The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Olalekan Okusan

  • Players yearn for more squash tournaments

    After the successful staging of the first major squash tournament by the Lagos State Squash Association (LSSA), some of the national players are yearning for more of such tournaments that will enable help shoot up their world rating.

    Men’s singles champion, Wale Amao believes having more competitions would aid the growth of the game as well as prepare the players for major championships within and outside the continent.

    Like Amao, women’s singles winner, Yemisi Olatunji urged the corporate bodies to support the sport across the country.

    “This victory will surely add to my points. ‎Now I will be around 120 in the world for the ranking. Next level is to travel for tournaments so I can gain more points and before you know it, I will be world 50, world 20.

    “Next month, I’m going for a tournament in South Africa. I just want to use this medium to import government and corporate organizations to support squash players more. If we have sponsors, it will be easier for us to travel out for tournaments,” she said.

    However, Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Deji Tinubu has promised to support the association in their efforts to organise U-19 league.

    “We are going to sit with the association and they will come up with the logistics and how they want to start the U-19 league. Ours is just to create an enabling environment and also to support because it is very important that at that age we need to keep them focused. We want to encourage, we want to support.

    “If the U-19 squash players know that they have a regular competition, they will stick to it and develop horn their talents,” Tinubu said

  • Olympian Chukwumerije gets British Council award

    Olympian Chukwumerije gets British Council award

    For his efforts to add value to taekwondo, coupled with his exceptional contribution and commitment to creating positive social change and improving the lives of others, three-time Olympian, Chika Chukwumerije has been honoured at the inaugural Education UK Alumni Award for “Social Impact” at an event held at the Intercontinental Hotel Lagos, and organized by the British Council in collaboration with UK Education.

    Chukwumerije, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China was rewarded alongside other well-meaning Nigerians.

    Five Nigerians were slected in the social impact award and they included (Durotimi Adeboye, Chukwudera Bridget Okeke, Olasoji Fagbola, Oluwasijibomi Ojajuni) who had done amazing things and made equally important impact in their various fields.

    Reacting to the award, the 2007 African Games gold medalist said: “If I could, I would have divided the award in FIVE, because I was inspired by their stories when it was told on that night. The work that is being done was not started with the purpose of winning any award.

    “The greatest reward will be to see that participants in our programs do very well for themselves for decades to come, and point back to these programs as the turning point in their lives. There are many people to thank [in no particular order] whose contribution has, in one way or the other, influenced the work I currently do with my Sports Foundation.”

    “I want to thank the British Council for providing this platform to recognize and encourage Nigerians doing inspirational things in their various careers. I want to thank Ms. Faith Osiobe, who nominated me without my permission and literally bullied me through the application process.

    “I want to thank Dan Stephenson, who personally took my application to the University of Liverpool in 2009, and then flew all the way to Lagos just for the Award night last weekend. I want to thank the University of Liverpool for such a beautiful learning experience while I was there. Concepts like value creation, time and resources management, waste elimination, operations and strategy became real in my daily life, and helped me totally revamp my approach to my work,” he added.

    According to the organizers, the professional achievement award recognises alumni who have distinguished themselves through exemplary leadership and achievements in their professional industry, and who can demonstrate the highest level of integrity and character in their professional career.

      Other awardees are Maupe Ogun, alumni of University of East Anglia won the professional achievement award, Gbolahan Fagbure of University of Reading claimed the Entrepreneurial Award, while Chukwumerije, alumni of University of Liverpool won the Social Impact Award.

  • ITTF ranking: Nigeria displaces Egypt as Africa’s best

    Apart from the individual ranking of Nigerian players that shot up in the latest ITTF ranking, the men’s team has now displaced Egypt as the best team from the continent.

    Prior to the just concluded ITTF World Team Championship in Malaysia, Egypt was rated ahead of Nigeria as the North Africa are 25th in the world while Nigeria was 32. But with the excellent outing of the Segun Toriola-inspired side in Malaysia, the team has now taken over from Egypt. Nigeria is now rated 24 in the world while Egypt occupies 29th place.

    Confirming this to NationSport on Tuesday, President, Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy, Nigeria is now in front position to represent Africa in the men’s team event of the Rio Olympic Games.

