Sports

Commonwealth Games: Nigeria Turn to Amusan, Brume for Medals

Published

2 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

CAF Crowns Ademola Lookman As African Footballer of the Year

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

Eric

Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, has been named the CAF Footballer of the Year for the past year.

Lookman was announced as the winner at an elaborate event in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night.

The Atalanta star won the prize ahead of Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

It has been an incredible year for Lookman, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League/UEFA Cup final since 1975, netting the three goals within 26 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen.

Lookman was included in the Team of the Year for the Europa League, and ended the season having had a direct hand in 18 top flight goals for La Dea.

The 27-year-old was ranked the 14th best player during the Ballon d’Or gala on October 28.

Sports

Panel Clears Mbappe of Rape Allegation

Published

1 week ago

December 13, 2024

Eric

The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.

This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.

The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.

Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision

His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.

Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.

“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”

The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.

Sports

Man United Engage van Nistelrooy on Interim Basis As Ten Hag Gets the Boot

Published

2 months ago

October 28, 2024

Eric

Manchester United have announced the termination of Erik ten Hag’s contract after two-and-a-half years in charge at Old Trafford, with Ruud van Nistelrooy set to take interim charge.

The Dutchman was dismissed following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham, which left United sitting 14th in the Premier League table.

A club statement said: “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.

“Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

“We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.”