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Tag: Rio 2016

  • ITTF Africa celebrates Quadri’s Rio Olympic feat 

    ITTF Africa celebrates Quadri’s Rio Olympic feat 

    For becoming the first player in Africa to make it to the quarterfinal stage of the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil, the executive council of International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa has acknowledged the feat of the Nigerian with an award of outstanding performance.

    The presentation of the award was performed by the ITTF Africa President, Khaled El-Salhy including Vice President of ITTF, Cherif Hajem.

    The ITTF boss said it was coincident that two Nigerians – Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri put Africa on the world map in Rio and for this, the Executive Committee agreed at their meeting that the two players must be acknowledged and honour in order to motivate upcoming players to aim high like them.

    “We were overwhelmed with the huge publicity that Africa got in the table tennis event of Rio Olympic Games because of the performance of Aruna Quadri because, in the history of table tennis, no African has made it to the last eight of the Olympic Games.

    “Players like Aruna Quadri are very rare and I know his performance was due to his commitment and hard work which were obvious in his performance. This honour is not just to celebrate him but to also inspire other players to work hard because without hard work and discipline it will be impossible for any player to make it to the world stage,” he said.

    “From his performance at the 2014 World Cup in Germany where he became the first African to make it to the quarterfinal round of the competition to being named the 2014 ITTF Star Player at the Star Award, Aruna Quadri has raised the bar for others to aim at and with his performance of record, more people in the continent are now paying attention to the sport and we hope he will continue to move up and other African players will surely come through,” El-Salhy added.

  • Rio 2016: Musings on the XXXl Olympiad

    Rio 2016: Musings on the XXXl Olympiad

    However you judge it, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro will have to be accounted the biggest winners of the XXXl Olympiad just ended.

    Not in the quantum of medals and athletic accomplishment in which the United States, to no surprise, came out far ahead of every other national contingent, its traditional rival Russia having put up only a skeletal representation, its team decimated by a comprehensive ban on account of programmed doping on a scale almost behind belief.

    Brazil and Rio defied all the odds, real and contrived, to win big-time.

    The Western media said the host nation was not ready.  Construction lagged far behind schedule and was unlikely to be finished in time for the Games.  Brazil’s economy took a pounding from the crash of the international oil market and the income stream on which Brazil was relying to stage the extravaganza had almost dried up.

    The country was wracked by turmoil as the President, Dilma Rousseff, successor of Luiz Inació Lula da Silva, the former shoe shiner and trade unionist-turned politician and architect of Brazil’s economic revival and political rejuvenation, faced impeachment on corruption charges that seemed more apparent than real.  In the end she was suspended from office and had to watch Olympics from the sidelines as an unacknowledged observer when she should have by tradition declared the games open from a global spotlight.

    And then, there was zika, the mosquito-borne virus which spread fear and panic among pregnant  women or women who might become pregnant on a scale that has not been seen since the 1960s when the widespread use of the morning-sickness pill thalidomide resulted in the births of hideously deformed babies across Europe.

    Who would risk going to Brazil for the Games, when that risk involved the distinct possibility of having a baby with a small head and the pathologies associated with that condition:  very poor health, and early death?

    Television pictures of babies afflicted with that condition and their mothers struggling to cope with the trauma and stigma could not have done much to reassure those who thought the chance was worth taking.

    Rio, the host city, fared no better in the reporting. Its mean streets festered with crime and were dangerously unsafe, and you did not even have to venture near the favelas to get mugged.  Raw sewage emptied non-stop into the very waters in which some of the Olympic contests would be staged.

    When the water in the swimming pools turned green after a day of two of competition, the fear peddlers wasted no time in saying:  “We told you so.”  When the pools turned aquatic blue soon thereafter, they barely took notice.

    For the two weeks during which global attention was concentrated on Brazil as never before, no major crime was reported in the Games Village or its precincts.  The American gold medal-winning swimmer Ryan Lochte who confected a stick-up by gun-wielding police with two of his colleagues was unmasked and shamed, thanks to diligent sleuthing and closed-circuit television (CCTV).

    No major scandal was reported.  There was no outbreak of disease.  The lights never went out. The taps never ran dry. The public address system rarely faltered.  Political officials took the back seat and allowed the accredited organisers to run the show.

    In that vast assemblage of people of different races and tongues and creeds and faiths, nothing happened that could remotely be construed as a terrorist incident.  A single such incident would have played right into the hands of the demagogic and xenophobic Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential election.  He would have seized it to bolster his campaign theme that America succeeds best when it keeps out those who look or talk or worship differently.