    “After the conduction for the ITTF ranking list as of March 2016, and as I told you earlier the final position within Perfect 2016 WTTC is not the main factor for selection of the teams to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016. It is the singles ranking and its accumulation for Team Olympic Ranking. Thus, as per the published ITTF ranking list as of March 2016, the current situation now is that : For Men : Nigeria is in front to take the qualification card for team event in Rio with position no. 25 while Egypt is coming next with position no. 32,” he said.

    The ATTF boss added: “For Women : Egypt is in front to take the qualification card for team event in Rio with position no. 31 while Nigeria is coming next with position no. 41

    This is for sure in case the application to count on ranking of March 2016, while we have to wait for more two months as the ranking list of May is the one to be taken into consideration after adding some more points through Kuwait, Qatar & Polish Open within the coming 2 months.”

    He however, commended the African teams for putting up a good show in Malaysia. “Egypt and Nigeria in the men’s event did a very good job in the group stage in getting the full mark of all matches, then they didn’t continue on the same level even I see that Africa has the best possible chance this year to upgrade at least one team for the Championships division in Sweden 2018, Nigeria was very close to win India this morning in quarterfinal as they did in the group and in this case we could ensure one team from Africa already upgraded. Also Egypt during semifinal with India were out of form specially Omar Assar and El-Sayed Lashin, may be when they felt so close to qualify for Championship division, they didn’t reach the required optimum level in the last match to decide.”

  • ITTF honours Nigeria’s Segun

    ITTF honours Nigeria’s Segun

    To recognise his outstanding contribution to the table tennis globally, Nigeria’s George Segun is the only Africa honoured among the six awardees by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) with a Merit Award – the highest by the world tennis body.

    Segun, a former Executive, Vice President of ITTF was honoured during the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia alongside five other personalities in the world.

    Segun, a former President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) and Ex-President of the African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF) and now Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee of ITTF was given the award alongside Khalil AL-MOHANNADI, Jean-Francois KAHN, Koji KIMURA, Zdenko KRIZ, and Tony YUE.

    Meanwhile, Budapest, Hungary has been awarded to host the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships as approved by the 2016 ITTF AGM.

    With this, the 55th edition of the world’s biggest table tennis event, will be held in the SYMA event hall in the Hungarian capital, a venue that last month was approved by top ITTF official as worthy of hosting the individual championships.

    ITTF’s President, Thomas WEIKERT stated: “This year’s AGM went very smoothly with positive discussion amongst the delegates representing 124 National Associations. Budapest presented a very impressive bid to the members, and I am confident that our Hungarian friends will put on a fantastic show for us in three years time.”

    Other significant news at the AGM was that the Chairman of the ITTF Athletes Commission was voted to be a full member on the ITTF Executive Committee (till now the Commission was represented with voting rights on the Board of Directors and without voting rights at the EC).

    Thanks to this decision, the ITTF Athletes’ Commission Chairman, Vladimir Samsonov could take his seat immediately in the ITTF Executive Committee as full member.

  • Quadri most famous African tennis player in Japan – Japanese Editor

    Quadri most famous African tennis player in Japan – Japanese Editor

    The exploits of Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri are not only felt in Nigeria and Africa but it is also inspiring Japanese athletes.

    According to the Editor of Japan-based World Table Tennis Magazine, Taro Yanagisawa, the 2014 ITTF Star Player has become a household name among upcoming table tennis players in the Asian country.

    The editor told NationSport on Tuesday that for now, aside Yaya Toure who is famous among football lovers, Aruna Quadri remains an inspiration in Japan.

    “I must tell you that Aruna Quadri is very famous in Japan because of his fantastic style of play coupled with the superb forehand. Quadri’s carriage on table and his sportsmanship spirit has now become an inspiration to a lot of Japanese table tennis players.

    “They like watching his matches and some of them see him as their role model. Particularly when he defeated Kenta Matsudera at the 2014 ITTF World Cup in Germany and from what we have been seeing him playing in various ITTF World Tours, his game has continued to improve,” Yanagisawa said.

    He added: “If we are considering African athletes that are popular in Japan, Aruna Quadri is one of them. Apart from Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure who are very popular in Japan, Aruna Quadri is listed among the famous African stars.

    “Since taking part in the World Cup, he has continued to make headlines across the globe with his attractive style of play coupled with his inspiring forehand which has now become a reference point globally. I must tell you that Aruna Quadri is a global brand and a good image for Africa.”

    Yanagisawa who is in Kuala Lumpur covering the ongoing ITTF World Team Championship believes the performance of the Nigerian team so far in the tournament is a confirmation of the quality of the players.

