Sports
Nigerian Heroes Of The Winter Olympics
For a few weeks, before and during the 2018 Winter Olympics, Nigeria was a hot subject in the global media.
The reason was the audacious decision of four Nigerian female athletes based in the United States of America to take up an unusual sport, bobsleigh and skeleton, and to become the first set of Africans to participate in the Olympics-on-ice since it started in 1924
The Games were a true feast of super human feats and skills on ice, although Nigeria returned home without a medal of any colour, the country’s participation was one of the most inspiring stories of the games.
Even as the various teams in their national dresses and colours walked onto the tracks of the magnificent Pyeongyang Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony, the thunderous applause that welcomed the all-black and beautiful, green and white clad Nigerian girls that punctuated the monotony of white faces was a spontaneous reaction to an unfolding historical drama.
After the games the girls reminded the world of the real essence of the Olympic Movement through their conduct and spirit. They did not win any medals. They did not even come near winning one. Yet, with sheer grit and exuberant celebrations when they improved their personal best times even without winning, they taught the world how to celebrate the personal victories, and that ‘at the Olympics you do not have to come first to win’.
The Nigerian girls became some of the most celebrated, most publicised and most followed athletes at the Games, without mounting the medal rostrum.
The reception back home is shockingly different since after the games. And the girls are back in Nigeria.
One would have expected that the sports authorities will ride on the back of the momentum generated by the rest of the world during the games, to make further capital at home by welcoming them to Nigeria like the heroes they really are.
This would also help to shore up the confidence and spirit of new athletes preparing to go for a new ‘war’ at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in Australia to which Nigeria is preparing to send athletes in April.
Unfortunately, I have not read any reports that the country has shown as much love and appreciation for the girls as the rest of the world did.
I am not certain if anything, even a small reception, is being planned for these heroes.
I hate to think that the girls with their unprecedented and historic participation at the Games, one that brought positive global attention to the country, will now be left to wander into the wilderness of their own narrow interests.
As the country prepares for Australia, the atmosphere is fouled with pungent smell of poorly motivated athletes, poor camping conditions and even ‘disappearing’ athletes.
It is being reported that one of the country’s bright stars and hopes for a medal, the national men’s 400 metres champion, may have ‘decamped’ to another country because of the poor treatment meted to the team during the preparations.
The only sport that may have the athletes to compete and win medals during the Games is wrestling. The influence of a former Olympian, and Olympic Gold medalist himself, the current president of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, has a lot to play in the expected haul of some medals in the sport.
The prospects for more medals in other sports are anchored to prayers and miracles.
Meanwhile, let me take a moment to salute Chief Solomon Ogba for his vision, and Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye for supporting him for creating the fairy tale of the Winter Olympics.
The Eagles of the future!
I have never done this before. I also feel reluctant to do so now. But when certain things fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle, totally unplanned and unexpectedly, and point you in a direction that may have hidden blessings, you take a chance, as I am doing right now, and do it.
A week ago, I read about Nigeria beginning the campaign for the 2019 World Youth Championship for the under-20s, in short, the next generation of Super Eagles after the 2018 World Cup!
I am very interested to have a ring side opportunity to see some exceptional talents and add my voice to the assembling process.
There is a young man called Tolu Arogundade.
He graduated from SOCA, the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy in 2016.
In the 10 years of running the academy, the school prides itself with assisting graduating students to colleges and universities in America to complete their education. The goal has always been to complete and pocket at least a first degree, whilst playing and enjoying a full academic scholarship. Thereafter, the players can move to Europe and even remain in the USA to pursue their passion, a professional football career when they are still only 21 or 22 years of age.
That would give them a good 12 to 15 years of time to play football full time at the highest levels.
That’s the plan we sell to parents and have always followed, until Tolu came along.
Tolu Arogundade, an extremely academically brilliant student and an exceptional football player, decided he wanted to pursue a football career first and straight from school.
