The Nation Newspaper

Tag: harder

  • Amuneke Promises: We’ll work harder

    Amuneke Promises: We’ll work harder

    •Salutes Eaglets’ winning start

    Golden Eaglets Head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke has described Saturday’s 2-0 win over the United States of America as a morale booster for the players in the quest to successfully defend the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

    Chukwudi Agor and Victor Osimhen gave Nigeria a winning start courtesy of two second half goals against the Americans at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015.

    “The victory against the USA was important for us and I want to congratulate the boys for making Nigerians happy,” Amuneke told thenff.com.

    He continued: “They (players) were tentative in the first 20 minutes and this was expected because it was the first time they were playing at a big stage such as the World Cup but it was important we won the first game since it would boost our confidence going into the next game against host Chile; so we are happy but will continue to work harder.

    “This victory against the USA is for Nigerians especially for many who stayed up late to watch the match,” stated the former African Footballer of the Year who refrained from praising the goal scorers against USA.

    “It is the job of all the players to do their respective jobs in the interest of the team. We want to play and win as a team and collectively, we want to work in order to achieve our overall objective at this tournament.”

    Meanwhile, midfielder Chukwudi Agor has described his goal and indeed the opening goal in Group A at Chile 2015 against the USA, as very

    important for his budding career. It was Agor’s second goal for the national U-17 side after he grabbed the winner in the 2-1 win over Brazil at the Suwon U-17 Tournament in September.

    “I’m happy that I scored ,” said Agor, “I’m dedicating the goal to my sister, Oluchi.”

    The Golden Eaglets will, in the meantime, hit the road on Sunday for Vina del Mer where they will play host Chile at the 24,000 Capacity Estadio Sausalito on Tuesday.

  • This year’s victory was much harder-Assar

    This year’s victory was much harder-Assar

    For Egypt’s Omar Assar, retaining the title at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour, Lagos Open was much harder compared to previous victories especially playing against fans’ favourite, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri in the men’s singles final.

    Assar added to his list of titles in the splendid setting of Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium claiming his third title in a row in Lagos.

    “It was a difficult match for me because at the start of the match, I was disturbed by the noise from the fans but as the match progressed I adjusted and I started playing normally and my tactics began to work. It was a very tough match because Aruna has been in top shape in recent times. He defeated me in the team event at the last Africa Senior Championship in Cairo,” Assar said.

    He added: “I am so happy that I was able to defend my title and having the record of winning it thrice. Lagos is a good ground for me and I look forward to returning next year.”

    At the semi-final stage he accounted for Portugal’s André Silva, the fourth seed, in four straight games (11-8, 11-9, 11-3, 11-7), before securing the title at the final expense of Quadri, the top seed, in a six games’ contest (12-10, 13-15, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8).

    In the counterpart semi-final, Quadri had beaten compatriot Ojo Onaolapo in four straight games (13-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7).

    One year ago in Lagos, he beat colleague, El-Sayed Lashin in the final (11-5, 13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-8), after having overcome Quadri in the semi-final (11-5, 13-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-8).

    Suffering heartaches again for Quadri at the hands of Assar but one step higher on the medal podium and his best ever finish to date on the ITTF World Tour.

    In addition to winning in 2014, Assar also succeeded in 2013 when the tournament was known as the Lagos International Classic.

    In the women’s singles, Assar’s compatriot, Dina Meshref, the top seed, was beaten in the final of the Women’s Singles event by Portugal’s Shao Jieni, a player who has excelled domestically but was not seeded in Lagos.

    Jieni, who lost to Meshref earlier in the tournament at the semi-final stage of the U-21 Women’s Singles event (11-6, 11-8, 11-8), extracted revenge; she beat Meshref in a full distance seven games encounter (11-7, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 10-12, 13-11, 11-8).

    At the semi-final stage Jieni had beaten Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike (11-5, 11-5, 13-11, 11-3); Meshref had accounted for Offiong Edem, also from Nigeria.

    “It was a very hard match for me and it was a high level game because Shao Jieni changed service and this really confused me. It is always not easy to beat a certain player three times; she is very good”, said Meshref.

    It was for Jieni, Oshonaike and Edem their best ever finishes in a Women’s Singles event on the ITTF World Tour.

    Prior to the GAC Group 2015 ITTF World Tour Lagos Open, Jieni had never progressed beyond the first round, whilst the best for Oshonaike and Edem was a quarterfinal exit one year ago in Lagos.

    Defeat at the hands of Jieni but together there was success. They secured the Women’s Doubles title beating the host nation’s Cecilia Akpan and Offiong Edem in the final (13-11, 11-7, 13-15, 11-2).

