Sports
Delays, Technical Hitches Mar Taekwondo Int’l Open Championship
The 2019 Nigeria Taekwondo International Open Championship kicked off amidst delays and technical hitches at the velodrome of the Abuja National Stadium last Friday.
The tournament started on a forgettable note, as organisational delays and technical failure characterised the better part of early proceedings on Day 1.
Tidesports source reports that early signs of snags came when the replay specialist from Egypt penciled down for the event missed his flight.
Organisers had to source an improvised replay specialist.
Tidesports also gathered that the Opening Ceremony of the event could not hold as invited guests, led by the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, did not show up.
The tournament then had to continue without an opening ceremony.
And just after two fights, the electronic system malfunctioned midway into the third fight, forcing organisers to temporarily halt the event.
Orgernisers were still trying to figure out how to put the electronic system back to work when the entire velodrome was plunged into power failure.
To the dismay of some foreign delegates, power supply to the venue kept on fluctuating even as the fights went on.
A World Taekwondo Technical Delegate to the event, Myriam Baverel, however downplayed the hurdles while speaking with newsmen, stating that they were not peculiar to Nigeria.
“It is normal to face certain difficulties when staging this kind of tournament. Today is the first day of the tournament and as with every tournament it is always more difficult and complicated to start.
“We started late and are now facing some technical problems. But all these challenges will be overcome and, at the end, we hope to conclude that it was a successful tournament.
“I am confident things will get better as we progress. The most important thing is for the tournament to conform to international rules and the athletes compete fairly,” she said.
President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), Margaret Binga, also tried to put up a spirited demeanour, promising an interesting tournament and exciting closing ceremony.
“This is taekwondo and the athletes are eager to fight. Whatever excitement was missed by not staging an opening ceremony will be packaged into the closing ceremony,” she said.
According to the organisers, 121 athletes from 15 countries are participating in the tournament, which is slated to run between Friday and Sunday.
2019 Nigeria Taekwondo International Open Championship is a World Taekwondo-recognised G-1 tournament being hosted by Nigeria for the first time.
Binga said the tournament would help prepare Nigerian athletes for the upcoming African Games.
“We expect to see our athletes compete with the rest of the world. This tournament is an opportunity for our athletes to gain exposure and points because this tournament is recognised by the international body.
“You all know that the African Games is just months away and this is an ample opportunity for us to prepare our athletes ahead of the games.
“It will offer us improvement on our strength and provide an avenue for us to work on areas we have challenges in,” she said.
Also speaking about what the tournament offers, Baverel said it would propel the development of taekwondo in the West African sub-region.
“It’s the first time that a G-1 tournament is organised in Nigeria. So, it’s a big event for the future and development of taekwondo in this part of Africa.
“It is important for athletes because they can gain points and qualify for the Olympics. It is a great achievement to be able to successfully organise a competition of this magnitude,” she added.
In the opening fights of the tournament, Issoufou Mariama of Niger Republic defeated Khadidjat Adeyanju of the Nigerian Army 26-20 in the -49kg female category.
Lawan Sulaiman of Nigeria however revenged the loss by beating Mariama’s countryman Ibrahim Ousmane 16-14 in the -58kg male category.
In a bid to make the Pillar of Associations Rivers state football tournament to become a permanent annual feature in Rivers state football calendar and a veritable platform for alternative career opportunity for Pillar members and members of Rivers football community, the Chairman of the tournament’s Organising Committee, Comrade Franklin Obute has stated that they were open to welcoming sponsorships from corporate entities and well meaning individuals.
Comrade Obute in an interview with news men on a match day at the ongoing competition at the Rivers State University’s ground said that the Pillar of Associations were ready to partner interested parties, who would be willing to invest in the competition through sponsorship towards elevating the quality and standard of the tournament.
According to him, “The Pillar of Associations tournament, due to the opportunities available, owing to the sheer number of businesses and members obtainable in the Pillar, would be a very attractive opportunity to exploit through sponsorship”.
He stated that there would be a conscious efforts toward sensitising the corporate and private environments to buy into the vision and objectives of the tournament. He explained that due to the open nature of the competition, whereby members of the association are allowed to engage any footballer from across the country, whether a business man or not, any sponsor would be able to enjoy unimaginable mileage.
“Every multinational company, private businesses should aspire to be part of the sponsorship of this tournament because there are so much benefits derivable therein, the coverage is very wide. You know that organising a football tournament of this nature is capital intensive, so, any sponsorship to add more value is welcomed”, he said.
The 2025 edition is currently ongoing and has reached the second round stage where matches are now being played on knockout basis, beginning from Friday.
By: Gabriel Nwanetanya
Some of the best golfers across Africa are expected to converge on the Ikoyi Club 1938 Golf Section for the three-day Ikoyi Ladies Golf Tournament holding from November 11 to 13.
The star-studded amateur open tournament is part of the activities lined up by the leadership of the club to celebrate the ladies’ tournament’s 50th anniversary.
Speaking at a world press conference at the Club’s headquarters in Ikoyi, the Ladies Club Captain, Mrs Peggy Onwu, explained that the tournament will offer opportunity for leading amateur golfers across 11 countries of the world to showcase their skills on the green lawn.
According to her, over 150 golfers have already registered for the open tournament, which will attract mouth-watering prizes, including a trophy, a premium ticket to the United States of America, among others.
The event will be preceded by ‘Twilight evening,’ which will see the participants play the golf game towards dawn, in a relaxed atmosphere with cocktails, networking and good music.
She thanked the various sponsors of tournament, including PWC, Delta Airline, Western Star, First EGP, among others, for identifying and keying into the Club’s goals and aspirations as part of their corporate social responsibilities.
Mrs. Onwu added that the event was not only a celebration of resilience, commitment, dedication and sacrifice, but a rare display of exemplary team spirit by all members of the Ladies Golf Section.
Thrilled by the presence of a Nigerian-born Italy- based golfer and fashion icon, Bali Lawal, as well as other professionals expected to grace the tournament, she promised that the tournament will be a memorable outing aimed at mentoring ladies keen on honing their golfing skills.
Speaking in the same vein, Vice Lady Captain, Annie Eimiakhena, explained that the tournament will entail three days of competitive outing showing skills, professional dexterity.
She added that participants and golfers will use the opportunity of the event to network among themselves, while a Masterclass will be held to educate would-be golfers on the dynamics of the game.
The Technical Manager of Rivers United FC of Port Harcourt, Finidi George has praised his boys (players) as they ran away with a point in the rescheduled match day nine of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) against Bendel Insurance.
According to him, before the game, he told his boys that they have to put up a good fighting spirit in the game, knowing that it will not be easy at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Finidi said this last Thursday in his post match interview with sports journalists and made available to Tidesports after they secured a goalless draw against Insurance.
He explained that in the first half, the game was 50-50 but in the second half after 15 to 20 minutes, my players pushed them back, looking for goal but they were able to hold them and got the draw.
“ From onset, I knew it was going to be a difficult game. Yes, we have to defend deep and get something. Kudos to my boys, they put up a good fighting spirit.
“ Despite the host creating good number of chances even hitting the crossbar but I must say that the draw is not a bad result.
“ Wasiu Falolu came closer in the second half but his long ranged shot just went over the bar.
“It was not a bad result but we have to move on and see how we can get good results from other matches” Finidi said.
By: Kiadum Edookor