In 2017, he was invited on merit to the national Under-17 team. It was a confirmation of how good he is, apart from reinforcing his confidence and determination that he can make it to the professional ranks in football. This past week he has taken another giant step. He has been snatched by a German first division club, Tolu just signed a contract with SC Freiburg, in the German Bundesliga.
The second player in my radar is also 19. He has also just signed and plays for the time being, in the reserves of Club Atletico Banfield, Buenos Aires, in the Primero national league, in Argentina.
I know of only two Nigerians that have ever played in the Brazilian Premier league – Benjamin Ezeakor and Richard Owuobokiri.
To play in the premier division of a South American league can never be easy for an African player, because of the depth and number of exceptionally talented players in that environment. So, when I learnt that a Nigerian youngster had just signed for a premiership Club in Argentina, and is already playing in the reserves at age 19, all my sensors went into alert.
That’s how Feyiseitan Asagidigbi came into my radar.
I learnt had Feyi actually played for Nigeria at under-15 in 2014. He may probably be the first professional player from Nigeria to play in Argentina. Anyone that can achieve such a feat deserves some attention.
Then, there is this third player. He is also 19 and a true journeyman.
He is of Nigerian parentage but may have been born in Canada because the Canadians are dying to have him play for the national team. He was briefly in the under-20 squad last year but ‘ran’ back to Europe to pursue a more lucrative professional career.
Early last year, he played for Crystal Palace FC under-18 team in England. He has now relocated to France where he has signed to play in the national under-19 Championat.
My enquiry revealed his roots.Emmanuel Okorougo is a brilliant and exceptional talent.
As Nigeria starts her preparation for the Under-20 World Youth Championship qualifiers, I am directing the radar of Nigerian scouts to these three players, who could just be what the country needs to kick-start the next generation of Super Eagles after the 2018 World Cup.
Sports
African Games: Nigerian Women Athletes Make Country Proud Again
Before, the saying that ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better’ is usually met with resistance.
In sports, that saying has been validated over and over again with the performances of female athletes in comparison to their male counterparts, especially when it comes to quantifying their contributions to their country’s success at multi-sports events like the Olympic, Commonwealth and African Games.
For Nigeria, the women have once again proven to be the most consistent and reliable by winning the most medals for the country at the just-concluded 13th African Games in Ghana. Nigeria finished second behind Egypt in the overall medals table with a total of 121 medals comprising 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze.
The women’s contribution to Team Nigeria’s haul is 71 compared to the male athletes’ 47, while three were won in mixed events. That number makes up 58.67 per cent of Nigeria’s total medals.
Significantly, the women also won 35 out of Team Nigeria’s 47 gold, leaving 11 to the male, while the other one was won in the mixed 4x400m relay, which was inspired by one of the two women in the quartet, Omolara Ogunmakinju.
The women’s gold medal haul is a whopping 74 per cent of Nigeria’s total gold.
Interestingly, the women’s 35 gold would have been enough to see Nigeria top the overall medals table, if it was an all-female affair as Egypt, who won the Games recorded 33 gold, 22 silver and 22 bronze medals from their female athletes.
On the other hand, the men’s 11 gold would mean Nigeria would finish joint third with Tunisia, who’s men also won 11 gold medals while Egypt will retain their number one spot with 66 gold from their men and Algeria second with 19.
There were also 18 silver medals from the women, two more than the 16 won by the men. In terms of bronze medals, the men had the upper hand with 20 medals, two more than the women’s 18 while two medals were won in mixed games for a total of 40.
Notably, there were stellar performances from Nigeria’s female wrestlers at the Games as the six of them (Blessing Oborududu, Odunayo Adekuoroye, Hannah Reuben, Christiana Ogunsanya, Mercy Genesis and Esther Kolawole) had a clean sweep of the wrestling event.
Also, four among the five weightlifters who won three gold medals each are women (Eze Joy, Ayodele Ruth, Lawal Rafiatu, and Olarinoye Adijat).