    Maybe he was just being sarcastic.  You can never bet on The Donald.  As one American satirical writer remarked the other day, if Trump ever had his finger on the nuclear trigger, he could just squeeze it and explain later that he did so for sarcastic effect.

    Based on superb execution against all odds, I would still have adjudged Brazil the biggest winner of the XXXl Olympiad.  But then, the nation’s soccer squad, led by Neymar, he of the mesmerising nimbleness of foot and shots that call to mind the trajectory of a guided missile, won the only gold medal that matters to the host nation, the prize that it had never won in all its soccer glory.

    That feat was more than victory on the soccer pitch:  it was national redemption.

    In the World Cup semi-final two years ago, at the same fabled Maracanã Stadium, the German national team had done the unthinkable:  it had handed Brazil’s Selección a 7-1 shellacking.  That drubbing stuck in Brazil’s collective craw.  Rio 2016 offered a chance for a redemption of sorts.

    The final was not between the teams that had squared up in 2014.  The teams were not even drawn principally from the 2014 sets. It was a closely-fought duel, the outcome of which turned on penalty kicks and could have gone either way.

    Still, who is to begrudge Brazil its euphoric feeling of national redemption?

    I hope I will not be charged with harbouring low expectations when I say that, in this corner, the Nigerian soccer team was also in a significant sense a winner, even though it clinched only the bronze medal.

    The team was stranded in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, and made it to Rio for its first match just seven hours before kick-off, with nary a chance to decompress.  Yet the players showed no hint of fatigue or despair when they took on Japan.  The fatigue did not show until well into the second half when Japan turned what seemed like an impending rout into a redeeming 4-5 loss.

    But take nothing away from our boys.

    Now, you would think that a team that had come this far would have all its anxieties assuaged.  But that is not the Nigerian way.  The boys had to threaten to boycott their quarter-final match, against Denmark, unless their earned bonuses were paid

    Commentator after commentator was smitten with awe by artistry and athleticism of the Nigerian players.  The team’s potential would be so much greater, almost limitless, they said, if it was backed by more purposeful organisation.

    That is the story of Nigeria in a nutshell.  So much potential; so little delivery.

    There was a time when, to our delight, the N in Nigeria used to be tagged on to the acronym BRIC, in which B stood for Brazil, R for Russia, I for India and C for China, emergent global actors.

    Not anymore.

    The challenge is to get it back in there in real terms, not with the jiggery-pokery of the Goodluck Jonathan and  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala years.

  • Nigeria beats Honduras 3-2,wins olympics soccer bronze

    Nigeria beats Honduras 3-2,wins olympics soccer bronze

    NIGERIA won bronze at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 after an entertaining 3-2 win against Honduras in Belo Horizonte’s Estadio Mineirao.
    Samson Siasia’s side enjoyed a three-goal advantage shortly before the hour mark thanks to Sadiq Umar’s brace and Aminu Umar’s 49th minute goal, but Honduras gave the African side a late scare as Antony Lozano and Marcelo Pereira reduced the deficit to just one goal.
    Nigeria started brightly and put Honduras under early pressure. They came agonisingly close to taking the lead on seven minutes when Mikel John Obi found Aminu Umar, whose effort struck both posts. Umar had another good opportunity minutes later but was denied by goalkeeper Luis Lopez.
    Honduras were not without their chances, however, and Nigeria shot-stopper Emmanuel Daniel was called into action to deny Alberth Elis on 11 minutes. The forward then had a golden opportunity on 33 minutes when he broke through the Nigeria defence with his blistering pace but Daniel held firm to deny the Olimpia man.
    The Central Americans were made to rue that missed opportunity as Nigeria took the lead just a minute later. Mikel demonstrated his splendid technique by dribbling into the box and finding Sadiq Umar, who fired the Africans into the lead.
    Aminu Umar doubled Nigeria’s advantage four minutes after the break, while Sadiq Umar’s second of the game left Siasia’s side cruising on 56 minutes.
    But Honduras soon showed they were not down and out. Lozano pulled one back for Jorge Luis Pinto’s side on 71 minutes, before Pereira cut Nigeria’s advantage to just one goal after heading home Oscar Salas’ free-kick. The fightback was not enough, however, as Nigeria held firm to secure their first Olympic medal since Beijing 2008.

