Nwankpa represented Nigeria at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, competing in the light-welterweight division.

He won gold medals at the 1973 All-Africa Games in Lagos and the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the same welterweight division.

Nwankpa held several prestigious titles, including Nigerian Lightweight Champion, African Boxing Union, ABU, Light-Welterweight Champion and Commonwealth Lightweight Champion.

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President Tinubu, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, noted that Nigeria’s sporting community and Nigerians would long remember the legendary boxer and coach for the honour he brought to the country in the ring and the exciting moments he gave to fans throughout his career.

”The nation owes him a debt of gratitude for nurturing a new generation of boxers after retiring from active competition, including leading Nigeria’s boxing team to the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics,” he said.

The president prayed for the peaceful repose of his soul and divine comfort for all who mourned him.

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Nigeria, represented by D’Tigress, the senior national women basketball team, had entered the history books few weeks ago at the Paris Olympic Games.

D’Tigress had secured two wins from three games for the first time to become the first African side (either male or female) to compete in the quarter-finals at the Olympics.

They have now made history again as the first African national team in the history of the FIBA World Ranking (men or women) to be ranked in the top 10.

D’Tigress found early momentum for their historic accomplishments on their opening day in Lille by winning 75-62 against Australia who went on to recover to win the Games’ bronze medal.

Australia have now moved up to second place in the rankings, after beating Belgium 85-81 in Paris.

Even though D’Tigress lost 54-75 in their second game to hosts France in Lille, they surged back to beat Canada 79-70 and qualify for the quarter-finals from Group B.

They went on to lose 74-88 to the U.S. in the quarter-final game played in Paris, with the Americans running on all the way to stay undefeated and win the competition.

While leaders U.S. proudly retain top spot after taking the Olympics gold medal, several other nations have secured rises off the back of their great work at the showpiece event.

In a truly absorbing and memorable competition that was played out in front of record-breaking crowds, the U.S. secured a stunning 10th title and their eighth in a row.

That is what has helped them remain top of the rankings with 883.3 points.

France leapt four places and into third spot after their captivating run to the final match of the Olympics.

Roared on by the passionate home fans, they only lost by a point (66-67) to the U.S. for a silver medal to equal their best-ever result at the Games.

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Germany also made history and rolled into the quarter-finals on their Olympic debut, having secured two Group Phase wins.

As a result of this, they have rocketed up eight places and into 13th place in the rankings.

Another accomplishment came from Serbia, who were also quarter-finalists at Paris 2024, thereby improving their standing in the rankings with an upwards move from 10th to 9th place.

There were also movers from those teams who were successful at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in Mexico and Rwanda, as well as grabbing a ticket for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifiers after winning the competition in Mexico City, Czechia are now 21st after climbing two places.

Also, Hungary won the competition in Kigali and they move up one place to 15th in the rankings.

There were also some consolation for host nation Rwanda, who accomplished the biggest jump in the Top 100 for their efforts in the Pre-Qualifying Tournament.

They moved 12 places into 62nd place.

South Korea, who reached the final in Mexico, have won almost four points but could not move up because of Germany’s impressive rise at the same time.

FIBA is the world governing body for basketball, and it is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world.

It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee, IOC.

Source: NAN

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Before ending its participation a day before the closing ceremony, its athletes had participated in 12 sports.

These were in athletics (35), badminton (1), basketball (13), boxing (2), canoeing (2), cycling (1), football (22), swimming (2), table tennis (4), taekwondo (1), weightlifting (2) and wrestling (6).

Following its first outing through the Super Falcons in Bordeaux in women football on July 25, Team Nigeria has however gone from one misadventure to another in virtually all the events.

Except in women basketball where it participated through D’Tigress which reached the quarter-finals, a feat no African team has ever achieved, Team Nigeria was almost not at the Games.

It was a case of near-misses in several events, with the athletes and teams raising hopes but eventually dashing them and making several Nigerians to lose interest in the Games.

A couple of wins were indeed recorded in athletics, wrestling and basketball, but they were not just good enough to take Team Nigeria near the podium.

This was why the few Nigerian journalists at the women’s weightlifting 71 kilogramme event on Friday where Joy Eze performed were even caught dozing off.

They were waiting for the event to just end.

And it was worse with wrestler Hannah Reuben who, while competing in women’s freestyle 76kg on Saturday, had the problem of not seeing her compatriots in the stands.

She lost 2-5 in a round one bout at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris to Davaanasan Enkh Amah of Mongolia though.

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That was how bad it was for Team Nigeria.

Speaking on the team’s performance while addressing journalists on Friday, Sports Development Minister John Enoh had acknowledged that it was a disappointing performance.

”It was indeed a performance not worthy of our name and the efforts put in,” he said.

Enoh noted that Team Nigeria’s performance not only disappointed Nigerians but also did no justice to the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to sports development.

