The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rio Olympics

  • Rio Olympics: Disu charges NFF to speak up over unpaid loans

    Rio Olympics: Disu charges NFF to speak up over unpaid loans

    Amidst the claims and counterclaims over unpaid debts by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at the Rio 2016 Olympics, ex-international Tajudeen Disu has faulted the football authority for keeping mum over the issue.

    The 1983 Flying Eagles player said it is only the NFF through its Secretary General, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, that can clear the issue of money loaned to the federation by players, and any well-meaning Nigerian.

    Disu, who is the kid brother of Tunde Disu, also a former international and coach of the Nigeria U21 squad to the 1989 World Youth Championship, said the football house left room for the ongoing debacle between 2016 Olympic team captain Mikel Obi and his coach Samson Siasia over who paid for the flight or not.

    Obi, who captained the Nigerian Olympic team to Rio 2016, claimed he paid for the team’s flight tickets to Brazil, which was refuted by team coach Siasia hours later. The retired Chelsea player said he has not been refunded by the NFF.

    Clarifying his position, Disu said: “Mikel said NFF owes him and Siasia has said his own, all these claims and counterclaims could have been avoided if the NFF Secretary General, Dr Sanusi, had come out to clarify the matter. I don’t know why NFF is silent. 

    “Siasia is still owed allowances and funds obtained from his friends during the crisis. Until the NFF are held accountable, our football will remain in this sorry state. Siasia also revealed that businessman Yemi Idowu also helped in a tremendous way to ensure the team gets to Brazil.

    Read Also: NFF endorses Sam Okwaraji’s Championship

    “Siasia said the small aircraft that was initially contracted for the team was paid for and provided by Idowu, who also paid for ferrying the empty aircraft to Atlanta. Then, he paid for a new aircraft crew to fly the chartered plane to Rio and the empty plane back to America. Idowu also secured landing permits, charter clearances, and overflight charges to ensure the chartered flight arrived on time for the match in Rio.”

     It is also on record that Idowu funded the previous silver medal-winning U20 Men’s football team and other football matches with hundreds of thousands of dollars, an act that has never been acknowledged by the NFF to date.

    “The NFF has neither confirmed nor clarified the true state of affairs. Their silence only deepens suspicions of institutional murkiness. There will also be questions about whether they ever reimbursed any of the parties.”

    “The fact of the matter is that Mikel, Siasia, Idowu, and Delta Airlines are heroes of Nigerian football and should be acknowledged for what they did to get the team to Brazil. Without their sacrifice, we wouldn’t be here talking about Olympic bronze. The fact remains that NFF and the sports ministry did not refund Idowu and Mikel Obi. These are the only facts until NFF say otherwise,” added Disu. 

  • Okorodudu lauds Ajagbe for starting professional career with knockout

    Okorodudu lauds Ajagbe for starting professional career with knockout

    A boxing Coach, Jerry Okorodudu, on Wednesday commended Nigeria’s sensational boxer, Eje Ajagbe, for starting his professional career on a good note.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former amateur boxer, who represented the country at the 2016 Rio Olympics, defeated Tyrell Herndon of the U.S. in his first professional bout.

    The 23 years-old Ajagbe knocked out his opponent in the first round of the fight in 1.29secs in the Rabobank Theater, Bakersfield, California in the U.S.

    Okorodudu said that the boxer possessed the physique and strength needed to succeed in his professional quest in the heavyweight category.

    “I know Efe will do well in professional boxing and he has a lot to offer because age is still on his side.

    “He is a strong boxer and his experience in the amateur category will also help him to thrive in years to come,’’ he said.

    Okorodudu, a former Middleweight champion, said that the boxer made the right decision by switching to the professional boxing.

    “His present age is a perfect time to launch his professional career because in my days, I went into professional boxing at the age of 24.

    “So, it is a perfect timing for him to move ahead in his career and relocating to the U.S. is a plus for him,’’ he said.

    The coach, however, advised the boxer to remain focused in his quest to become a great boxer.

    NAN reports that Ajagbe crashed out of the 2016 Olympics in the quarter-finals after losing to Ivan Dychko.

  • No Zika cases from Rio Olympics – WHO

    No Zika cases from Rio Olympics – WHO

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday said there have been no confirmed cases of Zika among travellers or athletes at the Rio Olympics.

    The WHO said its prediction that the Games would not fuel the spread of the Zika virus was being proved correct.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that some health experts had criticised the organisation for not calling for the Games to be moved or postponed.

    However, a research warning that two billion people could be at risk of Zika in Africa and Asia has been published.