  • Rio 2016 (The Nigerian paradox)

    Rio 2016 (The Nigerian paradox)

    Nigerians watching the Rio Olympic Games have been asking one question: where is “the Nigerian Spirit”?

    We have a way of rising from the lowest rung of the ladder to survive and triumph when the world has written us off. It is not just in sports; it is in all areas of our unique life. Politics. Busines. Academics. Wars. And more.

    With the seeming gradual disappearance of that never-say-die spirit, many are being forced to wonder: why the Nigerian paradox? Why should a country be so blessed – to the envy of many – and yet so poor – to the consternation of all? This is the question that sociologists have been battling for long. The mystery of a country blessed by nature and wrecked by the very hands that should nurture it like a rare flower tendered by a master florist.

    Is it all in our gene as some, without iron-clad proof, have derisively suggested? Is it poor leadership? Why poor leadership when we have men who can hold their own among the world’s best in any trade? When and how did we miss it? Can we regain our glory? When? In this generation?

    My apologies for the seeming digression. It has been a great time at the Rio Olympics. Against all odds, Brazil has staged an extraordinarily classy show that has kept the world singing its praise. Just before the games, the country was embroiled in social and political upheavals that kept many wondering whether it was ready to host the world. Life was tough for the man in the street and Zika virus was a big challenge. Petty thieves ruled the streets and politicians slugged it out in a do-or-die battle for the presidency.

    But, all that has been elbowed out by the Brazilian “miracle”, the world has fallen in love after seeing a great spectacle of an opening ceremony – enchanting and gripping – and some of the structures that are arguably the highest exhibition of architectural prowess. Indeed the land of samba has proved the bookmakers wrong.

    It is an exciting love affair. Records are being shattered and legends are being made.

    Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt has become the first man to win the 100 metres dash three consecutive times, breaking his own record. As he flew onto the finishing line, he raised his forefinger, obviously to tell the world that he remains number one. Of course, the world rose to hug a true star, the fastest man on planet earth.

    Michael Phelps of the United States became the world’s most decorated Olympian of all time, taking his 21st Olympic career gold. Fondly called “The Baltimore Bullet”, Phelps  carted home six gold medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, eight at the 2008 Games in Beijing and four at the  2012 Olympics in London. He returned to the pool in April 2014 after retirement to qualify for Rio where he has sunk his own records.

    South African star athlete Wayde van Niekerk smashed United States’ Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record in the 400 metres when he did it at 43.03 seconds.

    Team Nigeria  has shown  only sparks of high class performance. We are yet to hit the medals table. But the sparks have indicated clearly that we do not lack the talents to excel on the global stage. No. The truth is that talents alone do not make success. The other key elements, such as right environment for training would-be champions, facilities, motivation and quality leadership, are missing.

    The soccer team, for example, has shown some strength of a champion. After a botched travel arrangement, it arrived in Brazil hours before its first match in which it beat Japan 5-4. It lost to Colombia 0-2 and beat Sweden 1-0, before humbling Denmark 0-2. It lost last  night 0-2 to Germany.

    “It was very difficult. We struggled to get here. But there is a oneness, a team spirit and a willingness to overcome,” coach Samson Siasia was quoted as saying. He was recalling the team being stranded in Atlanta.

    The story remains unclear. Some said it was cash palaver. Others said it had to do with currency conversion and transfer problems – transferring.money out of Nigeria could sometimes be like breaking a rock, according to knowledgeable sources.

    The team’s performance so far has rekindled sweet memories of 1996 when Nigeria beat Brazil after being down by three goals. It overcame another two-goal deficit to humble Argentina 3-2 in the final.

    Sprinter Blessing Okagbare did not make it in the 100 metres. The popular thinking is that our athletes run themselves out of the medals dais by participating in small races in which they get burnt out before getting to the big stage. All because they need cash for their upkeep.

    Table Tennis star Aruna Quadri did not get a medal but he made us all proud when he smashed his way to the quarter finals, the first African to make that feat. He beat Timo Boll, the former world number one and the number 10 seed in Rio. He was stopped by the world number one, Chinese Ma Long. His team mate Segun Toriala was honoured for his seventh Olympic  Games appearance.

    Chimerical Ukoga, the rower, reached the quarter finals, after putting her medical school on hold to represent Nigeria. Hers is a worthy story of patriotism. The first Nigerian representative in rowing schools in the United States.