“Our performance here (in Paris) belied our efforts both as a government and as administrators, and it did not also justify the efforts our athletes put in.”

He however promised a change, assuring that serious efforts were going to be put into restructuring the entire sports landscape both in terms of personnel and institutions.

“We just have to make changes, no matter whose ox is going to be gored. We must put in place reforms, so as not to have a repeat of what we have just witnessed,” the minister said.

Reuben’s outing on Saturday was Team Nigeria’s final outing at the Games.

But this is aside Sunday’s appearance in the march-past event of the closing ceremony, which is not compulsory any way.

The Nigerian contingent, including journalists and others who found their way to France for the Games, have already started departing for home.

Source: NAN

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Short distance sprinters will never agree with the Bible verse of Ecclesiastes 9:11 that the race is not for the swift.

Even a long distance runner must put some swiftness and resilience at the closing end of the race to win the gold or else he or she will be overtaken.

It is their limbs that run the race but it is their heads that count the winners. That is the irony of human race on this formation we call earth.

From Favour Ofili, Nigerian female 100mtr sprinter who could not participate due to management error and her failure to win a medal in the 200mtr despite her performance in the heat and the failure of our medal hopeful in hurdles, Tobi Amusan, Nigeria may be heading home with no medals.

Offlili’s heat performance in 200 mtr was scintillating but her head chose lane nine at the final race where she came sixth.

The American 100 mtr record holder Noah Lyles believed so much in his legs but his head did not favour him in the 200mtr where Letsile Tebogo of Botswana beat him to the third place to clinch the Paris 2024, Olympic gold medal.

Tebogo shamed the arrogance of Lyles who had thought the 100 and 200 races were made for him. Where his legs were swift, his head refused to work for him. It was gathered that two days to the race, Lyles was tested positive for COVID-19.

Have you noticed that each sprinter throws his head forward at the finish line because it is the head that counts not the legs.

The legs can beat the finish line as the first but the one whose head shows up first is counted winner.

Tobi Amusan said after her last heat that this Olympic was her season after training so hard, coming first in her last heat that qualified her for the semis but unfortunately she came third and failed to qualify for the final.

This is unlike the Nigeria’s D’Tigress that came to this tournament as underdogs but surprised the whole world by beating Australia and Canada, two of the sixth best ranked basketball teams in the world.

No, the team did not win any medal, it only won the hearts of the basketball world.

The captain of the Canadian side, Natalie Achonwa, broke into tears that after months of training, the team could not qualify from the group stage but the underrated Nigeria.

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Nigeria defeated Australia (World No. 3 ranked team) and Canada (World No. 5 ranked team) to become the first African team to play in an Olympics quarterfinal.

D’Tigress became best ever finish by an African team (male or female) at the Olympics and moved from 12th to 8th position in FIBA Women’s World Ranking.

FIBA said that the performance of D’Tigress will live in the memory of the association for a long time to come.

This is about “Ori’, the inner head, which matters in whatever we do. Of course, there are people who always think that their achievements were a result of their brilliance or preparation, there is also the place of grace, which is synonymous with “Ori Inu”.

“Ori la ba sin, ka fi Orisa s’ile. Ori Eni, ni Awure Eni. Ori mi ba mi se, emi o le da se.” Olympics is a festival of sports, however it defines life as it captures the race by every individual to succeed.

Those who spent more time, more money and get more competence but then could not win anything. It reflects the elements of grace, luck and hardwork and speaks to our real endeavours as human being.

The legs walk our heads to where to go but the head chooses for the legs. “Ori mi gbe mi.”

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The Nigerian side, which have already made history as Africa’s first side either male or female to go beyond the group phase of the Olympic competition lost 74-88 to the U.S.

They stood toe-to-toe with the Americans in the opening minutes, only to soon start to fall behind as their opponents came out more forcefully.

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The quarter-final game at the Berry Arena saw the Nigerian side losing 17-26, 16-26, 15-24 in the first three quarters.

By the time they resurged to win 26-12 in the fourth and final quarter, it was a little bit late in the day.

Source: NAN

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The semi-final bout of the women’s 68kg wrestling event at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics took place at the Champs De Mars Arena.

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Oborududu had earlier in the day defeated her Canadian opponent, Linda Morais 8-2 for a place in the quarter final.

She took to the mat again in the quarter final and defeated Larroque Koumba of France 6-2 to continue her good start to the Olympics before her defeat in the semi-final to Zhumanazarova.

Oborodudu failed to become the first Nigerian wrestler to qualify for two consecutive Olympic Games finals.

Source: NAN

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Oborududu defeated her Canadian opponent,  Linda Morais, 8-2 in their quarter-final match on Monday to secure her place in the semifinals.

Oborududu will meet Meerim Zhumanazarova from Kyrgyzstan in the semi-finals of the women’s 68kg at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris at 8 p.m.

