Sports
Six Athletes Storm Benin For C’Wealth Games
Six African Games and African Athletics Championship champions are due to compete in Benin next week for tickets to next month’s World Athletics Championship in Oregon, USA, and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The media Head for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Oludare Esan, disclosed that the reigning African champions will be led by Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, the African Games and African Championship gold medalist and competition’s record holder.
“Raymond Ekevwo who won the 100m gold at the African Games in 2019 in Rabat is also confirmed and will be battling not just for the ticket but also his first national title in the blue ribbon event,” said Esan.
Continuing, Esan said that Olympic, World, and Commonwealth Games medalist and reigning African Games long jump queen, Ese Brume, will also be in Benin as she seeks her fifth national title and a ticket to Oregon, where she hopes to become the first Nigerian woman to win two World Championship individual medals in two editions.
“Tobi Amusan who won the 100m hurdles title last week in Mauritius (at the African Athletics Championship) will also be around to defend the sprint hurdles title she won at the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba last year.
“Amusan is also the reigning African Games champion and record holder. Others are Oyesade Olatoye, the African Games shot put champion who won a historic hammer gold for Nigeria at the 22nd African Championship last week in Mauritius.”
According to the AFN media chief, Chioma Onyekwere, the defending African Games and African Championship discus champion, will attend the Commonwealth Games and World Championship trials in Benin.
Onyekwere set a new 59.91m Games record to win the African Games gold in 2019.
Triple jumper Grace Anigbata and javelin thrower Kelechi Nwanaga are two more African Games champions who have yet to be confirmed for the Benin championship.
“Both have met the qualification standard for the Commonwealth Games and World Championship trials and we will know before the end of the week if they will be flying in from the USA for the championship,” said Esan.
The Nigeria championships, which also double as Commonwealth Games and World Championship trials, will be held in the main bowl of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the Edo state capital, from June 21 to June 23.
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.
-
News3 days agoNigeria Has No Reason To Be Poor – Ooni
-
News3 days agoIN RIVERS, GOD REMAINS OUR ULTIMATE LIBERATOR – FUBARA
-
News3 days agoCHRISTMAS: FUBARA, WIFE HOST RIVERS CHILDREN, TASK THEM ON EXEMPLARY CONDUCT
-
Nation5 days agoBodo-Bonny Road: Julius Berger Workforce Maintains Steady Work to ensure timely delivery
-
News3 days agoFUBARA MOURNS FORMER RIVERS GOV
-
Transport3 days ago‘Poor State Of Road Affecting Onne Port’s Operations’
-
News3 days agoMayor Of Housing Wins Man Of The Year Award
-
News3 days agoArmy Destroys 20 Illegal Refineries, Arrests Eight In N’Delta