    Boxer Efe Ajagba, Nigeria’s sole representative, lost in the quarter finals. He knocked out Trinidad and Tobago’s Nigel Paul in the first round. Nigeria has not won a medal in boxing since 1996 when Duncan  Dokiwari got a bronze in Atlanta. Ajagba won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, 2014 and gold at the All Africa Games, 2015.

    These Nigerians and many others, who emblematise the Nigerian Spirit, surely would have done better in Rio, if they had been physically and mentally well prepared for the Games. Such preparations take at least four years, not the crash programme and emergency projects we do here. Not the kind of preparation in which more players are taken overseas than the number needed, with hotel bills sparking rows about who owes what and who pays.

    Winning at the Olympics is no 100 metres dash. It is a result of marathon preparations, guided by a foolproof policy geared towards producing champions and not carpetbaggers.

    Britain did not do well in 1996. They returned home and set their hands to the plough. They won the bid to host the 2012 Games. Now they are third on the medals table.

    The Asians are fast on the heels of the Jamaicans and the Americans in athletics. They are the undisputed champions in table tennis – a game that has its original home in England – thanks to years of sweating. There will be little surprise if they start dominating track and field.

    At the 1996 Olympics, Jamaicans were struggling to do well. They returned to the drawing board to build champions. They sent people to understudy the Americans and take advantage of the world class facilities there. Now there is a new generation of speedsters. Three Jamaicans ran in the men’s 100 metres finals.

    American greats have returned to colleges to raise new world beaters. Their focus: the 2020 Games.

    Here in Nigeria, every Olympic is a jamboree. We are the only country who still live in the past when “the important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part” as the father of the modern Olympics, French educationist Pierre de Fredy, Baron de Couberlin (1863-1937) said.

    Our governments are blind to the great potential of sports to generate employment and revenue. The private sector knows its role in this, but there seems to be no plan to rally business for sports.

    Schools lack facilities. Even those exotic neighbourhoods that are the homes of the rich and powerful have no facilities. Little wonder most of our stars are from poor homes. Imagine somebody encouraging those kids who run after moving vehicles to sell mobile phone recharge cards and other items to take to sports.

    Sports Minister Solomon Dalung is quoted as saying he would not leave Brazil without a medal. “Let him seek asylum there, na im sabi,” a youngster said cynically.

    A fellow questioned why Sports and Youth should be lumped together in one ministry . Besides, he scorned the minister for, according to him, dressing like a retired soldier turned door man and a Civil Defence recruit awaiting his first set of kits. “That is what you get when you hire a lawyer to run sports in a country of many former great sportsmen,” he said dejectedly.

    How do we use the Nigerian Spirit to tackle the Nigerian paradox of a rich nation stricken by the Zika of poor leadership? Our leaders see – even if they do not, don’t they feel ?- how united Nigerians are when the national soccer teams are playing. Can’t they use this to close the yawning gap that has created the crisis of suspicion that has created such scary belligerents as Avengers, pro-Biafra activists and Boko Haram?

    How do we tackle the Nigerian paradox?

  • Rio 2016: NWF unveils wrestlers

    Rio 2016: NWF unveils wrestlers

    The Nigeria Wrestling Federation, NWF will today  unveil it’s Olympic team for the 2016 games.

    According to NWF President, Hon Daniel Igali, the official send forth of the wrestlers will be held at the High Performance Hostel, Package B of National Stadium, Abuja by 2pm.

    Seven wrestlers consisting of five female (Mercy Genesis, Odunayo Adekuoroye, Aminat Adeniyi, Blessing Oborududu and Hannah Reuben) as well as two male (Amas Daniel and Soso Tamara).

    Igali said the unveiling was to further boost and motivate the athletes who have been committed to their fatherland through Wresting.

    “This gesture is to encourage the wrestlers as they will be competing with other wrestlers in the world. It is to show that we are concerned about their welfare”, the President said.

    Igali urged journalists in the country to continue to support and portray the federation in good light as they are the Eagle eye of the society.

    “I look forward to your continued support for our athletes,” Daniel Igali said.

    The 2016 Olympics Games is expected to begin on August 6 in Rio, Brazil.

  • CAS upholds Russian athletes’ Olympics ban

    CAS upholds Russian athletes’ Olympics ban

    Russian track and field athletes will remain banned from the Olympics following claims the country ran a state-sponsored doping programme.

    The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 68 athletes attempted to overturn the suspension, implemented by the body that governs world athletics.

