Sports
‘NTTF Won’t Be Distracted By Past Successes’
The Nigeria Table
Tennis Federation (NTTF) has promised to remain focused in spite of successes it recorded in national and international sports circuits in 2014.
The President of NTTF, Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, told newsmen in Lagos that the federation would not allow the successes to distract it.
“The most important thing right now is advancing from the level we are, and aiming at bigger achievements.
“Yes, we have been achieving a whole lot recently, and I am glad things are working in our favour.
“Aruna Quadri and Onaolapo Ojo’s successes portend so much for the federation and the players.
“They are young players, achieving these strides now shows that they have a whole lot to achieve in the future,’’ he said.
Quadri won the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Male Table Tennis Star Awards in January in Dubai.
He also emerged the winner in the Star Point category of the awards.
Ojo is the current Italian Table Tennis champion.
Enitan-Oshodi, also the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development in Lagos State, said that the federation would ensure constant competitions for the players to sharpen their skills.
“We need more competitions for athletes; I mean both national and international ones.
“Those of them still in the country will be used to build up for international competitions; this is expected to put them on global sport light.
“Any player can be spotted by Asian or European clubs during an international competition; that is the reason we will give young players the opportunity to show case their talents at the international scene,’’ Enitan-Oshodi said.
He appealed to public-spirited Nigerians to partner with the federation in actualising its vision for the players this year.
“We need funds to be able to execute all the mapped out programmes in our calendar.
“We, at this end, cannot do it alone because we are incapacitated by funds but partnership with corporate bodies and well-spirited individuals will go a long way in achieving our targets,” he said.
Swimmers in action at 17th NSF in Port Harcourt
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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