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Tag: Team Nigeria

  • Nigeria Taekwondo sets for Olympic qualifiers in Morocco

    Nigeria Taekwondo sets for Olympic qualifiers in Morocco

    The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) on Tuesday confirmed its participation in the forthcoming African Olympic Qualifications Tournament billed for Rabat, Morocco from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23.

    A board member of NTF, Chika Chukwumerije, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, that the athletes would feature in the eight Olympic weight categories.

    Chukwumerije said that Nigeria would be represented by African Champion with star athletes in the likes of a 25-year-old Chinazum Nwosu, African Bronze medalists; 24-year-old Benjamin Okuomose; 20-year-old Elizabeth Anyanacho and Nigeria Open Gold medalist 21-year-old Ifeoluwa Ajayi.

    He said that the competition was the only opportunity left for African nations to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

    “The athletes that made up Team Nigeria for the Tokyo 2020 qualification tournament have been in camp for past seven weeks, fully prepared and have secured their visas.

    “But, they are yet to depart due to unavailability of funds.

    “However, they are slated for the eight Olympic weight categories: Male -58kg, -68kg, -80kg and +80kg, female -49kg, -57kg, -67kg and +67kg.

    “It is fundamental for us to go for this competition as it is the only opportunity for African nations to book a place and pick ticket for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,’’ he told NAN.

    The NTF technical director noted that the World Taekwondo (WT) rules for the Olympics allow countries to contest in only four categories for the continental qualifications.

    “The forthcoming qualifications tournament would be participated by 36 countries including: Algeria, Benin Republic, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote D’ivoire, Djibouti, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia and Gabon.

    “Other are: Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

    “Nigeria Taekwondo Team were at the Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 Qualification tournaments, and only failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics,’’ he said.

  • Team Nigeria win 9 medals in weightlifting championship in Uzbekistan

    Team Nigeria win 9 medals in weightlifting championship in Uzbekistan

    The Technical Director, Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), Christopher Nwadei, said that team Nigeria has won nine medals in the 6th International Solidarity weightlifting championship holding in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

    Nwadei disclosed this while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    He said that the competition was one of the qualifiers for the 2020 Olympics scheduled to hold in Tokyo, Japan.

    The technical director said that four female and one male lifters would represent the country at the championship.

    They are: Augustina Nwaokolo 49 kg, Adenike Olarinoye 55 kg, Rafiatu Lawal 59 kg, Fatima Musa 76 kg and Emmanuel Appah 61 kg.

    “My lifters won a total of nine medals, six gold and three Bronze. This is a good performance. Nwaokolo won three bronze medals, Olarinoye won three 55 kg gold medals while Lawal also won gold medals.

    “They have made the federation and the country proud again,” he said.

    NAN reports that the 6th International Solidarity Championships which started on Feb. 8 is expected to end on Feb. 15 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

  • Team Nigeria arrives Kenya for 13th African Scrabble Championship

    The Nigeria Scrabble national team arrived in Kenya on Wednesday for the 13th edition of Africa Scrabble Championship (ASC).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team left Abuja on Tuesday for the championship, slated to hold from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2.

    The Technical Director of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Faruq Baba-Inna, told NAN in Abuja that the Chairman of the federation, Chief Olobatoke Aka, led 11 players to the championship.

    The team is made up of:

    Wellington Jighere (World Champion 2015) currently ranked no. 8 in the world.

    Eta Karo currently ranked no. 9 in the world.

    Moses Peter currently ranked no. 14 in the world

    Dennis Ikekeregor currently ranked no. 22 in the world

    Olatunde Oduwole currently ranked no. 42 in the world

    Nsikan Etim currently ranked no. 50 in the world.

    Curtis John no. 102

    Raymond Gbaraba no. 123

    Oyebola Alli no. 143

    Osikhena Ojior no. 188

    Oyeleke Oluwaseun no. 299.

    Baba-Inna said that Eta Karo, Moses Peter, Olatunde Oduwole and Nsikan Etim would later join Ayorinde Saidu currently ranked 13 in the world in Malaysia for the Alchemist Cup of nations after the ASC.