    At a news conference in Geneva, the head of WHO’s health emergency programme, Peter Salama, said: “We don’t have any confirmed cases of Zika amongst travellers or amongst indeed athletes.’’

    And he said of the Paralympics, due to start on Sept. 7: “We are optimistic that the same risk assessment will hold and there will be little additional risks.’’

    WHO says Zika remains a global public health emergency.

    It had advised pregnant women to avoid travelling to the Games, and visitors to take precautions to avoid mosquito bites, because Zika has been linked to birth defects.

    But in spite of the concern voiced by some scientists, WHO had said mosquito activity was relatively low in Brazil in August.

    The top four golfers in the world, including Rory McIlroy, also pulled out of the Games because of fears over the virus.

    The Zika outbreak began in Brazil a year ago, but now more than 60 countries and territories have continuing transmission including, most recently, Singapore.

    More than 1,400 cases of microcephaly in babies have been linked to Zika in Brazil.

    The babies were born with abnormally small heads, a condition threatening their brain development.

    The virus has also been linked to a rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome.

     

  • Kenya defends dissolution of Olympic committee

    Kenya’s Sports Minister Hassan Wario on Monday maintained he would not reverse the decision to disband the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) over the ongoing “Rio fiasco” scandal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this is in spite of fears of an imminent ban from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over orders to dissolve it last week.

    Senior NOCK officials are currently being investigated —- and could face criminal charges —- over alleged mismanagement of Kenya’s Olympic team and officials during the Rio Olympics.

    Wario said an eight-member team would also look into the allegations.

    Complaints ranged from problems with accreditation and transportation to missing kit and trouble with accommodation.

    As part of the investigation, police raided the NOCK headquarters and found cartons containing kits meant for athletes.

    However, athletics boss Jackson Tuwei has warned that the decision to disband NOCK could affect the country’s reputation after registering good results at the just-ended Olympics.

    In a separate interview, retired athlete and NOCK President Kipchoge Keino raised similar concerns.

    Kenya is expected to send a delegation to IOC headquarters in a fortnight to defend its decision.

     

  • Rio Olympics: Men’s football quarter-final pairings

    Rio Olympics: Men’s football quarter-final pairings

    Below is the pairings for the quarter-finals round of the Rio Olympics men’s football event, with the matches scheduled for Saturday:

    Portugal vs Germany in Brasilia at the Estadio Nacional at 13.00hrs

    Nigeria vs Denmark in Salvador at the Arena Fonte Nova at 16.00hrs

    Korea Republic vs Honduras in Belo Horizonte at the Estadio Mineirao at 19.00hrs

    Brazil vs Colombia in Sao Paulo at the Arena Corinthians at 22.00hrs

    (All times are local)

  • Rousseff impeachment trial gets final go-ahead

    Rousseff impeachment trial gets final go-ahead

    Brazil’s Senate gave the final approval for an impeachment trial against suspended President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday, bringing closer her possible dismissal on charges of manipulating government accounts.

    After a marathon session lasting nearly 17 hours, the motion was carried with 59 votes in favour and 21 against.

    The lawmakers were voting after a Senate special commission last week also gave the green light for a trial.

    Deliberations on Rousseff’s fate are due to begin between Aug. 25 and 29 after the end of the Rio Olympics with a vote taking place by Sept. 2.

    A two-thirds majority is then needed in the final vote to impeach her.

    Rousseff was suspended from office on May 12, charged with manipulating government accounts to obscure the country’s economic situation during her 2014 re-election campaign.

    She rejects that charge and has called the suspension a “coup.”

    Michel Temer, the country’s vice president, was made interim president for 180 days after Rouseff’s suspension in May.

    He was booed by locals during the Olympics opening ceremony in Maracana stadium.

    If Rousseff is dismissed next month, Temer could stay in office until elections scheduled for 2018.

  • Rio Olympic: Dutch gymnast expelled for night of drinking

    Rio Olympic: Dutch gymnast expelled for night of drinking

    Dutch gymnast Yuri van Gelder has been expelled from the Rio Olympics for “gravely” violating team rules by going out for a night of drinking, the Dutch team said.

    It was reported that van Gelder committed the act after qualifying for the finals of the rings event.

    The 33-year-old left the Olympic village on Saturday evening and spent the night celebrating before he returned in the early hours of Sunday morning.

    This was a violation of rules concerning alcohol consumption and leaving the team base.

    “It’s terrible for Yuri, but this kind of behaviour is unacceptable,” Dutch team chef de mission Maurits Hendriks said in a statement on Tuesday.

    “In sports terms this is a disaster, but we had no other choice given the violation of our values.’’

