Sports
Quadri, Egypt’s Meshref, Win African Championships Qualifiers
Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri and Egypt’s Dina Meshref have secured places at the 2017 ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup scheduled for later this year.
They qualified after emerging champions at the 2017 ITTF-African Cup which started on Saturday and ended on Monday in Agadir, Morocco.
A statement by ITTF-Africa Media Department shows that Quadri ended the dominance of Omar Assar of Egypt in a tight seven-game encounter in the men’s competition.
He won 4-3 (11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9) to make his second consecutive appearance at the Men’s World Cup.
The statement quotes the 28-year-old Quadri as saying after the match: “I am so happy that I won because it was not an easy match.
“I am happy that my backhand worked well in the match, because I was afraid to use it against my friend, Assar whom I know was in his best form this time.
“I think Assar played (well) and that I was just lucky today (Monday) because sometime luck played crucial role in matches.’’
The statement also has it that the women’s singles final was another classic encounter between Egypt’s Dina Meshref and Nigeria’s Olufunke Oshonaike.
The 41-year-old Oshonaike was unable to repeat her success against Meshref this time round, at the same venue where she shocked the young Egyptian at the 2016 ITTF-African Championships.
The 23-year-old Egyptian was determined not to let history repeat itself, by putting up an impressive performance to sweep the title 4-0 (11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 11-2).
“It was not an easy match and this cannot be judged by the result,’’ Meshref was quoted as saying after her victory.
“The first two games were very tough and I knew that if I could win the first two games, my confidence will grow and I have the opportunity to win the match.
“It was good winning at the same venue I lost to her last year. But, more important, it is better to qualify for the ITTF Women’s World Cup. It is a tournament that is very special to me.”
Tidesports source reports that the 2017 ITTF-African Cup championships in Agadir is the continental qualification for the prestigious ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cups.
While the Liebherr 2017 ITTF Men’s World Cup is scheduled for Oct. 20 to Oct. 22 in Liege, Belgium.
Also, the Uncle Pop 2017 ITTF Women’s World Cup is scheduled for Oct. 27 to Oct. 29 in Markham, Canada.
Tidesports source gathered that the ITTF World Cups are the second most prestigious events on the international table tennis calendar.
Only 20 of the top table tennis players in the world are eligible to play.
They must qualify through their respective Continental Cups together with the current World Champions, one host player and a wildcard.
The next continental qualification for the ITTF World Cups will be the ITTF-Pan American Cup in San Jose Costa Rica from July 28 to July 30.
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.