    NAN report that the Alchemist Cup of Nations would hold from Dec. 5 to Dec. 9.

     

  • Youth Olympics: Team Nigeria departs for Argentina

    Youth Olympics: Team Nigeria departs for Argentina

    A total of 17 athletes and 18 officials on Tuesday departed Abuja for Argentina ahead of the 2018 Youth Olympics slated for Oct. 6 to Oct. 18, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
    The athletes include five athletics, two badminton, two table tennis, two rowing and canoeing, two wrestlers, two golfers and two boxers.
    Bidding the team farewell at the Abuja National Stadium, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youths and Sports, Olusade Adesola, urged them to go for the best and compete clean to make the country proud.
    According to him, “the athletes are in high spirit, we have trained them very well to enable them excel’’.
    “We have cultivated in them the passion to deliver and I am sure they will deliver knowing that they are not only representing Nigeria but Africa.
    “They are not under any pressure to deliver but they have the passion to do so. Our slogan is: `whatever is good, is good for me’, they are going there to compete and come out victorious.
    “We encourage them to be kind, hospitable, considerate but to go for victory, they are not going to play the game under the influence of inducement, they are going for fair games,’’ he said.
    Speaking on behalf of the team, Captain Ineh Emmanuel pledged to give their best to make the country proud.
    “We are the best of the best here that make the team for the youth Olympics, and I believe that we are going to put in our best,’’ he said.
    He thanked the ministry for the support and encouragement to the team, adding that they had adequate training that will see them through the championship.
    NAN also reports that Nigeria would participate in eight sports, while the second batch of the team would depart on Oct. 10.
    NAN

  • Washington DC show: Osinbajo commends Nigeria’s robotics team

    The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has praised the effort of Team Nigeria to the First Global Robotic Olympics in Washington DC, U.S., in 2017 for its outstanding performance at the challenge.

    He made the commendation while receiving the six-member team, their project Director, Mentor and sponsors to the July 14 to July 19, 2017 event on Monday in Abuja.

    Osinbajo said that Nigeria had so many young talents who could do the nation proud in any international competition.

    “We very strongly believe that this country has the talent and these young people demonstrated it eloquently.

    “They have the talent and the creativity and all that it takes to make the kind of difference that could be done in technology,’’ he said.

    He said that he was glad that they youth were working as a team, which was the best way to go, adding that it was an indication that personalised achievement was no longer viable.

    He said that having seen a team of dedicated young people, the government would have to support and encourage them.

    Osinbajo said he looked forward to a better outing of Team Nigeria in the next Olympic challenge to hold in Mexico in August this year.

    He said that the next challenge would be interesting to the country as it focused on energy impact.

    He said it would support the country’s work on green energy for which it set up the first green bond as part of efforts to create green environment and looking at how to mitigate the effects of climate change.

    “We do have some resources that we can commit to that and it will be very useful if we work with you on this coming challenge.

    “It is important that this team stays together and that they are able to grow their ideas,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said it was important to institutionalise a scientific challenge in the country by involving young scientists even if it occurred during the long holidays.

    He said that an endowment could be created to fill the technology gap.

    The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, pledged the support of the Ministry of Education and that of Science and Technology toward the August Olympiad.

    The leader of the delegation, Mrs Remi Willouby, a retired robotics teacher, said that the Team Nigeria came first in one category and second in another out of the 10 categories of awards.

    She said out of 163 teams from 157 countries in the competition, the country placed 25th globally and emerged third of the 41 African countries in attendance.

    “What is important is that we are building a group of children that can change this country using innovation,’’ she said.

    Willouby stressed the need for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education being a critical component in the development of the country.

    She called for Federal Government support in the 2018 challenge.

    Mr Faisal Jarmakani, the Managing Director of Aramex and Mr Omar Jarmakani of Doculand, who sponsored the team Nigeria, said the company’s mission was to give the young ones the international exposure in science and technology.

    They expressed the hope to build on the platform to enable it excel and achieve something bigger.

    Team Nigeria built and demonstrated a robot used in the purification of water for consumption at the U.S. challenge.

