which came second.
The UNIBEN team coach, Mr Onome Ikonmi, said: “My boys prepared properly for the games and we are glad that we are returning to our campus with the trophy.”
A player in UNIBEN’s team, Anthony Adams, 300-Level Medicine and Surgery, said he felt proud, representing and winning gold for the school. “The games provided me an opportunity to socialise, relax and make new friends. I dedicate the trophy to my mum and the school management for their support when the contest was hot,” he said.
In volleyball, University of Nigeria (UNN) emerged winner of the male category, while Anambra State University (ANSU) won the female category. In basketball, ANSU trounced all opponents to win the contest.
When the medal chart was unveiled, IMSU topped the list with 61 points from got 11 gold, four silver and five bronze medals. UNIZIK followed closely with 57 points from six gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals. Other institutions in the order are ANSU and University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), which had 39 points and 37points respectively.
Tochukwu Oluh, Director of Standing Committee on NiMSA Games said the event was successful despite the difficulties experienced in the build-up to the games. He said: “I am happy the competition has come and gone; we look forward to another session. As part of the improvements, we introduced trophies for games, such as football, basketball, volleyball and we gave medals and certificates of honour in other games. These are achievements we expect the next host would build on.”
At the closing ceremony, Ihesiaba urged the medical students to use the contest in promoting good health.
