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Tag: Asaba 2022

  • Asaba 2022: Late Imo boxer died a patriot – Delta commissioner, Aniagwu

    Asaba 2022: Late Imo boxer died a patriot – Delta commissioner, Aniagwu

    The commissioner for information in Delta state, Charles Aniagwu, has said that the late  Imo boxer was very patriotic by insisting he would fight on even against his health.

    Aniagwu added that he died a patriot.

    The boxer representing Imo State, Chukwuemeka Igboanugo, died during his fight against  Anambra’s Prince Amagor at the ongoing Asaba 2022.

    According to Aniagwu, the boxer wanted to represent his state so dearly and had insisted he would fight on when the bout was proposed to be stopped by the referee.

    Addressing press officers at a briefing on Wednesday, Aniagwu said, “The day before he fought, he had come and been examined usually by the medical team and they found his blood pressure was not normal and so he was asked to leave and return for a second checkup.

    “He returned after a while, and his BP has returned to normal but he was asked before he returned to the game that he should return again for another check which unfortunately he did not do,” Aniagwu said. 

    Aniagwu continued the narration surrounding the boxer’s death

    He added “By the time the game started, after some time, it was discovered that he had a little bleeding on the nose, the medics wanted to stop but he was desirous of victory and his coach and team were also desirous of victory not knowing that some other development had occurred internally,” he said. 

    Aniagwu hailed the late athlete as he died a heroic death in the ring.

    “He died a hero’s death as he was patriotic to his state, and to his country,” he said.

  • Asaba 2022: Coach blames medical team for Imo boxer’s death

    Asaba 2022: Coach blames medical team for Imo boxer’s death

    In aftermath of the death of Imo state boxer, Chukwuemeka Igboanugo at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Asaba Delta State on Tuesday, one of the coaches Endurance Aberegidi from Borno State has blamed medical personnel stationed at the venue for their lackadaisical approach in dealing with the situation.

    Igboanugo slumped and later gave up the ghost after receiving multiple punches to the chin and nose from Anambra’s Gaby Amagor in their 86kg category bout.

    The referee thereupon ended the fight after he failed to recover.

    “He was immediately taken out of the ring for medical treatment before being rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead,” a boxing official stated.

    But Aberegidi, who was at the venue when the boxer was knocked down, told newsmen what happened in the ring on Monday and how the boxer eventually didn’t make it afterwards.

    “It was a pathetic situation. These guy trained for years and after getting a national opportunity, he then dies in the ring,” he said.

    “I was in the ring side when he fell and the medics rushed in and tried to revive him. He slightly responded and they took him to the emergency unit, then they asked for the boxer’s coach.

    “I walked up to them and they told me that the boy was not responding to treatment,” Aberegidi said.

    The coach told our correspondent how much time they wasted in looking for the Imo coach, instead of treating Igboanugo immediately.

    “They were looking for the coach for over 20 minutes as the boy was not responding to treatment. I don’t know why they wasted so much time to treat the boy. They should have focused on treating him. They said the boy didn’t allow anyone to treat him and after a short while, they came back and said he had given up the ghost,” he said.

  • Asaba 2022: Six states jostle for 2024 NSF hosting right

    Asaba 2022: Six states jostle for 2024 NSF hosting right

    As the curtains gradually draw closer on the 21st edition of the National Sports Festival tagged “Delta 2022”, six States of the Federation have so far indicated interest to be given the hosting right of the next edition which is expected to hold in 2024.
    The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare disclosed this at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba, the Delta State Capital, shortly after watching the Gymnastics event between Team FCT, Delta and Ondo at the ongoing sports festival.
    Dare who was answering questions from journalists said that presently, he does not know which State is going to be the next host until the Committee which is headed by the Director, National Sports Festival & Para Sports Department of his Ministry and Secretary, Main Organising Committee (MOC), Mr Peter Nelson submits their report on the hosting right.
    He stated further that the report which will reveal the next host is likely to be submitted on Friday, December 9, 2022; which is the eve of the closing ceremony for this Festival.
    Dare who informed that there is a process to be followed before picking any hosting State, explained that “by that day my Director, Peter Nelson will present to me the State that will host. But until then, I won’t be able to disclose it to you. The Committee is working on evaluation and scoring before any decision can be taken on the hosting right”, he said.
    The Minister assured that the process will ensure that States that will come second and third respectively will get prepared to avoid what happened in the past that saw Cross River State unable to host the event for more than six years.
     “When we held Edo 2020, Edo set a standard. It is a change of baton. Now that we are holding Delta 2022, they knew they had to either give the same standard as Edo or do better.
    So we signposted that any State that will host must be ready. After Edo State, we set up a Committee to review the MOU. So before any State engages, there are clear terms and processes and once you sign it, you must abide by it, that is very important, but this time around, we will announce the winner-State and then keep the runners-up close to our chest”, the Minister emphasized.
    “We knew then that if Delta would not make it, Abuja was ready. At this point, there are six States that are jostling and the interest is increasing. There is a timeline. We know when a State is not ready and if that happens, we will just switch over to the runner-up, ” he added.
    Dare who expressed his love for Gymnastics said, “I am supposed to be the father of all sports but the fact that I am here, shows my love for Gymnastics. As a Minister, I always visit the Gymnastics Hall at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. Most of the Gymnasts were very tiny then and I always followed them up. You can see the number of States participating now. When you go to the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, you see the followership. I love Gymnastics,” he stressed.
  • Asaba 2022: Nigerian wrestler, Blessing Oborodudu hails event’s organizers

    Asaba 2022: Nigerian wrestler, Blessing Oborodudu hails event’s organizers

    Nigerian wrestler, Blessing Oborodudu has hailed the organizers of the Asaba 2022 Sports festival saying it’s an improvement upon the last one held in Edo state.

