Sports
Scrabble: Nigeria Titles Chase Ends In US
Nigeria’s hope of retaining the individual and team titles at the World English Scrabble Players Association Championship (WESPAC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. was dashed on matchday four of the competition, which ended on Wednesday.
Hosts, United State, won the competition after five days of the action at the world’s gaming capital.
Former world champion, Wellington Jighere, who topped the table for three days, lost his last two rounds of games to Adam Logan of Canada and David Eldar of Australia to end the competition in fourth position.
The two back to back defeats means Jighere, the 2015 world champion, did not play the best of seven final yesterday. He secured 22 wins from 32 games to end the championship in fourth position.
David Eldar, a former world champion from Australia, faced HarshanLamabadusuriya of England in the best of seven final.
HarshanLamabadusuriya, in his first world championship final, won one game more than Wellington Jighere, while David Eldar reached the final with 22 wins and a draw.
Nsikak Solomon Etim ended the competition as 14th best player, Enoch Nwali ended as number 17, TuoyoMayuku occupied the 25th spot and Eta Karo at number 35. They were Nigeria’s top five players at the championship.
Charles Haizel Tachie-Menson was Ghana’s highest ranked player at number 8, while Patrick Mulemena Mpundu of Zambia finished in the 65th position to end as the best player from Southern Africa.
Vice president of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, foremost Sports Marketer and founder of Okpekpe Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor and top Sports Journalist and Media Strategist, Mitchel Obi have lent their voices in support of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF).
The personalities with backgrounds in sports administration, marketing and media spoke separately in commendation of the festival, an initiative of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with Dunamis Icon as consultants.
“This is a positive addition to the evolving sports business ecosystem because it is not just a springboard for identifying talents, it also offers a platform to truly hone the skills of those already discovered”, remarked Obi, who served as Special Advisor to a former Sports Minister, late Anthony Ikhazabor.
He said the festival will be a flagship event in the region that would trigger interest in sports among the youths and people of the region.
Edo State-born Itemuagbor commended the NDDC for the decision to add sports in the list of their intervention projects in the region, adding that: “This speaks directly to the problem of youth restiveness which is of great concern to our people.”
Raphael Onyedika has now emerged as a major doubt for the Super Eagles’ must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe later this month.
The midfielder was forced out early from last week’s league game against Standard Liege.
He has not recovered from the injury and so will miss today’s league match against Gent and may also miss a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Aston Villa yesterday.
The Super Eagles take on Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, before they face Zimbabwe in Uyo four days later in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Al-Khalood defender, William Troost-Ekong, has shared his experience on the difficulties of winning the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) while describing it a must win trophy.
The former Watford FC defender has competed in the tournament three times but has yet to lift the trophy.
“I’ve been there three times now, bronze medal, silver medal, but I haven’t had the chance to win it. That remains my ultimate goal,” he told Tidesports source.
“It means so much to me and all the kids growing up in Africa and Nigeria.”