Sports
D’Tigress World Cup Squad Provides Difficulty For Coaches
With stiff competition among the 22 players to represent Nigeria for the coming FIBA Women World Cup in Tenerife, Spain, Assistant Coach Peter Ahmed has said that picking the 12 players to represent Nigeria on the team would be difficult.
Ahmedu said the 22 players slugging for a shirt in the Nigeria’s women’s team, D’Tigress currently camping in Atlanta, United States are the best players he has ever worked with.
“It has been a difficult one for us here because of the level of competition between the new and the old fighting players trying to pick shirts to the world championship in Spain.
“The players are competing hard in order to pick a shirt and make it to the second phase of the screening which will eventually be in Lagos from the Aug. 19,’’ Ahmedu said.
Ahmedu said the recall of 10 players out of the 12 that won the 2017 Afrobasket Championship in Mali has impacted greatly on the continued development of the team.
He said that he was impressed at the level of match fitness and alertness compared to what the technical crew saw in 2017.
“When we played in 2017, not all the players were in good shape as well as playing for good teams.
“From what we have on ground, the experience playing regular and competitive basketball has given the team an edge.”
He confirmed that the duo of Nkechi Akashili and Nkem Akaraiwe who could not secure visa, will join the team when the second phase of training starts in Lagos.
Ahmedu expressed disappointment over the refusal of the US embassy to issue visas to the two players, but said he was optimistic that as core professionals, the players will not be deterred by the setback.
“We hope by the time we get back to Nigeria, we are going to have the inclusion of Akashili and Akaraiwe to see what they can bring into the team.”
Ahmedu who is the Head coach of First Bank Basketball Club of Lagos assured that the Technical Crew led by Sam Vincent is working hard to produce the best 12 players.
Paired in Group B alongside Argentina and Turkey, the current African champions will start their world cup campaign against Australia on Saturday, 22 September.
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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