Sports

Commonwealth Games: Nigeria Turn to Amusan, Brume for Medals

Published

3 years ago

August 4, 2022

Eric

Team Nigeria’s medal hopeful, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha, on Wednesday night, failed to win a medal in the final of the 100m women’s final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Both athletes finished fourth and fifth respectively in the women’s final, after returning in 11.17secs and 11.18sesc as Nigeria ended the day without a single to remain 10th on the table.

The Nigerians finished behind Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica), Julien Alfred (St Lucia) and Daryll Neita (England), who all claimed the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.

Godson Brume, Favour Ashe and Raymond Ekevwo all failed to qualify for the men’s 100m final.

In the men’s high jump, Mike Edwards finished in sixth position after three attempts to scale through the 2.22m barrier proved unsuccessful.

However, quarter-miler Patience Okon-George qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 400m event after she ran 52.63s to finish fourth in her heat. It was good enough to earn her a semi-final place as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

Samson Nathaniel and Dubem Amene also qualified from Heat 1 of the men’s 400m and will hope to brighten their chances of winning a medal on Thursday (today) when the event continues.

The performance was a far cry from the team’s outing on Day 5, when African champion Chioma Onyekwere made history as the first Nigerian woman to win the Commonwealth Games gold in the Discus Throw with a 61.70m effort in her fourth attempt to take the lead from home girl, Jade Lally, who led from the start of the competition with her opening throw of 57.33m.

Onyekwere’s gold medal feat pushed Team Nigeria back to the Top 10 on the medals table, but there was no big change on Wednesday as they failed to add to their medals tally.

Following the loss of the duo, the Nigerians will be banking on world champion Tobi Amusan in the 100m hurdles and long jumper Ese Brume, who won a silver medal at the recent World Championships in Oregon.

Sports

Anthony Joshua Defeats Jake Paul in Sixth-round Knockout

Published

20 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Eric

Former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, delivered a dominant performance on Saturday morning, stopping YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul with a sixth-round knockout in their heavyweight bout in Miami.

Although Paul exceeded expectations by lasting beyond the early rounds, Joshua’s superior power and experience proved decisive, according to The Athletic.

The British boxer dropped Paul twice during a chaotic fifth round, setting the stage for the finish.

Joshua sealed the victory in the sixth round, unleashing a sustained combination of heavy punches that left Paul unable to continue, prompting the referee to halt the contest.

Speaking after the fight, Joshua turned his attention to longtime rival Tyson Fury, challenging him to step into the ring.

“Put down (your) Twitter fingers and put on some gloves and come and fight me,” he said.

Paul, who later revealed he suffered a broken jaw in the bout, declined to name a future opponent.

Instead, the boxer said he would take a break from boxing following the loss, which marked the second defeat of his professional career.

Paul, who is ranked as the No. 14 cruiserweight with the WBA, has defeated back-to-back former boxing world champions.

He comfortably beat a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024 on Netflix’s boxing debut and most recently outpointed a 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chávez Jr. this past June.

Sports

FirstBank Elephant Girls Win in Zone 3, Qualify for WBLA Final Round

Published

2 weeks ago

December 8, 2025

Eric

FirstBank Basketball Club of Nigeria, popularly known as the “Elephant Girls”, have secured their spot in the final round of the Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA), scheduled to hold in Cairo, Egypt from 5-14 December 2025.

The Elephant Girls put up a commanding performance at the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Qualifiers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, winning all three games. Representing Nigeria as the country’s sole team in the tournament, they overcame fierce competition from Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Togo in the Zone. Their undefeated run included a 66–55 upset against home favourites CSA of Côte d’Ivoire and a thrilling 63–59 comeback win against FBA of Côte d’Ivoire, after trailing by 20 points in the second quarter.

The remarkable performance, marked by resilience, discipline skill, and mental strength, earned the team a triumphant return to continental basketball after a six-year absence. Emerging as champions of Zone 3 and the only English-speaking team to advance, the Elephant Girls have reaffirmed FirstBank’s long-standing commitment to promoting women’s sports in Nigeria and across Africa.

Speaking on the qualification, FirstBank’s Group Head, Human Capital Management and Development and Chairman of the Sports Council, Olumuyiwa Olulaja, said: “We are incredibly proud of the Elephant Girls for their outstanding performance. They have once again shown the world the strength, resilience, and excellence that define FirstBank.

“At FirstBank, we are committed to continuing our support for sports in Nigeria and Africa, and this victory is a significant step forward in our mission to promote excellence in sports on the continental and global stage,” he added.

The Elephant Girls had advanced to represent Nigeria at the WBLA Qualifiers for FIBA Africa Zone 3, following an impressive Silver Medal finish at the Zenith Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Women’s Premier League.

With their place secured in Cairo, the Elephant Girls are poised to showcase their talent on the continental stage once again, carrying the pride of Nigeria and the FirstBank brand as they aim to make history in the Final Round of the Women’s Basketball League Africa.

Sports

Morocco’s Hakimi Wins Africa Football Player of the Year Award

Published

1 month ago

November 20, 2025

Eric

Morocco and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi has been crowned the Confederation of African Football Men’s Player of the Year Award for 2025, edging out finalists Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool) and Victor Osimhen (Nigeria/Galatasaray).

The announcement came on Wednesday during the glittering CAF Awards ceremony in Rabat, Morocco, where Hakimi, the Paris Saint-Germain right-back, was the only finalist in attendance, adding to the electric atmosphere.

This marks a historic breakthrough for Hakimi, after finishing as runner-up in both 2023 and 2024 (behind Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, respectively), the 27-year-old has finally claimed Africa’s top individual football honour.

It’s also the first win for a Moroccan since Mustapha Hadji in 1998, and only the fourth for a defender in the award’s modern history.