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2014 YOG: Nigeria Volleyball Targets Exposure

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Table Tennis players in action during a national event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently.

Table Tennis players in action during a national event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently.

The national beach vol
leyball team Coach Chakuma Ismail has said participating in the 2014 Youth Olympics Games (YOG) would be an eye-opener for the team’s exposure.
Ismail told newsmen in Abuja that winning was not the focus because it was their first time qualifying for the game.
According to him, a debut in the Olympics will be an eye opener for the teams to be exposed to the new environment and the sand texture used in beach volleyball.
“This is a great achievement to the volleyball family for qualifying for the YOG. We qualified for the first time in the history of this country, which has shown the level of volleyball development in Nigeria.
“It is not the winning that matters in this first outing, rather the exposure, experience and to see the way and manner it’s being played by other nation because the depth of the sand will be different,“ he said.
He said that with this recent development it had shown that the game of volleyball would bring glory to the country in the international scene.
Nigeria male and female teams qualified for the YOG after participating in the African qualifiers held in Accra, Ghana from April 10 to 13.
The coach expressed the hope that camping would commenced in May, adding the National Sports Commission would decide when they would resume camp.
“It will be very good if we start camping early enough to enable us prepare well and give us that confidence needed.
“I am going to use the same players that participated in the qualifiers, I don’t intend to change anyone of them, except based on injury,’’ he added.
The  qualification, Nigeria will join six other African countries to hoist Africa’s flags at the YOG.
The YOG is the youth edition of the Olympics Games with athletes’ age stipulated between 14 and 18 years.
Beach volleyball, which replaced indoor volleyball, is one of the 28 events to be competed for at the YOG billed for China from August 16 to 28.

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CHELSEA FANS GIVE ENZO MIXED RECEPTION 

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Enzo Fernandez was booed by some supporters on the day when Morgan Rogers scored on his first appearance for Chelsea in a 3-1 win against Real Sociedad.

Joao Pedro also continued his fine pre-season form with a double as manager Xabi Alonso offered a glimpse of what could be his blueprint for the season.

But the action was overshadowed by the reaction to Fernandez’s second-half appearance, less than 24 hours after Chelsea’s self-imposed transfer deadline had passed.

Fernandez had been keen to join Real Madrid earlier this summer before the Spanish club ended their interest in the Argentine.

His representatives later held talks with Manchester City, but no offer was made to meet Chelsea‘s £120m valuation before Friday’s deadline.

Fernandez was booed by some early arrivals at Stamford Bridge when his name was read out 45 minutes before kick-off.

There were then audible boos when Fernandez came on in the 62nd minute.

Chelsea supporters appeared divided, with others responding by chanting his name.

Yet, it was a signal of Alonso and Chelsea‘s backing that when Reece James left the field he passed his long-time vice-captain the armband as usual.

Each touch of the ball was greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers.

It followed attempts by some supporters to move on from a saga that appears to have ended with Chelsea now expecting to keep one of their best players.

Others, however, remain unhappy with his perceived disloyalty, having come out publicly about his desire to move to Madrid, with his agent Javier Pastore also claiming he is underpaid.

It will be interesting to see how supporters of the Premier League’s other 19 clubs react to Fernandez, given his celebrations and social media jibes after Argentina beat England in a World Cup semi-final in July.

That will remain an issue whether he remains at Chelsea or Manchester City elect to revive their interest and attempt to reunite him with his former manager Enzo Maresca before deadline day on 1 September.

It took Rogers only seven minutes to score his first goal in a Chelsea shirt as he reacted quickest after Alex Remiro saved Joao Pedro’s initial header.

The £117m club record signing from Aston Villa initially looked sharp and linked well with Cole Palmer and Pedro in Chelsea‘s front three.

Within 10 minutes of his debut, supporters were already chanting his name.

However, it was understandable that Rogers faded as the match wore on, given he had trained for less than a week since returning from holiday before his 62-minute outing.

Beyond Rogers, Joao Pedro has been the star of Chelsea‘s pre-season.

In this outing he headed Chelsea back in front in the 47th minute before adding a side-footed finish 30 minutes later to seal victory after Sociedad had equalised just before half-time through Jon Mikel Aramburu’s volley.

Chelsea lost control towards the end of the first half and looked vulnerable, but they were much improved after the break.

 

 

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Rivers-born Chess Player Clinches Third Position At World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship 

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A veteran Rivers State chess player, Apollos Akomaka, has finished in joint 3rd place at the just-concluded World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship held in Abuja.
Akomaka, who is the director of physiotherapy at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, overcame a shaky start to secure a podium finish in the 11-round rapid event that began on August 2.
The tournament featured top chess players from several countries.
After losing his opening game, the defining moment for Akomaka came between Rounds 7 and 11.
He raised his game and began defeating some of the top-ranked players in the event.
The Rivers-born player ended the championship tied for 3rd place in the U2000 category with 6.5 points out of 11, alongside Cameroon’s national champion, Noumbo Vidal.
His final game was against Vidal, with the Nigerian playing the black pieces.
Vidal opened with a queen’s gambit but quickly transposed into an English opening with a double fianchetto attack.
Akomaka responded sharply with a king’s Indian defense and soon launched a kingside attack from a defensive position.
The pressure paid off, resulting in an immediate material gain, a knight for a rook, and leaving Akomaka with a strong attacking advantage.
Vidal fought hard to avoid mate and managed to steer the game into an endgame, where he found some respect. At that point, the Cameroon champion offered a draw, which Akomaka accepted.
Speaking after the event, Akomaka said that he is resilient and determined after the poor start but happy that he finished on the podium.
He expressed optimism that in subsequent competitions he will make Rivers State proud and Nigeria at large.
Akomaka has won both local and national chess championships in recent times.
He is passionate about chess; besides, he has equally sponsored several national chess tournaments in Nigeria.
The World Amateur Rapid Chess Championship concluded with Akomaka of Rivers State,
Nigeria, battling back from an early loss to end among the top three in his category
Tonye Orabere/Kiadum Edookor
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Team Nigeria Secures Women’s 4x100m, 4x400m Finals at World U20 Championships

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Team Nigeria continued its impressive showing at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, securing places in both the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay finals after strong performances in the heats.
The Nigerian quartet of Becky Ebiyadi, Jecinta Lawrence, Tejiri Praise Ugoh and Faith Ezechukwu booked their place in the women’s 4x400m final after clocking a season’s best of 3:35.28.
Nigeria finished third in the heat behind Italy and Great Britain, doing enough to advance to the final and remain firmly in contention for a medal.
In the women’s 4x100m, Ugoh joined Lucy Nwankwo, Chigozie Nwankwo and Oluebube Ezechukwu as Nigeria produced another season’s best, clocking 43.65 seconds to secure an automatic ticket to the women’s 4x100m final.
The qualification was sealed by a sensational anchor leg from Ezechukwu. Receiving the baton nearly 20 metres behind the United States, the Nigerian launched a determined charge down the home straight, rapidly closing the gap before edging the Americans at the line to claim the third automatic qualifying position.
Nigeria stopped the clock at 43.65 seconds, just 0.02 seconds ahead of the United States, who finished in 43.67 seconds.
The performances mean Nigeria will now contest both women’s relay finals, further strengthening the country’s medal prospects at the championships.
In Saturday’s evening phase of the event, Success Uyibo will compete in the 200m women’s final while the 4x100m compete in the women’s final.
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