    The silver medal was won by Nigeria in the Women’s Doubles event, in their counterpart Men’s Doubles competition it was gold. Quadri and Kazeem Makanjuola, who had emerged successful at the ITTF-Africa Championships earlier in the year, struck gold.

    They beat the Portuguese partnership of André Silva and Diogo Silva to claim the title (11-6, 11-8, 11-9).

  • ITTF Awards: Quadri vows to work harder

    ITTF Awards: Quadri vows to work harder

    • Thanks fans

    Larry Ettah, Group Managing Director/CEO, UAC of Nigeria Plc has been re-elected as the Chairman of O’Trafford Squash Club, Ikoyi.

    Ettah was returned unopposed to the office he has held for the last 12 months at the second Annual General Meeting of the club. Also re-elected at the AGM were Hakeem Oyeneyin, Vice Chairman and Cyril Ayemere, Secretary. The new officers joining the governing board include Remi Adeseun, Treasurer; Tunji Olaniyi, Social Secretary; Taye Ige, Director of Publicity and Biyi Mabadeje, Captain. All the officers were elected unopposed.

    Ettah, in his address, thanked the out-gone governing board for its pioneering role which put the club on a sound footing for its activities. He praised the former captain, Sope Robert for giving the club character and for inaugurating the ladder and ensuring effective administration of the ladder which is meant for ranking players. He also commended the former treasurer, Joseph Ijie for keeping the books of the club in such a transparent manner.

    He expressed appreciation to all the members of the club for the opportunity given him to serve again and promised not to disappoint them.

    “Giving me the opportunity to serve for the second time is an expression of the confidence you have in my ability. I will give my best not to fail you,” Ettah said.

    He attributed his modest achievements during his first term in office to the unalloyed support of the governing board members who worked tirelessly in maintaining the ideals of the club and making it a force to be reckoned with in the country’s squash fraternity.

    He committed himself to leading his team in improving on the achievements of the past one year and urged other members of the governing board not to rest on their oars in order to bequeath a worthy legacy to the succeeding generation.

    While swearing-in the new governing board members,  Akinwunmi Akintola maintained that Ettah’s re-election as the Chairman was in appreciation of the quality of leadership he gave during his first tenure. He congratulated members of the club for making it one of the foremost clubs in Nigeria.

    The first set of the governing board was elected for a renewable term of one year, while the new governing board was elected for a renewable term of two years.

    The AGM ended with socials attended by invited clubs from Lagos including Apapa Club, Ikoyi Club, Unilag Staff Club and Lagos Country Club.

    O’Trafford Squash Club is a melting pot of high-flying professionals where members engage in rigorous matches at weekends. Its members have won laurels during invitational tournaments across Nigeria. Major competitions on its calendar well attended by squash players include LEE Squash Championship and Satek Squash Series among others.

  • Equities hit one-year low as bears bite harder

    |It was another day for the bears and they sank deeper into the marrows of the investors. Nigerian equities slumped to one-year low yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as the downtrend at the stock market continued unabated. Investors lost N377 billion with average percentage loss during the five-hour trading session standing at -3.54 per cent.

    With more than four losers for every gainer, the overwhelming bearishness at the market was further evidenced by substantial losses recorded across the sectors. Losses ran into four to three digits as against few points recorded by gainers.

    The downtrend pushed average year-to-date loss at the equities market to -24.84 per cent. With four consecutive losses, the benchmark indices at the NSE slumped to 52-week low. The All Share Index (ASI), the composite index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, dropped from its opening index of 32,203.62 points to close at 31,062.03 points.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities slumped to N10.255 trillion compared with its opening value of N10.632 trillion, indicating a loss of N377 billion.

    Market analysts attributed the decline to selling pressure across the sectors as investors scrambled to exit equities and lock up funds in fixed assets.

    “Having sustained four days of consecutive loss with negative 6.5 per cent so far this week, we are of the view that the market for the week will most likely close within the negative territory. We advise investors to tread cautiously in taking opportunistic investment positions in trading sessions ahead as likely market drags at the moment outweigh the positive,” analysts at FSDH Securities noted in a post-trade investment report.

    Nestle Nigeria topped the losers’ list with a drop of N40.77 to close at N774.78. Seplat Petroleum Development Company followed with a drop of N17.09 to close at N324.83. Forte Oil placed third with a loss of N11.50 to close at N218.50. Nigerian Breweries declined by N8.06 to close at N153.25. Mobil Oil Nigeria lost N7.95 to close at N151.05. Guinness Nigeria dwindled by N6.79 to close at N129.06. Dangote Cement dropped by N5.51 to close at N157.99 while Flour Mills of Nigeria declined by N4.72 to close at N43.73 per share.