     

  • 2018 Africa Wrestling Championships: Team Nigeria wins 46 medals

    Team Nigeria has won 46 medals at the ongoing Africa Wrestling Championships holding at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civil Centre, Port Harcourt.

    According to our reporter, the medals comprise 16 gold, 14 silver and 16 bronze.

    As at the time of this report many events are still ongoing and Nigeria’s medals chances are still high.

    The championships will end on Sunday, Feb. 11.

    Daniel Igali, the president, Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) said that the country’s representatives had been impressive.

    Igali said that he was particularly impressed by the skills exhibited by the Cadet Team.

    “Over the years, we didn’t have a cadet team and I’m glad we have now and they are pulling their weights.

    “We are not there yet but it’s a gradual process and we are on the right path to get it right eventually.

    “When I started wrestling then, there was nothing like cadet team. I started wrestling at age 16 and it was straight to the senior team.

    “This is a good development because it provides an avenue to catch them young and groom them well to fully maximize their potential.”

    Sunmisola Balogun is the only Nigerian athlete who has so far qualified for the Youth Olympic Games from the championship

    No fewer than 90 wrestlers which comprising both males and females are representing Nigeria at the competition.

    Some of the countries participating in the championship are: Nigeria the host, Liberia, Egypt, Guinea Bissau,Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Namibia, Kenya, Burundi, Cameron, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Madagascar, and Senegal

     

  • Winter Olympics: Buhari charges Team Nigeria to go for Gold

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday extended his best wishes to Team Nigeria as they begin their representation of the country in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President commended the women’s bobsleigh team made up of Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga for making history by being the first African bobsleigh team to participate in the Winter Olympics in that category.

    He also saluted Nigerian Olympian, Simidele Adeagbo who has raised the bar as the first African female to compete in Skeleton at the Games.

    Buhari assured the athletes that Nigeria stands with them throughout the competition.

    The statement read in part, “President Buhari believes that the patriotism, sacrifice, hard work and personal dedication of these Nigerian athletes, who chose to stand with our homeland and lift our flag high at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in South Korea, will continue to inspire Nigerians, especially our young people.

    “The President, who had earlier approved the appointment of Chef de Mission to take care of the team, assures the Olympians of the unflinching support of the Federal Government and thanks all who made their participation in the games possible, particularly Corporate Nigeria.

    “The President wishes Team Nigeria, who clearly represents the resilient spirit of the Nigerian -ever ready to endure and prevail- a resounding success at the Winter Olympics.”

  • Team Nigeria wins 21 medals, leading Africa Wrestling Championship

    Team Nigeria has won a total of 21 medals, leading the medal table at the ongoing Africa Wrestling Championship holding at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.

    The medals comprise nine gold, five silver and seven bronze.

    In the women category, the team won 10 medal- six gold, two silver and two bronze- while men have 11 medals of three gold, three silver and five bronze.

    The medals were won in the concluded events of cadet Freestyle, cadet Greco-Roman and cadet women’s Wrestling.

    A 16-year-old Stephen Akintewe of Akure High School, Akure, Ondo State, won a gold medal in the 60kg cadet attributing his victory to hard work.

    Akintewe said that he gave his all to training and took each bout cautiously following his coach’s instructions.

    “While preparing for this tournament, I took all corrections seriously and did all that the coach asked me to do.

    “This victory is as a result of hard work and taking each fight as they come.

    “This is my first appearance at the Africa Championships and I’m very happy to win the gold medal, ” he said.

    The gold medalist added that the feat would spur him to get better in the game so as to further represent the country at future tournaments.

    “I believe if I can improve more on myself there’s still a lot I can do for my dear country. I will go back to intensive more efforts into my training,” Akinteye said.

    The competition which commenced on Feb. 7 will end Feb. 11.

    No fewer than 90 wrestlers are representing Nigeria at the championship.

    The participating countries are Nigeria, Liberia, Egypt, Morocco, Guinea-Bissau, Tunisia, Algeria, Namibia, Kenya, Burundi, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Central Africa Republic and Madagascar.