    Van Gelder, the rings world champion in 2005, has a previous instance of violating rules at a major sporting event.

    In 2009, he was suspended from the Dutch Gymnastics Union for taking cocaine three days before the national championships.

    The Dutch team has imposed strict living conditions on its athletes

    According to media reports, they are forbidden from entering Rio for safety reasons, while athletes who have completed their events must return home to avoid distracting team mates.

  •  Countries scramble for Toriola as coach

     Countries scramble for Toriola as coach

    The rapturous applause that attended his exit from the Table Tennis event of the Rio Olympics could have been mistaken for a victorious ovation.  Nigeria’s legendary table tennis icon Segun Toriola exited the Rio Games but held his head high the way only legends do.

    His conqueror, Japan’s Niwa Koki who beat Segun in the men’s singles event of table tennis joined in acknowledging the iconic star who raised his hands to return the sporadic applause.

    Not long after his defeat,  Toriola who made history by joining the elite stars’ club of players to have attended 7 Olympics turned out to be the beautiful bride who is sought after by many countries to sign as their coach.

    ‘’Countries are queuing to see who will out-bid each other to land Toriola as coach’’, a very dependable source said here.

    Interestingly, too, Nigeria is also desirous of landing the history maker as their coach.

    President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation,  Enitan Oshodi said they’ve always been interested and would want to concretise the deal noting however that Toriola was still much fit to continue with his club functions. ‘’He’ll be an asset and has always been to our younger athletes. We’ll see how to make it even if it means living abroad and coaching from there as it were.

    The young man deserves all the accolades he gets. That is the result of discipline and hardwork. And honestly,  they are the things lacking in our youth players. They are in a hurry to ride expensive cars without working for it’’, Oshodi bemoaned.

    Just as the International Table Tennis Federation plan to honour his historic 7th Olympic appearance, there are feelers that officials of Team Nigeria are also planning to roll out the red carpet to this eminent Nigerian Ping Ponger.

  • Rio Olympics: Aruna Quadri sets African record

    Rio Olympics: Aruna Quadri sets African record

    *** qualifies for quarter final

    Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri on Monday night emerged as the first African ever to make it to the quarter finals of the men’s single table tennis event at the Olympics.

    Quadri, in a thrilling encounter, beat his German opponent, Boll Timo, 4-2 to seal a historic berth in the quarter finals of men’s single table tennis event.

    Before Monday’s win, Quadri was only at par with legend, Segun Toriola, who at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China, made it to the fourth round of the championship.

    After an awesome display on Sunday in which Quadri caused a major upset in Round 3, beating Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan 4-0 , many knew it would be suicidal to bet against the Nigerian who seemed to have hit his peak at the right time at the Olympics.

    In 10 minutes, Quadri blew away his German opponent, winning the first three sets 12-10 12-10, 12-5.

    However, German star, Boll who is ranked number 10 in Rio, halted Quadri’s run as he took the 4th set and 5th set 11-3, 11-5.

    In the keenly contested 6th set, Quadri held his nerve to win 11-9 and thus entered into the history books as the first African table tennis player to go this far.

  • Olympics: NSA hails U-23 Eagles, Quadri

    Olympics: NSA hails U-23 Eagles, Quadri

    Unmissable Incentives Limited – organizers of the Nigerian Sports Award have hailed the heroics of the U-23 Eagles as they progressed to the quarter-finals at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 after a 1-0 victory over Sweden in Group B thanks to a header by Sadiq Umar at the Amazonia Arena in Manaus.

    In congratulating the U-23 Eagles Team and Nigeria for the recent achievement in the Rio Olympics, the Executive Director of Unmissable Incentives, Mr. Kayode Idowu, hailed the teams’ remarkable performances in its first two opening games which has now solidified its place in the next round and also further identified the Dream Team as one of the favourites in the competition.

    He noted that this achievement would further brighten the hope which sport loving Nigerians have placed in them and the entire athletic team representing Nigeria, as they all strive for gold in the 2016 Rio Olympic games.

    Furthermore, Idowu also seized the moment to congratulate Nigerian Table Tennis Star Player and two-time winner of the Prestigious Nigerian Sports Award, Aruna Quadri on his recent 4-1 victory against Slovakia’s Yang Wang in the table tennis event held on Sunday.

    Idowu afterward used the medium to restate the commencement of nominations for the 2016 edition of the Nigerian Sports Award. “The Rio Olympics competition has also provided another platform through which Nigerians can evaluate the performances of all the participants and nominate them for the upcoming Nigerian Sports Award. They can visit the official website of the award or go through other social media platforms to nominate their sports personalities in the different categories” he said.

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