Oborududu who is ranked world number 6, won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

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Zhumanazarova who ranked world number 16, is a freestyle wrestler and holds the title of Master of Sport of International Class in Kyrgyzstan.

She won a bronze medal in the women’s 68 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

The 2024 Paris Olympics Games which started on July 26 is expected to end on August 11.

Source: NAN

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D’Tigress had worked their socks off to match up with the more determined France who are highly rated in world basketball.

France took the first half 38-31 and never looked back in the second half of the game to earn three points for their efforts.

D’Tigress will face another tournament’s favourite, Canada, in their last group match on Sunday.

The Nigerians had won their first match against Australia and would advance to the second round if they overcome the firepower of the Canadians.

In a related development, fans of basketball have praised D’Tigress for their efforts in spite of their loss in the second group game.

A basketball coach, Funsho Ojekunle, said that France had shown great quality over Nigeria.

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He also expressed the hope that the team would do well in their match against Canada.

“We played well but lost to a superior team, better luck next time. I can only wish them the very best as they play Canada in their last group game,” Ojekunle said.

Another basketball fan, Kemu Ashiru, said the match was very technical for the girls, adding that they should not allow the loss to weigh them down.

“They played well but could not match the firepower of France who are highly rated in world basketball.

“They must learn from their mistakes as they play Canada in their last group game; I wish them all the very best,” Ashiru said.

Source: NAN

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The virus has forced athletes to withdraw from events at the Paris Games and has others donning masks again.

This time the impact is much more limited though.

Several athletes have tested positive, including Australian swimmer, Lani Pallister.

She was a medal hope in the women’s 1500 metres freestyle but had to withdraw from the event.

A team spokeswoman said, however, that the decision was made to save Pallister’s energy for the 4x200m freestyle relay which starts on Thursday.

Likewise, British swimmer Adam Peaty, tested positive a day after he just missed out on 100m breaststroke gold, sharing silver with American Nic Fink.

He has now said he would focus on a “fast, full recovery” to give his best in relays later in the week.

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“Adam’s okay, he’s not dying. He’s alright, just a bit of a cold,” Peaty’s British teammate Matt Richards said after his 100m freestyle heat on Tuesday.

“We’ll avoid it (COVID) as best as we can,” Richards said. But “we’re here to race. If we get a little bit ill whilst we’re racing we’ll keep racing. It’s how we do it.”

Several Australian women’s water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 in the days leading up to the opening ceremony, forcing them to isolate from other team members.

However the team played on Tuesday, smashing Serbia 8-3.

The Tokyo Games were delayed a year due to COVID while the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics were held with strict precautions, making Paris the first post-pandemic Olympics.

There are no strict protocols or restrictions around COVID-19 in Paris.

“We have a protocol (that) any athlete that has tested positive has to wear a mask and we remind everyone to follow best practices but in terms of monitoring COVID, cases are quite low in France,” said Anne Descamps, Paris 2024 chief communications director.

British swimmer Jacob Whittle said his team were nevertheless getting more strict with the precautions.

“We’re hand sanitising and wearing masks everywhere we can,” he said. “When we’re swimming and doing stuff like this (speaking to reporters) are the only times we’re not wearing a mask.

“It’s just being extra cautious when eating and going on buses and communal spaces, just being really conscious so as to not catch it and also if you’ve got it not to give it to anyone else. Just being careful really.”

Canada’s chief medical officer Mike Wilkinson, said his team “continued to implement many of the infection prevention protocols that proved successful during the COVID pandemic including hand washing, sanitisation and good hygiene practices.

“We also have a team that disinfects shared spaces throughout the day, and isolation protocols for anyone who does get sick,” he said.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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Ezinne Kalu scored 19 points to lead the D’Tigress to win the better-rated Australian team.

Basketball fans in Lagos poured encomium on the team, as they earn the first valuable points in opening match of the group game.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in separate interviews on Monday that the team did well in winning the first game.

A basketball fan, Sesan Olabode, said that the team deserved the victory, having prepared well and played well in the match.

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He urged the team to continue to rise to the challenge ahead of their opponent as the first victory would boost their confidence.

He said, “it is a fantastic win, the team showed great confidence in defeating Australia, the team should continue to rise to every challenge ahead of them.”

A grassroots basketball coach, Austin Okafor, said that “the team proved that it is indeed Africa’s powerhouse in women basketball.

“The team deserves commendation and should continue to fight hard in subsequent matches.”

Another grassroots basketball coach, Femi Adetoye, said the team had shown that it was a force to reckon with.

He said Australia was not a pushover and for D’Tigress to defeat them at the highest stage of basketball competition, it showed the depth of quality in the team.

He added that “it is a great result, Australia is no pushover in world basketball, therefore, D’Tigress should work harder in subsequent matches.”

Emeka Nwani, a basketball fan, said that the team showed good character and great judgment of the game.

He said that with what he saw in the first Paris encounter, the team would surely go far in the tournament.

Source: NAN

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