    “I am not surprised with the performance of Nigeria so far having won all their group matches to top the group, I think they are now in better position to get promotion to the Championships Division,” he opined.

  • Why table tennis thrive in Egypt – ETTF boss

    That Egypt is dominating Nigeria in table tennis in recent times is no magic but it takes enormous support from the Egyptian Ministry of Sports, a body that has continued to support table tennis and other sports across the Maghreb nation.

    According to the President of Egypt Table Tennis Federation (ETTF), Dr. Alaa Meshref, in every six months, table tennis which is rated second behind badminton, athletics and swimming gets $100,000 (N30m) to prosecute most of its programmes particularly to support elite athletes in attending major competitions.

    He added that sports that are rated number one get at least $150,000 (N45m) to prosecute their programmes for six months.

    “I think we have been fortunate in Egypt to understand the importance of sports. For us in table tennis, we get $100,000 every six months to attend competitions and organise national tournaments within the country. Apart from this, they also support our developmental programme because we believe we need to focus on young ones who will take over from the seniors. Sports in grade A, get more than us because they have more medal prospects and these are also sports dominated globally by Egypt,” Meshref said.

    Being the year of the Olympics, the ETTF helmsman told NationSport that to prepare the table tennis teams for the Olympics, they have been getting over $150,000 (N45m) every six months as part of supports for the team’s preparation for the Rio Olympics Games. Sports in grad A are now getting over $200,000 (N60m) for their Olympics preparation. However, whenever we are short of funds, they most times support us with flight ticket to attend competitions. All these efforts are to encourage the athletes as well as to engage youths in Egypt because sports is the only avenue for them to dissipate their energy,” he said.

    But in Nigeria, it is not the same story as sporting federations are yet to commence preparations for the Olympics which is less than six months. Also, annually, sports federation are run on zero Budget that most times whenever teams are attending major competitions outside the country, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has not been forthcoming in getting the needed funds for the team.

    Nigeria’s women team failed to make it to the ongoing 2016 ITTF World Team Championship in Malaysia due to lack of fund, while the men’s team had to sponsor themselves to represent their fatherland in an international competition. And since the tournament started the team has continued to make the country proud with their exceptional performance.

  • CMS Grammar school dominates sports festival

    • Body to give priority to sports

    From the 16 schools that took part in the Lagos Anglican Schools Management Board (LASMAB)-organised 5th biennial inter-school sports festival, CMS Grammar School as the host dominated the two-day championship.

    The tournament has continued to grow in leap from the 12 schools that featured in the 2014 edition to 16 that competed at this year’s championship. From the already concluded events, CMS showed is class ahead of others in football, table tennis, swimming and chess.

    According to the Executive Secretary of LASMAB, Ven. Victor Ayo Olusa, the aim of the tournament is to engender friendship among the participants as well as to showcase their sporting talents.

    The cleric, who was impressed with the conduct and performance of the athletes, said the board hopes to increase its budget on sports development in order to mould physically fit students.

    For three days, the 560 students drawn from the 16 participating schools were camped by the organizers and this Olusa said was aimed to give the athletes the needed rest to compete very well at the tournament.

    “Being the fifth edition of the tournament, the sports festival has continued to grow every year because we have 16 schools with over 560 students taking part in this year’s edition. Also, we have included some sports this year because we used to compete in athletics and football events but we now have volleyball, swimming, basketball, table tennis, tennis, chess and scrabble. The 50-metre swimming pool located at CMS Grammar School has been commissioned and it hosted the event this year. We believe we can continue to provide the needed facilities and we must also organise competitions so that these facilities can also be utilized,” he said.

    With the aim of complimenting sound academics and Christian values synonymous with the schools, Olusa said that sports would also help to keep the students fit in a sound mind.

    “We are going to be focusing on sports and music in our schools because apart from the Christian values and academic excellence which we preach in all our schools, we also want to encourage sports and music which we believe can also help the students in their future endeavours. We will continue to support sports development through provision of sporting facilities and organizing regular competitions among the students. For this year’s event, we have decided to camp the athletes so that they cannot be faced with the fatigue of travelling around during the competition,” said Olusa.

    He added: “We have over 560 students camped excluding the officials, which we also accommodated. We hope to be doing this but we believe the funds limitation might be a major challenge. But in our budget, we will give priority to sports and music because the importance of sports cannot be underestimated.”