    Although, Oborodudu claimed not to have really gone around to see every game and venue but said the ones she has seen so far have surpassed her expectations.

    On the wrestling event that started on Tuesday, the female wrestler gave thumbs up to the organizer but only said the only negative is that the wrestling hall is small.

    Oborodudu mentioned this while granting an interview to TheNewsGuru at the tournament.

    She said she has spotted good wrestlers at the NSF, saying the future of the tournament in the country is bright.

    On seeing upcoming wrestlers beating her record, she said it’s her prayers to see young wrestlers Male &Female competing and winning laurels for the country.

    She said she began wrestling during her secondary days and eventually joined the wrestling team much later when she discovered she could do it.

    Blessing Oborududu won Olympic Games’ silver medal in the women’s freestyle 68kg, the first won by a Nigerian wrestler in history.

    The 32-year-old won the Tokyo 2020 silver medal n her third appearance at the Olympics since 2012 in London.

    Oborududu announced herself to the wrestling world in 2007 when she was invited to join Nigeria’s team for the African Games. She was unrivalled in secondary school, where she started wrestling, and quickly caught the attention of the Bayelsa government, a Southern state in Nigeria, that invited her for the prestigious National Sports Festival.

    Two years later, she cemented her position in the National Wrestling team and has maintained the spot, being a regular in continental tournaments.

     

  • Asaba 2022: Team Kano to battle Niger for Handball final ticket

    Asaba 2022: Team Kano to battle Niger for Handball final ticket

    The Kano Men’s handball team is hoping to retain the title it won last year but first would have to surmount the hurdle of team Niger on Tuesday at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Asaba, Delta state capital.

    Team Kano made it to the semi-finals of the competition after defeating team Sokoto 24-23 in the quarter-finals at the open basketball court inside the Ugwashi-Uku stadium.

    Also, hosts Delta will battle it out against Team Lagos to set up a final clash against the winners of Kano versus Niger.

    Meanwhile, in the female category, Team Oyo will face Team Plateau while defending champions Delta will faceoff against team Imo.

    Ahead of Team Lagos’ challenge against Delta, Daniel Yohanna, Lagos coach, who was elated after his team’s progress to the semis, said he expected his boys to improve against their opponents.

    “We expect to play against a great team and I pray we do better than we did here,” he said.

    The semi-final of the competition will be played on Tuesday at the Ugwashi-Uku stadium.

  • Asaba 2022: Hosting a successful event is our priority – Okowa

    Asaba 2022: Hosting a successful event is our priority – Okowa

    Tonobok Okowa the co-chairman, of the Local Organizing Committee of the ongoing National Sports Festival, in the Asaba, Delta state capital has noted that the successful hosting of the competition is a big priority than winning it.

    As of the time of filing this report, Delta state is leading the medals table with 69 gold medals and closely followed by Ogun with 10 and Oyo 9  state respectively.

    Meanwhile, Okowa has now stated that topping the table with a wide margin is synonymous with Delta but insist that they want to set a new hosting record in National Sports Festival.

    According to him, the NSF in Asaba is more concerned about putting up a very good outing in hosting so as to complete the outing on the Medals table.

    He said “We have prepared so well for the Games and we believe we have athletes good enough to give a good fight. Delta is used to getting good results anywhere, but we (LOC) have bigger responsibilities here.

    “To have 36 states and Abuja in Asaba for the sports festival is a big task, so, we are more particular about making everyone feel at home to compete in a good atmosphere.

    “We are working hard to ensure a hitch-free event. The facilities are there, but there are many other logistics involved in staging a big event like this. It is our own Olympics, but we are up to the task, having also hosted the African Athletics Championships only a few years back.”

  • Asaba 2022: States poaching athletes are not helping sports development – NTF President, Saidu Abubakar

    Asaba 2022: States poaching athletes are not helping sports development – NTF President, Saidu Abubakar

    The President of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Saidu Abubakar  has advised states poaching athletes for the purpose of National Sports Festival (NSF) to stop, saying it does not help sports development in the country, TheNewsguru.com  can authoritatively report.

    Abubakar mentioned this while speaking to our correspondent at the ongoing National Sports Festival holding in Asaba the Delta state capital.

    According to him, many states who came with younger athletes and unknown faces are doing exceedingly well in the competition.

    He added that one of the ideas of setting up the National Sports Festival years ago was to discover and nurture talents in the country and that has been achieved to a certain level.

    Abubakar also noted that athletes that will represent the country at the Olympics and All Africa Games have been spotted, noting that they will be nurtured in order to excel at the competition.

    He said after the NSF many of them will not be allowed to go as another camp will be opened soon to keep them together.

    On the number of talents, so far discovered at he tournaments, he said many have been spotted while some are still being discovered.

    The Taekwondo president said that the athletes already have what it takes to compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world.

    He said that a national camp will be set up at the end of January in Kebbi state.

     

  • Asaba 2022: Delta wins four gold medals in Table Tennis

    Asaba 2022: Delta wins four gold medals in Table Tennis

    The host state, team Delta on Friday won  four gold medals in the para and able body table tennis   at the ongoing National Sports Festival (NSF) holding in Asaba the state capital.

    In deaf event, Delta won a gold medal in women’s singles following a 3-0 victory against Lagos to consolidate on the medal the state won in the men’s category of the game.

    The state also won two gold medals in the team events for both men and women in the able body category.

    Team Edo was not left out in the medal haul as they won their first gold medal in the 500 metres Sprint Cycling.

    Isa Momoh finished the best rider in the category to claim the medal for the state.

    Ogbomo Aisosa also won silver medal in the Dart 501 Men’s Singles for the state, after a 1-3 loss to Abia in the finals.