Sports
WAUG Sprints Champions Eye National Team
The two sprints champions of the 13th West Africa University Games (WAUG) say they are aiming for better times in their events for places in the national team.
In separate interviews the two sprinters mark orduen and Blessing Ibirah said their ultimate aim after becoming WAUG champions was to become national champions.
Mark Orduen of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, who won the men’s event, said that he was looking forward to a better time very soon.
“I cannot say I am really happy with this time, but I am looking forward to training for a better time which will make me do better at national events,’’ he said.
Orduen won the race with a time of 10.55 seconds after a photo-finish was used to separate him and Peter Odele of University of Benin.
Odele came second with 10.56 seconds, while teammate Anthony Ogede finished third with 10.58 seconds.
Orduen disclosed that his aim after the WAUG event was to prepare and work hard to make the national team.
“I can only be a better athlete by being in the national team, and I will be working toward that very soon.’’
On her part, the women’s event champion, Blessing Ibirah of University of Port Harcourt, said she was disappointed with her time in the final.
“While I am grateful to God for the race and my win, I am still disappointed with my time. I had better times in earlier races.
“In the heats, I ran 11.88, which is my personal best this year, while I ran 11.97 in the semi-final,’’ the 20-year-old final year student of Political and Administrative Studies said.
She, however, said she would be striving for a better time to have a place in the national team.
“I am aiming for the national team, even though I could only finish in the semi-finals at the recent AFN Golden League in Port Harcourt.
“I feel I can do better than this, and I will be training to get there very soon,’’ she said.Ibirah won the women’s 100 metres gold medal with a time of 12.00 seconds.
Bukola Adekunle of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, won the silver medal with 12.14 seconds, while Mary Esene of University of Benin, placed third with 12.19 seconds.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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