Sports
Throwing Shot Put Excites Me – Gold Medalist
A 2018 National Sports Festival (NSF) shot put gold medalist, Eucharia Ogbukwo, says the game excites her because of her passion for it.
Ogbukwo said this on Monday in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
According to her, I love throwing the iron because I have always considered myself strong for the sport.
“I choose shot put because I love it with passion and it excites me. I have always known that I am a very strong lady from childhood. I just love to throw the iron.
“Though, a lot of people have told me to consider Discus and Hammer but I don’t really have passion for it,” she said.
Ogbukwo who threw a distance of 15.42m at the NSF said her target for the 2019 season was to make the standard for the All African Games and also win a medal, if selected.
“My aspiration in 2019 is to make the All African Games standard and not only making the standard but to also be a medalist.
“ I am very sure that if I train very hard with good facilities, I will win a medal,” she said.
The Mathematics graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) said that she wished that shot putters would be given more recognition.
“My dream is for the Federation to remember us and believe in us. We blacks are so strong and if you watch the USA shot put throwers, it is dominated by blacks.
“If only more efforts are put in place to help us we would be more motivated to train harder,” she said.
The athlete who also won it in 2012 said Valerie Adams of New Zealand was her role model.
“My role model is Valerie Adams of New Zealand, she inspires me a lot. Even after she had given birth, she bounced back stronger and continued her dominance,” she said.
The athlete who placed fifth at the 2018 Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) championships in Asaba said that her major obstacle was finance.
She also said that her journey into shot put had not been easy, adding that throwers needed sponsorship.
“My journey has not really been easy; we need help and sponsors in throws.
“As throwers, we train more than five to six hours in a day because we have different training sessions and programmes unlike the runners.
“But my biggest challenge in sports is finance, no money to train properly’’,she said.
Ogbukwo, who began her sports career in 2009 said she couldn’t have achieved her feat without her coaches, Lumen Christi Family, who are always supporting her.
“I felt so great and amazed at my winning in Abuja. I dedicate the medal to my family and coaches for pushing me so hard.
“And above all I dedicate my medal to God Almighty and to Lumen Christi Family where I draw my strength from. Without God I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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