The Secretary-General, Nigeria Boxing Federation, NBF, Dapo Akinyele, confirmed this on Saturday in Lagos.

According to him, Elite boxers across the globe would converge in Bangkok from May 23 to June 3, for 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers.

Akinyele stated that the Federation was focusing on female pugilists because they had a better chance of punching their way into the French capital, Paris for the Games.

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“If all goes as planned, we shall take four female and two male boxers to Bangkok but if we have to reduce the overall figure to five, we shall present three female and two male pugilists,” the seasoned administrator stated.

“We have to project and focus on our strength and I’m sure we shall cement our place at the 2024 Olympic Games,” he said.

Nigeria will be fighting for honours in the 50, 57, 66, 75 and +92kg categories.

At the first Window of the Olympic Games Boxing Qualifiers in Italy, no African, out of the 67 that competed, secured an Olympic slot.

Athletics, Badminton, Female Basketball, Female Football, Table Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling are some of the sports that Team Nigeria will be represented at the Paris Games.

Source: NAN

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Okagbare, who has an Olympic silver medal in long jump from the 2008 Beijing Games, was provisionally suspended before the 100 metres semi-finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year.

An AIU statement said the sole arbitrator adjudicating the case concluded that Okagbare’s “use of multiple prohibited substances” was “part of an organised doping regimen in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

This “egregious conduct” led to an increase on the normal four-year sanction.

The 33-year-old, who denied all charges, was given a five-year ban for returning doping tests positive for EPO as well as Human Growth Hormone.

She was then handed an additional five-year ban for refusing to cooperate with an AIU investigation.

“We welcome the decision of the Disciplinary Tribunal. A ban of 10 years is a strong message against intentional and co-ordinated attempts to cheat at the very highest level of our sport,” said AIU chief, Brett Clothier.

“This is an outcome that was driven by our intelligence-led target testing as well as our commitment to investigate the circumstances behind a positive test.”

Source: dpa/NAN

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Dare stated this on Thursday at the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to the minister, Coach Rohr’s future with the Super Eagles would depend on a report to be submitted by the NFF in the coming days.

He said “Once we have national matches like these, there is an operating procedure.

“First, the NFF will receive a technical report that analyses the game. And based on that, we will review, scrutinise and benchmark the report. Thereafter it will make a decision either about the players or about the coaching staff.

“The ministry is waiting for that report from the NFF. What it will contain or recommend, I cannot say for now. Before the end of the week, we’ll have that report and it will touch on many areas.”

“We know what the concerns are. We’ll do whatever is necessary and we’ll be timely about it to make sure Nigeria’s football is of the highest quality and that we’ll play in Qatar,” he added.

Speaking on athletes’ welfare, the minister revealed that his ministry had tripled its remunerations to athletes representing the country in various global tournaments including the Olympics.

He, however, disclosed that the ministry still owed 54 athletes a total of N44.37m in bonuses and remunerations.

“For the first time in a long time, we have decided to triple the bonuses for the athletes. We tripled their bonuses too.

“We also moved away from just giving them naira to giving them dollars because when you check other countries and what they pay their athletes, they pay in dollars.

“The Paralympians who won 10 medals, less than eight weeks after they returned, we paid them a bonus of 15,000 dollars for gold, 10,000 dollars for silver and 7,500 dollars for bronze.

“We still have a few outstanding; we have a balance of 2,000 dollars to pay to about 54 athletes. And that’s because I increased their allowances from 3,500 dollars to 6,000 dollars at the Olympics.

“So, we had to rework our budgets and we are almost there. As we speak $4,000 has been paid to all of them. The 2,000 dollars will be available soon,” he said.

Source: NAN

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Oborududu and Brume were presented their cash  by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare.

Speaking at the ceremony, the minister said “There’s no point  delaying the reinforcement of these athletes who have made the country proud, that is the reason they were rewarded immediately for their record breaking   performances.”

Chioma Ajunwa was the first person who won gold medal for Nigeria at Atlanta 1996,  Brume thus follows suit with a bronze, while Oborududu is the first Nigerian wrestler to win an Olympics medal.

In her reaction, Oborududu said “I am just super excited and I want to say thank you to all my supporters and the Federal Government of Nigeria for the encouragement.”

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The AIU, which is an independent integrity body created by the World Athletics, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

The growth hormone is a non-specified substance on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, Prohibited List.

A provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules.

The AIU collected the sample from Okagbare during an out-of-competition test on July 19.

