Sports
Nigeria Others Battle For Relay Tickets In Benin
Four African countries, Ghana, Botswana, Togo and the Benin Republic are expected to participate in the relay events, as the national trials organised by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to select athletes for Oregon 2022 World Championships and the Commonwealth Games in England begins in Benin City tomorrow.
Tidesports learnt that only the Nigerian women’s 4x100m and the mixed relay teams have qualified for Oregon 2022, while the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams were yet to qualify as well as the women’s 4x400m relay team.
An official hinted that the Nigerian women’s 4x100m and the mixed relay teams also need to improve on their current ranking to guarantee qualification, as the country is currently ranked 16th in both events, which means the nation is occupying the last qualification spot.
According to an AFN official, the four countries, Ghana, Botswana, Togo and the Benin Republic want to use the AFN’s National Trials in Benin City to strengthen their relay squads.
“We are expecting these four countries to arrive in Lagos today (yesterday). Maybe, one or two more countries may join us on Friday,” the official stated.
Meanwhile, reigning African Games 100m champion, Raymond Ekevwo and reigning World U20 Athletics Championships 200m kings, Udodi Onwuzurike, will be among the six top ranked athletes that will seek to be in the national team for the first time at the 2022 Nigerian Athletics Championships in Benin.
Ekevwo and Onwuzurike will go head-to-head in the short sprint, with the latter on top of the Nigerian 100m list with the 10.03seconds he ran early this month.
Onwuzurike will participate in his first National Championships and will also be gunning for the 200m title, where he stands as the overwhelming favourite.
Also aiming for their first titles are sprinters Favour Ashe, Alaba Akintola and Rosemary Chukwuma.
Ashe holds a personal season’s best of 10.04s in the 100m and won a silver medal in the event at the 2022 NCAA outdoor championships early this month in Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
Akintola, the reigning National Sports Festival 200m champion, will also be bidding for his first title in the history of the Nigerian championships.
Like Ashe and Ekevwo, Akintola also holds a personal season’s best of 10.04 seconds achieved this year.
Chukwuma, the African Youth Games and African U20 double sprint champion is also seeking her first national title in the sprint event. With the confirmed absence of Favour Ofili, Chukwuma will have Tokyo Olympics semifinalist, Grace Nwokocha, compete in both the 100m and 200m events. Nwokocha is the defending champion in the half-lap race.
Also waiting to mount the podium as national champion is 400m barrier runner, Ezekiel Nathaniel, who ran 48.42 seconds last month to break Henry Amike’s 35-year-old record in the 400m hurdles. The athlete, who turned 19 on Tuesday, is waiting to be crowned Nigerian champion for the first time.
Home girl, Tima Godbless, will also be dreaming of upstaging the U.S.-based duo of Chukwuma and Nwokocha after improving from the 11.48 seconds achieved last year to 11.25 seconds in the 100m event at the 22nd African Athletics Championships in Mauritius about a week ago.
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.