All the seven female boxers for Nigeria also won medals – five gold (Joy Ojo, Patricia Mbata, Cynthia Ogunsemilore, Blessing Oraekwe, Jacinta Umunnakwe) and two silver (Zainab Adeshina, Kareem Shukura).
In athletics, world record holder in the women’s 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, retained her African Games title by winning a third consecutive crown while long jumper Ese Brume also successfully defended her title by winning a second African Games gold in the event.
According to the 2023 African Games website, in terms of representation, Nigeria’s 437 contingent also had more women (221) than the men (216).
Beyond the 2023 African Games, female Nigeria athletes have shown greater prospects than their male counterparts.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the women won all the gold for Team Nigeria as the country put up their best outing ever, snatching a record 12 gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals to erase their previous best performance at the Games, 11 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze medals in 1994 in Victoria, Canada.
The men took the back seat, managing just three silver and six bronze medals out of a total haul of 35 medals.
At the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Nigeria’s only two medals were won by two female athletes, Blessing Oborududu (silver in wrestling) while Brume won bronze in long jump.
Amusan (gold) and Brume (silver) were also the only two medallists for Nigeria at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, USA, where the former stormed to the current women’s 100m hurdles record (12.12s) and also became the first ever world champion from Nigeria.
Sports
African Games: Minister Promises Swift Preparation For Egypt 2027
Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, has declared that the preparations for the 2027 African Games which will be held in Egypt will begin immediately, as the contingent to the just concluded 13th edition of the Games in Ghana arrived on Sunday.
Team Nigeria arrived in the country’s capital Abuja and Lagos in batches on Sunday via chartered flights provided by the Ministry of Sports Development.
In Ghana, Team Nigeria had an impressive outing and finished second in the overall medals table with a total number of 121 medals comprising 47 gold, 34 silver and 40 bronze medals.
Although the foreign-based athletes who were part of Nigeria’s success at the Games have also returned directly to their bases, Enoh believes a head start ahead of the 2027 Games will give the country an edge in their quest to claim top spot for the first time since hosting the Games in 2003.
“On behalf of His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, I welcome you back to our dear country. I congratulate you for your outstanding performance in the just concluded 13th African Games that held in the Ghana,” the minister said in a statement obtained by our correspondent last Sunday.
“While you bask in the euphoria of your exploits and worthy sense of achievement, let me quickly remind you that preparations for the 14th African Games built to hold in Egypt starts now. As your Sports development minister, dubbed Nigeria’s Games Master General, I sure will be with you all the way.
“Without prejudice to the comprehensive audit and thorough evaluation of our overall performance at the games which will soon be carried out under my guidance and leadership, the time has come for our country to spend as much, if not more, as it does for competitions in development and preparation, if we ever hope to get atop the medals table which we have only achieved once in 2003 when the country hosted the Games.”
Sports
NWFL: Rivers Angels Striker Targets Women CAF Champions League
Rivers Angels FC of Port Harcourt striker, Blessing Okpe has said that her target was to keep working hard and ensure her team seals the CAF Women’s champion’s league ticket this season.
According to her, no game comes easy but what is important is the approach towards each of the games, adding that she is playing for Rivers Angels to give her best in the round leather game.
Okpe said this recently in a chat with the team media officer, Faith Meremegbunam and made available to Tidesports even as she expressed happiness for scoring her first goal against FC Robo that gave her team a draw.
The stand-in captain also expressed joy as she captained the team to an impressive performance, saying that she would do her best to ensure the team move forward.
“I feel so great and so happy to lead the team and scoring the first goal against our opponents.
“After the 1 -1 in Ikenne, we came back home and gave ourselves the target of beating them here in Port Harcourt.”
“We never wanted to lose two straight home matches because the two home matches are an advantage to us.
“After we drew with Robo, we had to fight hard to win matches.”
“We will keep working hard, my target this season is to qualify for CAF women’s Champions’ League,” Okpe said.
Rivers Angels’ next game is against Edo Queens in Benin on February 28.
By: Kiadum Edookor
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