The WADA-accredited laboratory which analysed the sample notified the AIU of the adverse analytical finding at mid-day Central European Time on Friday.

AIU said the athlete was notified of the adverse analytical finding and of her provisional suspension Saturday morning in Tokyo.

She was scheduled to participate in the semi-finals of the women’s 100m Saturday evening.

The AIU said it would make no further comment on the matter at this time.

Okagbare had on Friday cruised to first place in her 100m heat in 11.05 seconds to qualify for Saturday’s semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics.

She was also due to compete in the 200m, as well as the 4x100m relay.

The 32-year-old medal prospect for Nigeria won silver in the long jump at Beijing 2008 Olympics.

At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, she won long jump silver and 100m bronze, while she won the 100m/200m double at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

She is competing in her fourth Olympics for Nigeria.

Source: NAN

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Weather authorities warned of heavy rains, gale force winds and high waves which could already affect the region from Monday onwards.

Rowing had all Monday events moved to Sunday, and Tuesday has also been cleared with events moved to Wednesday.

Other outdoor sports at the Olympic could follow as organisers are in close contact with sports federations about rescheduling and changing of the programme.

For now athletes were mainly dealing with high temperatures and humidity.

Tennis on Sunday applied its extreme heat rules with longer changeover breaks and a 10-minute break before the third set.

Source: dpa/NAN

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Twenty-five years after, Lagos State Governor, Mr. BabajideSanwo-Olu, redeemed the government’s pledge of a house to the athlete.

The governor, on Thursday, presented keys to a three-bedroom apartment in Babatunde Raji Fashola Housing Estate in Iponri to Ajunwa-Oparah, who is now an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Lagos Police Command.

Sanwo-Olu made the presentation at a reception held for Lagos State’s athletes who participated in the recently concluded National Sports Festival in Edo State.

Lagos won 125 medals, including 32 gold and 27 silver medals in the contest.

The governor, at the event, also presented cheques to the medal winners, some of whom are going to represent the nation in the forthcoming Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan.

Ajunwa-Oparah, a long jump athlete, put Nigeria on the global radar after she won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

She was promised a house by the then military government, but the pledge was not fulfilled before the country returned to democracy in 1999.

Presenting the apartment’s key to the first woman gold medalist in Nigeria, Sanwo-Olu said the feat achieved by Ajunwa-Oparah helped redeem the country’s bad image and raised the hope of young people seeking to improve their sporting skills.

The governor said: “When Dr. ChiomaAjunwa-Oparah represented the country in the 1996 Olympic Games, some promises were made and very typical of us as a people, we forget. I have met and kept the promises of my predecessors in ensuring that our athletes get what they deserve. The promise of a befitting shelter to Chioma Ajunwa-Oparah could have been delayed for 25 years, but today she will be a proud owner of a three-bedroom apartment in the famous Babatunde Raji Fashola Estate in Iponri.

“She has remained a good reference point for sport, journalism and everything that relates to sport in our country. She is a true demonstration of can-do spirit, which reflects her decision to serve the country as a police officer after attaining a coveted position on an international sporting platform. We will continue to use her as a testimony to give women strong voice and good representation in our sport organisations. We have made it compulsory to reserve 30 per cent of positions to our women in boards of sport organisations in Lagos.”

Ajunwa-Oparah, who earlier decorated the governor with a replica of her 1996 gold medal, betrayed her emotion as she received the keys to the apartment from Sanwo-Olu.

She described the gesture as a “motivation” to fulfil her dream in raising a new generation of athletes, saying the governor’s action had further reinforced her belief in the country.

As he presented cheques to the successful Lagos athletes, Sanwo-Olu urged them not to rest on their oars in excelling and achieving greater feats in the Tokyo Olympics.

The governor said there would be a new beginning for sports in Lagos, as the amended Sport Commission Law, which he signed earlier in the day, was initiated to promote sporting activities in the grassroots.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that he had given an approval for the upgrade of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere to make it a standardised sport centre, adding that the state government was set to commence the concurrent construction of eight new mini-stadia across the state to further improve youth participation in sports.

He said: “We have just signed an amendment on Sport Commission Bill into Law after the House of Assembly adjusted the law for us. With the new law, we will have more robust grassroots sport competitions and it will take sport to a granular level where we will have a lot more participation and infrastructure development at the grassroots level.

“Our youths have brighter days ahead and I enjoin them not to give up on their skills. There is a reward for hard work, but sometimes the reward may be delayed. You should not be discouraged because people are watching. At the right time, God will come through for you.”

Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr. Segun Dawodu, thanked Sanwo-Olu for prioritising youth development activities, describing the governor’s gesture as unprecedented.

Chairman of Lagos State Sport Commission, Mr. Sola Aiyepeku, presented the Olympic team to the governor for cash support and honour.

Sanwo-Olu rewarded the Lagos representatives at the National Sport Festival with N146 million.

Also, the governor presented cheques ranging from N300,000 to N5 million to winners of medals in the contest.

Ahmed Koleosho, a para table tennis player and Lagos team captain, received a cheque of N2.5 million from the governor as prize for his feat.

He will also be representing Nigeria at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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The consignment which includes Track suits, vests, shoes back packs, wheel bags, face masks and others items whose open market price runs into millions of Naira was delivered on Sunday, July 13.

The AFN president, Engr Ibrahim Shehu Gusau, said on Tuesday that the shipment which was part of the 2019 partnership signed between AFN and the German multinational corporation in Doha, United Arab Emirates was received on June 12, 2021.

Engr Gusau who recently won another term to head the AFN at the just concluded elective congress in Kebbi on Monday, expressed satisfaction with the timeliness of the delivery.

“Having these kits on ground before the Olympic Games is really a morale booster. The federal government and the AFN can now focus on other things in their quest to get the best out of the athletes at the games.

“This has been one of our cardinal points when we came on board in 2017 with a promise to reduce the direct financial demands on government. Having Puma on board is massive and we hope to build on this in future.”

Plans for the official unveiling of the Puma kits, he said, would be announced soon.

Puma who are one of the leading companies in designs and manufacturing of athletics and casual foot wears, apparels and accessories, is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany.

So far, Ese Brume (Women’s long jump); Amusan Tobi (Women’s 100m hurdle); Blessing Okagbare (Women’s 100m/200m); Divine Oduduru (Men’s 100m/200m; Raymond Okevwo (Men’s 100m); Utseorise Itsekiri (Men’s 100m) and Chukwuemeka Enekechi (Men’s shot put) have all qualified for the Olympics.

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In a chat with NBBF media from her base in France, the 2019 FIBA Afrobasket Most Valuable Player said with the right personnel and positive attitude from her team mates, a podium finish in Tokyo was possible.

Fresh out of the 10 days intensive training camp in Atlanta, she revealed that expectations were high for the number one team in Africa.

“What do I expect from the girls?  They need to show up, come to the training camp locked in, be focused, give 100 per cent and really buy in because the Olympics is a huge platform and I feel like we can really do something special,” Ezinne Kalu said.

She acknowledged that getting a medal amongst the top 12 teams in the world will not come easy, hence the need to work more.

“For us to do something special, we have to do the work. We have to do the necessary things to really succeed just like how we do for the World Cup and Afrobasket.”

“Every camp that we have, we know that this is the time for us to get serious, this is time for us to really put the work in. I don’t expect anything less from my girls,” the Landerneau of France player said.

Known for her high work rate on the court, in 2020, she was voted Guard of the Year France (1st Division), 1st Team All-Imports France League, 1st Team All-French Player as well as a member of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament All-Star starting 5 in Serbia.

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With a developing rivalry between USA and D’Tigress recently, basketball aficionados are salivating over the matchup that promises premium excitement.

The last meeting although ended in a slim 76-71 points in favour of the world number one despite Nigeria leading for the better part of the game, many described it as a more improved showing against the team they had earlier lost to 71-40 at the quarter finals of the 2018 World Cup.

The official draw of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Basketball Tournaments for both the women’s and men’s competitions which took place at FIBA headquarters also saw D’Tigress pitted against world number 5, France.

Another opportunity beckons for one of the rising brands in global basketball to avenge its 2004 Olympics Game 73-79 pts loss against Japan currently ranked 10th in the world.

Despite a great outing by Mfon Udoka with 19pts and 16rbs, a poor second half saw the Japanese out score Nigeria to nick the game where the team only managed one win out of 6 games to finish 11th.

For the men, they have been drawn in group B against Australia and winners of the Olympics Qualifying Tournaments from Croatia and Belgrade.

Host- Croatia will battle against Tunisia and Brazil (group B) Germany, Russia and Mexico (group A) for the sole ticket.

Winner from the Belgrade centre comprising of Dominican Republic, New Zealand, host-Serbia, Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal will complete the list.

The wait for the last two oppositions will finally be over when the OQT comes to an end on the 24th of July.

The Olympics games will be held between 23rd of July and 8th of August, 2021 after its initial postponement due to COVID-19.

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