Sports
Rivers Lived Up To Expectation – Igwe
Despite trailing Delta State on the medals table of the ongoing 2012 National Sports Festival in Lagos, Rivers state Commissioner for Sports, Hon Fred Igwe has declared that Team Rivers has done well at the sports fiesta.
Hon Igwe made this declaration while addressing members of the sporting press at the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, SWAN,Lagos, secretariat.
According to the Commissioner, the team had declared that they were coming to the festival to win and defend the title it won as hosts during Garden City Games 2011, with every confidence their preparations inspired.
The confidence, he said, was based on trust to perform and win on a level playing ground backed by fair play and transparency.
However, he believed that Team Rivers has not been getting fair treatment at the festival, especially, in officiating and handling of issues concerning the team.
“A lot of people don’t want Rivers to win at this festival, there is obvious bias against the team. How can one explain allowing officials that came with athletes to officiate at the games?”, he queried.
He cited the case of Team Rivers swimmer, Duotimi Gagbe, who was as good as at least nine gold medals, but was wrongly suspended and missed some of her events before the state could get a respite from the main organisers of the Festival, as a case of bad treatment to the aspirations of the team.
He was disappointed that competitions at this festival have been 60 per cent politics and 40 per cent performance based.
The Commissioner, however, expressed pride over the fact that Rivers state was able to produce the king and star of Eko 2012 by winning the 100m gold.
On Wednesday, Nicholas Imhoaperamhe of Team Rivers clocked a time of 10.57 seconds to win the 100metres men’s race and emerge the fastest man of the festival. Former champion,Chukwuma Onyeakwu of Cross River returned 10.56 sconds to beat Edo state’s Victor Ikhazobor to the silver medal.
Peace Ukah of Ondo, Margaret Benson of Delta and Mariam Edet Bassey Cross River states won gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively in the women’s 100 metres event.
“We are the king of the competition, we won the most prestigious medal(100m) of the meet”, stated Igwe.
EKO 2012: We have new revelations—Technical Director
The Technical Director, Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Tony Oghuma has said that new talents have been discovered at the on-going 18th national sports festival.
He said in Lagos on Tuesday that from the matches played , new revelations have emerged from some states.
He said federation was closely monitoring the performance of the new talents and others yet to emerge.
“So far, so good. What is important to me is the fact that we have had a lot of revelations here.
“Young players have emerged and we have been able to identify them ,which is good for the federation.
“To a large extent, I think the standard is high ,the standard is very high. But, I think, we can do better than this if a few things are put in place. One, we will see better volleyball at play, if the national sports festival is open to all volleyball players in Nigeria.
“You will find that, what you are seeing are just the beginners in the game. Our elite players, most of them do not have festival again, and as such, you can’t find them here,’’ he said.
Oghuma suggested that future national sports festivals be thrown open to enable the elite players compete with others.
He said the inability of elite players to compete because of the law restricting athletes who had taken part in three festivals, had affected the game.
The Technical Director said after the festival, emphasis would be placed on grassroots talent hunt and the need to sponsor more national volleyball championships.
“Talents are bound in Nigeria. Our only problem is to have the opportunity to show case them, by way of organizing competitions.
“That is why we have been pleading with Nigerians that are blessed with good finances, to come to the Nigeria Volleyball Federation to partner with us to sponsor championships ,so that these young stars can have an opportunity , to show case their talents,’’ he said.
Sports
Inter Best Juventus To Maintain Serie A Lead
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
Sports
Szoboszlai’s Real Madrid Dream Sparks Concern At Liverpool
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Sports
Wolves Beat Man Utd Conquerors
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.
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