Sports
12-Year-Old Boy Wins NAF 10Km Walk
A 12-year-old boy, Agbama Daniel, who participated in the Air Force 10 Km Annual Walk/Run/Jog exercise, organised by the Tactical Air Command (TAC), Makurdi, last Saturday in Makurdi, won the fastest Base Boy prize.
Agbama, who lives with his Airforce father at the NAF Base, was declared the fastest out of many other boys that competed in the race.
The boy said he had been running and jogging longer distances.
No official recording of the time within which the exercise was completed was given.
The event was organised for both security personnel and their families living at the NAF Base.
Tidesports source reports that more than 200 personnel drawn from the various security and paramilitary organisations also participated in the exercise in Makurdi.
Tidesports source also reports that the event, which holds annually, seeks to boost inter-agency cooperation among sister security agencies and promote healthy lifestyles of officers and men.
All activities were divided into male and female categories and competed for by both officers and men.
For the female category of Joggers, Flight Lieutenant OC Moses, emerged the only winner with a finish time of 1:11:27 seconds.
The first position of the Female Officers Walk was won by Squadron Leader EE Danjuma, who completed the exercise in 1:22:21 seconds, while the second position was won by Flight Lt. AJ Enemanna, with a time of 1:22:54 seconds. No one came third.
For the Air Women Joggers, Cpl. Awokoya, who finished the exercise in 52’5seconds came first, Air-Craftswoman (ACW) RN Nebo came second with 58.18 secs, while ACW-JC Onyezim was third with 1:40 mins.
Master Warrant Officer Emeghauabe, won the first position in ACW Walkers category, having finished in 1:15:16secs.
His closest rival Flight Sgt. BM Sofekum, finished with a time frame of 1:21:45secs, while another Master Warrant Officer Nwo Onyilo, came third with 1:25:75secs.
For the Officers’ Walkers category, Group Capt. A Idris, won with 1:12mins, Air Cdre BA Sani came second, recording 1:18:20secs, while AVM Idi Lubo, was third with 1:21:51secs.
In the Air Wives Association , two winners emerged, they are Patricia Omaka and Ukindigh Beatrice who finished their walk in 1:3mins and 1:09 minutes respectively.
Olakama, a Youth Corps member, serving at the NAF base was first in the race finishing the 10 Km run in just 43 minutes.
His rival Nwaiwa Andrew came second with 47 minutes, while Onyeogbo Kido was third with 1:52 minutes.
Speaking at the presentation of prizes, the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) TAC, AVM Oladayo Amao, charged soldiers to do regular exercises to maintain healthy lifestyles.
Oladayo said such regular fitness exercises enabled them to achieve mental, physical and emotional balance needed to carry out their duties.
“The exercise is meant to keep personnel physically, mentally and emotionally stable to cope with the demands and challenges of defending the country’s territorial borders,” he said.
He also commended the Chief of Air Staff( CAS), Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, for providing the logistics for the event and charged soldiers to take advantage of it to ensure regular exercises to maintain healthy bodies.
According to him, the exercise is in line with the CAS vision to reposition the Airforce to be highly professional and disciplined force through capacity building initiatives for effective and timely response to national security imperatives.
He said the exercise also provided a platform for sister security agencies to interact and build mutual relationships healthy for the task of defending the country.
He expressed happiness that there was no casualty during the exercise and commended the officers for their professionalism during the exercise. Rector, Army Institute of Technology, Makurdi,
Also, Maj-Gen Chukwuemeka Okonkwo, said physical fitness was central to military operations and charged security personnel to exercise regularly.
“For us in the military, we must be physically and mentally fit to perform our constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and properties as well as fight and defeat external enemies and overcome threats to territorial integrity,” he said.
He commended those who won laurels and urged them to train hard to keep the record, while also encouraging those who never won prizes to strive hard to win in the next edition.
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.