Sports
Unseeded Player Stuns Champion At Tennis Tourney
Ukrainian Danylo Kalenichenko,at the weekend in Abuja, defeated tournament’s first seed and defending champion, Maximilian Neuchrist of Australia, 6 (4)-7 7-6 (1) 6-4 in their quarter-finals game.
Unseeded Kalenichenko, who was eliminated from the tournament in 2018 by Neuchrist, battled hard in the first set but succumbed to his opponent’s superior firepower and hard service.
Tournament favourite Neuchrist was blown away in the beginning of the second set but fought his way through before Kalenichenko managed to take the set 7-6 (1) to force the game into a third set.
Having dragged the game into a third set, there was no doubt as to who would take the decider, as Kalenichenko dominated a physically strained Neuchrist to claim the set 6-4.
Neuchrist told newsmen shortly after the 2hour 34 minutes game that his poor fitness contributed to the stunning defeat.
“I am injured and can’t play well since last week. There is a small tear in my calf muscle that was why I could not make many fast moves.
‘’But I felt I could rely on my biggest weapon, which is my serve.
“It was what took me that far in the game. I think I’ll pull out of next week’s (GSL Open) tournament to take care of myself,” he said.
On the game itself, Neuchrist said Kalenichenko’s bravery won him the tie.
“Yes, it was a great match and I tried to do everything I can to break my opponent’s rhythm. I give him credit for his bravery.
“He almost panicked in the beginning of the match like many of my previous opponents but in the end, he kept a cool head.
“In the second set, I had a chance to break but he played through his mistakes and got the needed points,” he said.
Kalenichenko, who had a 100 per cent service game winning ratio, said he would try not to be put under pressure for defeating the defending champion at the quarter-finals.
“I don’t feel any pressure, as I’m enjoying my tennis at the moment. The playing condition is tough here and it’s not my ideal condition but I’m fighting for every shot and every game.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor