Sports
Lagos Tops Primary Schools Meet
Lagos on Thursday topped the maiden edition of the University Press Plc-sponsored National Primary School Athletics Championships tagged “Schoolympics’’ held at the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan.
The Tidesports source reports that Lagos beat 15 participating states with a total of nine gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the 14 events featured in the competition.
In addition to emerging winners, Lagos also produced the most outstanding female athlete, Ubong Edet, who won three gold medals.
Kaduna, the runners-up with four gold, three and one bronze medals, had the best
male athlete, Abdulrahman Lawal, who bagged two gold medals.
Two-gold medal female winner, Adama Alabama, also came from Kaduna State.
Hosts Oyo, finished third with one gold and one bronze, while Imo came fourth with five silver and two bronze medals.
Ogun was fifth with two silver and six bronze medals, while Ekiti was sixth with one silver medal.
Edet, 14, a primary six pupil of African Church Primary School, Ifako-Ijaye, bagged her three gold in the 100m, 200m and 4X100m relay.
Lawal, 13, the best male athlete, who is a primary six pupil of Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) School, Railway Quarters, Kaduna, won the boys’ 800m, 1500m and a silver in the 400m.
Alabama, 12, a primary six pupil also from LGEA School, Kaduna, won the 800m and 1500m.
Jubrin Hassan, Sports Officer, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), said the state was represented by eight athletes, two of whom were disqualified for being over-aged.
Hassan said all their medals came mostly from the middle and long distance events.
Ganiyu Adebayo, the University Press Plc Executive Director (Finance), expressed regret that no official from the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) or the National Sports Commission (NSC) was at the meet.
Adebayo said the absence of officials from both bodies would not deter the company from contributing its quota to sports development in the country.
He promised that the company would continue to sponsor the competition.
Raji Dimeji, President of the National Association of Primary Schools Games and Sports Teachers (NAPSGAST), organisers of the competition, described the competition as a huge success.
Dimeji said he was confident the success of the maiden edition would encourage more states to participate in subsequent events as well as attract more sponsors.
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.
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