Sports
Nigeria Wins 11th Africa Armwrestling Championship In Lagos
Nigeria has emerged overall winner at the 11th Africa Armwrestling Championships which ended on Friday in Lagos.
The Tidesports source reports that Nigerian teams won 27 gold medals, 27 silver and 22 bronze medals at the three-day championship which held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere.
Nigeria’s overwhelming performance will go down as their best so far in the competition as no fewer than 45 armwrestlers competed to achieve the results.
Coming in the second position was Egypt with 24 gold medals, using only six armwrestlers to achieve their results.
Ghana claimed the third position clinching 18 gold medals, 22 silver and five bronze medals to the delight of the coach.
No fewer than 12 countries participated in the competition which kicked-off on July 19 and drew curtains on July 22.
In an interview with newsmen, the President of Africa Armwrestling Federation, Charles Asibey, said that the competition was a success.
He said that the event had lived up to expectations and was confident that the future was bright for the sport in Africa.
“Only five countries participated when Nigeria last hosted but now we have 12 countries shows that the sport has grown tremendously.”
“This is a big development and we are so proud that that the sport is now gradually lifting from the ground and gaining good acceptance.
“Armwrestling is a great sport with good techniques and it takes a lot of hard work and tactics to achieve set objectives.
“We are proud of what we have seen today especially from countries who are also participating for the first time indeed it is a great moment in the history of the sport,” Asibey said.
He added that Ghana will host the 12th edition in 2023 where the competition would be used as qualifications for the All Africa Games which also holds in Ghana.
Similarly, Samuel Jackson, the Vice President, Africa Armwrestling Federation, who also doubles as President, Nigeria Armwrestling Federation, expressed delight over the achievements.
He said that the essence of hosting the competition was to create more awareness for the sport to be a scoring sport at the coming Nigeria Sports Festival.
He said that the sport had grown sporadically and it cannot be termed as a lesser sport again, urging corporate bodies to invest in the success story.
Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has expressed his satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ preparation ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.
The team, now under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Eric Chelle, held its first training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to the new squad, Wizkid took to his X handle on Wednesday, writing, “New Super Eagles team! (I) love the energy,” he wrote.
The crucial qualifier is set to take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda on Friday, March 21, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm Nigerian time.
Following the match, Nigeria will return home to face Zimbabwe in Uyo on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles must secure maximum points from both fixtures to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria’s current squad features several in-form players, including Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey.
The match against Rwanda will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the three-time African champions, who are desperate for a positive result to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Super Eagles last played at the Amahoro Stadium in September 2024, where they were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda.
The Nationwide League One (NLO) has mandated the clubs that make up the Division One and U19 Youth League to complete their players’ facial verification process.
The Secretariat of the nation’s third-tier league regulatory body via its media department gave reasons on the essence of exercise as the March 30th players’ registration deadline draws near.
According to the NLO, clubs must complete facial verification for each player during registration to prevent duplicate registrations.
As regards players that have already been registered, the NLO explained that if a player fails verification (already registered with another club), the holding club must release the player. The NLO Admin will confirm the release and allow the verification of such a player for the new club.
The NLO stressed the importance of the release documentation and Registration Window Closure.
Releasing clubs must upload the player’s release document. This document will be reviewed and verified by the NLO Admin.
After the registration window closes, clubs cannot sign new players.
With the introduction of the new facial recognition technology, all clubs must register both their existing and new players.
These updates ensure a fair and transparent registration system. For assistance, clubs should contact NLO support.
Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will contest in the maiden WTT Contender Chennai in India after he was picked as a replacement for German star, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
The WTT Contender Chennai is the fifth WTT event of the year and marks the first staging of the series in the City.
The event which has a prize purse of $270,000 will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, India from March 25 to 30.
Aruna and nine other players have been confirmed for the men’s singles including his African rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar.3.
Other players confirmed so far include Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (17), Hugo Calderano of Brazil (6) and world number four Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
The 36-year-old has played in two WTT events this year.
In January, he made it as far as the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha where he lost in straight sets to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Last Wednesday, the world number 19 crashed out of the WTT Champions Chongqing 2025 after suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to world number two Wang Chuqin of China in their round of 32 clash.
Aruna will hope to put up a more commanding show in India, as he has been tipped to shine by the world body.
“Stay tuned. There’s more to come from Quadri Aruna in India,” WTT captioned Aruna’s video on Monday after announcing his participation.
WTT Executive Director of Events Mounir Bessah also said the competition is a bold step forward as they expect Aruna and other players to deliver a memorable spectacle.
“Chennai’s inclusion in the WTT Series calendar underscores our mission to expand the reach of table tennis globally while honouring the sport’s passionate fanbase in India. With a venue like the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and the support of Tamil Nadu’s government, we are ready to deliver an unforgettable spectacle for players and fans.”