Sports
Player Canvasses Support ForT/Tennis
One of the nation’s top
Table Tennis players, Onaolapo Ojo, has appealed to well meaning individuals to help in sponsoring more programmes to develop the sport.
Ojo told newsmen in Lagos on telephone that it was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that sport thrived.
“Everyone who loves table tennis and wants it to regain its lost glory should contribute their quota to the repositioning.
“The Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) alone cannot do it because they source for funds from the National Sports Commission and we all know that there are several other sports too that need funding,’’ he said.
Ojo, who was the Captain of Team Nigeria at the 2013 Tunisia Open Championships, said that Nigerians who made their name through the sport should come and give back to the young ones.
He said that it did not necessarily have to be through sponsorship of competitions, but by giving out basic kits to the young ones to aid their training.
“If we have like 10 Toyin Okenla-Ojeagas, believe me table tennis in the country would not be in the position it is now.
“She has taken it upon herself to give back to the country that made her by encouraging the young ones in an annual tourney.
“ NTTF President, Wahid Enitan-Oshodi, has really tried in repositioning the sport but I urge Nigerians to please partner with him so as to take the sport to another level.
“The president is a lover of the sport and he is very conversant with it that is why he has been able to record so much success in so short a time,’’ he said.
NAN reports that Ojo was the winner of the NTTF Pilot League which held at the Knock Up Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos in March.
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.
-
Niger Delta3 days ago
Eno Recommits To Accountability, Effective Service Delivery
-
Sports3 days ago
NBA train youths, coaches in Nigeria
-
Business3 days agoNew Naira Notes Still Valid – CBN
-
Sports3 days ago
We’ll use Sports to Promote Peace, create Wealth in Tai…Chairman.
-
Business3 days ago
Onne OMT Port Acquires 2 Cranes For Container Haulage
-
Niger Delta3 days ago
Bayelsa Charges Environment Ministry To End Bush Burning
-
Business3 days ago
Minister Asures On Blue Economy Policy
-
Rivers3 days agoImmunization: Rivers Records Decrease In Women, Infant Mortality … As OPTS Donates Cold Chain Refrigerators To PHCMB