  • Lagos Anglican School sports fiesta kicks off

    CMS Grammar School Sports Ground in Akoka, Lagos will come alive as the 5th biennial inter-schools sports festival kicks off today with the opening ceremony.

     Over 500 athletes from member schools in Lagos State are expected to jostle for honours in various sporting events.

    In a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of Lagos Anglican Schools Management Board, Ven. Victor Ayo Olusa, the competition is part of the co-curricular activities of the board and it is aimed at promoting good sportsmanship among the students.

    The grand finale which is the closing ceremony holds tomorrow at same venue from 10am

  • Rio Olympics: Nigeria, Egypt brace up for ITTF World Team Championships

    Rio Olympics: Nigeria, Egypt brace up for ITTF World Team Championships

    The battle for Africa’s sole ticket in the team event of Rio 2016 Olympics will be ignited when the two best teams in the continental – Nigeria and Egypt begin their campaign at the ITTF World Team Championships holding in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    With the two teams presenting a strong side in Malaysia after the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup in Sudan.

    For Segun Toriola of Nigeria, the battle for the sole slot between Nigeria and Egypt would be a tough challenge.

    “Being a team event tournament, I think we need to use this competition to improve the country’s ranking as well as fight for the sole slot of the continent to be able to play in the team event of the Olympics. Personally, my target in Malaysia is to improve Nigeria team ranking but if we talking about winning for Rio team event  ticket, for now I cannot say it is possible or not but is 50/50 chance and I believe if we all play very good and luck on team side, it is possible we make it,” Toriola said.

    Also, Egypt’s Dina Meshref believes they have the wherewithal to make it to division one of the women event. “I hope my team (women’s) could upgrade to division 1 this year. I believe we are capable of doing so even though it will require huge efforts from all the team members. It’s a tough challenge but we all hope we can do it. Our target is to perform very well in all matches, and upgrade to division 1 (the championship division).”

    On the Olympics team event qualification, the ITTF Africa Top 16 Cup champion said: “I believe our team can win the sole slot to represent Africa in the next Olympics because our ranking as a team is good enough until now to qualify us to play the teams event in Rio. I hope we can make it.”

  • NBF to name team for Olympics Qualifiers February 29

    The final list of ten-man boxing team that will represent Nigeria at the Olympics Qualification tournament in Yaounde, Cameroun will be unveiled on Monday February 29.

    According to the national coach, Tony Konyegwachie, the ongoing trials would help the technical crew to assess the boxers with the aim of picking seven male and three female that will make the trip to Cameroun for the qualifiers scheduled for March 8 and 20, 2016.

    “I want to tell you that we are satisfied with the quality of boxers in camp and we will continue to assess them until we pick the final list on February 29. The boxers are giving good account of themselves and without any doubt we hope to present a formidable team for the qualifiers. for now, we will keep them together until after the final selection when some of them will be decamped to give way for the final phase of preparation before departure for the championship in Cameroun,” Konyegwachie said.

    From the trials conducted at the weekend, England-based Sadiq Umar defeated Danuloko Ekele and Ademuyiwa Kehinde, while Efetobor Apochi also gave a good account of himself.

    There are more trials to be conducted before some of the boxers are decamped to give room for the final phase of the training.

    Among the female boxers in camp are Congo Brazzaville 2015 African Games gold medalist, Edith Ogoke-Agu and her two other colleagues from the Nigerian Army, Kehinde Obareh and Caroline Linus.

    The invited boxers is made up of 18 male and four female and this includes another 2015 African Games gold medalist, Efe Ajagba and silver medalist, Apochi Efetobor while Muyideen Oyakojo, Dauda Azeez, Soyoye Kazeem, Oladosu Rilwan, Femi Oyeleye, Abua Christian, Korede Adeniyi, Ademuyiwa Kehinde, Ayodele Mike, Danuloko Ekele, Rahmon  Rasak and Kenneth Rolands.

    Also in camp are two foreign-based boxers, Sadiq Umar  and Gabriel Francis (Belgium) who is to battle Efetobor Apochi in the heavyweight category are among the boxers while Toyin Oladeji, Falilat Tijani and Jacinta Umunakwe completes the list of female boxers..

    Konyegwachie, Adura Olalehin, Sabo Mohammed, Ossai Christopher and Jeremiah Okorodudu are the five coaches selected to train the athletes in camp.