    But the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled the suspension can stand, the BBC reports.

    A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on August 5.

    “It’s sad but rules are rules,” said Olympic 100m and 200m champion, Usain Bolt, who will be chasing more gold medals in Rio.

    He said it was important to send a strong message to the dopers.

    “Doping violations in track and field is getting really bad,” said the Jamaican, 29. “If you cheat or go or against the rules, this will scare a lot of people.”

    However, Russian pole vaulter, Yelena Isinbayeva, one of the 68 to appeal to CAS, said the ruling was “a blatant political order.”

    The 2012 gold medallist, 34, told the Tass news agency: “Thank you all for this funeral for athletics.”

    The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said it was “pleased CAS has supported its position,” adding that the judgement had “created a level playing field for athletes.”

    IAAF president Lord Coe added: “This is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn’t come into this sport to stop athletes from competing.

    “Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to international recognition and competition.”

    Separately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering calls to ban all Russian competitors across all sports from the Rio Games following a second report into state-sponsored doping.

  • Rio 2016: NOC unveils broadcast partners

    Rio 2016: NOC unveils broadcast partners

    To ensure that Nigerians experience the magic of the Olympic Games, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) has unveiled broadcast and entertainment partners for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

    During a press parley yesterday, President of the NOC, Habu Gumel  said that the broadcast partners – Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), DAAR Communications, Silverbird Communication and Smooth Promotion (HIP TV) –  are coming in at a time when the official countdown of the Rio Olympic begins.

    The NOC boss said the agreement is a major contribution to the long term financial stability of the Olympic Movement in Nigeria. He said the move is also significant as it demonstrates the NOC’s resolve to become a self-sustaining body.

    Gumel said that the selected stations would consistently broadcast live sporting and entertainment events from the Games, noting that the collaboration is very good for Nigeria’s sporting fan. “For a commercial perspective, this model is a win-win situation, which will help the NOC realise funds to support the activities of the Olympic Movement in the country.”

    He said through the partnership, the Olympic Games broadcast would reach the widest possible audience, expand sports coverage, promote Olympic values, attract the youths, exploit multiple media options/new technologies and build long term relationships. He said that the NOC would be celebrating the day in grand style in many states across Nigeria.

    According to Gumel, the stations would offer viewers the chance to watch every Olympic event for the duration of the Games, delivering about 170 hours of live sports coverage across its various platforms during the games.

    NTA’s General Manager (sports), Abdulrahman Ibn Mohammed said his station was committed to the NOC’s idea, noting that it is a welcome development. He said the NTA has been broadcasting the Olympics live since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. “We are willing and ready to go and what we are doing today (yesterday) is a result of months of discussion between the NOC and the broadcast partners.

    HIP TV boss, Ayo Animashaun said he was excited about the partnership, promising that his outfit would do everything possible to bring the entertainment side of the Olympics to Nigerians. “I am excited that we are the entertainment partner and my promise to Nigerians is that we will deliver.

  • Zimbabwe, South Africa qualify for women’s Olympic football

    Zimbabwe, South Africa qualify for women’s Olympic football

    Zimbabwe’s women beat Cameroon 1-0 in the second leg of their final Olympic qualifier in Harare to book a place at Rio 2016.

    The Southern African nation will be joined at next year’s Olympics by neighbours South Africa who defeated Equatorial Guinea in Bata 1-0.

    It is the first time that any Zimbabwe team has qualified for a global football tournament, the BBC reports.

    Rudo Neshamba’s 8th minute goal was enough to send Zimbabwe to Brazil.

    It’s a great achievement for us, I’m so happy I can’t even explain how I’m feeling right now

    The result meant the tie finished level at 2-2 on aggregate, with Zimbabwe qualifying on the away-goals rule.

    It was disappointment for Cameroon who represented Africa at the Women’s World Cup in Canada, reaching the second round.

    Neshamba was again Zimbabwe’s match-winner, having scored their crucial away-goal in the first leg in Yaounde.

    Her captain, Felistas Muzongondi, said it was a famous day in the country’s footballing history.

    “It’s a great achievement for us.  I’m so happy I can’t even explain how I’m feeling right now,” Muzongondi told the BBC.

    Also on Sunday, South Africa defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Bata to win the tie by the same score on aggregate after the first leg had ended goal-less.

    Jermaine Seoposenwe’s second half goal proved crucial for Banyana Banyana and was enough to win the South Africans their place in Rio.