Sport
Thursday, 02 April 2020 05:38
Wimbledon cancelled first time in 75 years, Serena Williams, others react
Wimbledon organisers have scrapped the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament for the first time since World War II as the coronavirus wreaks further havoc on the global sporting calendar The cancellation of the only grasscourt major at London's All England Club leaves the season in disarray, with no tennis set to be played until mid-July. Wimbledon is the latest major summer sporting event to be called off, with Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics postponed for 12 months. It follows the postponement of the French Open, which was due to begin in May but has been rescheduled to 20 September-4…
Tuesday, 31 March 2020 05:26
Postponed Olympic Games get new dates
Head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee has on Monday announced that the postponed Olympic Games will now begin on July 23 and run until August 8, 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible to plan for them properly this year. The Games were postponed last week and the delay is the first in the 124-year history of the modern Olympics. The postponement represents a huge blow for Japan, which invested $13 billion in the run-up to the event, and raised $3 billion from domestic sponsors. Yoshiro Mori, head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, confirmed the new dates…
Wednesday, 25 March 2020 04:36
Tokyo 2020: Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed because of coronavirus
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed until next year because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The event, due to begin on 24 July, will now take place "no later than summer 2021". "I proposed to postpone for a year and [IOC] president Thomas Bach responded with 100% agreement," said Shinzo Abe, Japan's Prime Minister. The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021. In a joint statement, the organisers of Tokyo 2020 and the IOC said: "The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of…
Tuesday, 10 December 2019 05:23
Anti-doping agency imposes 4-year ban on Russia
Russia was slapped Monday with a four-year ban from international sports events, including next summer’s Tokyo Olympics, over a longstanding doping scandal, although its athletes will still be able to compete if they can show they are clean competitors. The ruling by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s executive committee means that Russia’s flag, name and anthem will not appear at the Tokyo Games, and the country also could be stripped of hosting world championships in Olympic sports. The sanctions are the harshest punishment yet for Russian state authorities who were accused of tampering with a Moscow laboratory database. Russia’s anti-doping agency…
Sunday, 08 December 2019 05:24
Anthony Joshua beats Andy Ruiz to reclaim world titles
Anthony Joshua has reclaimed his World Heavyweight titles after winning a grueling rematch against Andy Ruiz on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia. The scores were 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 in favour of the Nigeria-born boxer who now has his WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO Heavyweight Titles back. In the first bout, back in June, Ruiz came in as a late replacement and dropped Joshua four times to secure a seventh-round stoppage at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Though Joshua could not get a knockout win as he wished, he would be happy to have done enough to get his revenge…
Monday, 11 November 2019 06:13
How Nigeria got so good at competitive Scrabble
Oluwatosin Adesokan It is 2019 and the Nigeria Scrabble national team has won the World English Scrabble Players Association Championship [WESPAC] title a third time. Since the inception of WESPAC in 1991, no other African nation has won the championship until Nigeria did in 2015 and then in 2017. In the finals held in Goa, India, thirty countries were represented with Nigeria featuring eleven players and officials. Two Nigerians were ranked in the top ten in the competition while others were ranked in the top thirty. The coach of the Nigeria Scrabble team—Prince Anthony Ikolo also won the title in…
Sunday, 08 September 2019 05:51
Andreescu’s 1st Slam title at US Open prevents Serena’s 24th
Bianca Andreescu knew this would happen, because she knows all about Serena Williams. Looked up to her. Dreamed of playing her. Andreescu knew Williams would not go quietly. Knew Williams would not make things easy. And so as a big lead in the U.S. Open final dwindled Saturday, as she stuffed fingers in her ears to drown out the decibels from the delirious thousands filling Arthur Ashe Stadium, Andreescu knew she needed to be just as bold, and hit just as big, as she did earlier in the match — and as Williams has done for years. Displaying the same…
Tuesday, 20 August 2019 05:42
Zenith Bank celebrates D’Tigress on back-to-back Afrobasket championship victory
Zenith Bank Plc, sole sponsor of Nigerian Female Basketball League has hailed the Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress, for emerging champions of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket 2019 in Dakar, Senegal, defeating the host nation 60-55 points in the final match to retain the coveted trophy. Speaking on the success of the team at the championship, Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu commended the team for their hard work, doggedness and team spirit, which has seen them retain the trophy which they won two years ago in Mali. He expressed delight at the heroics of the team, comprised mostly…
Saturday, 17 August 2019 05:18
FIFA bans Samson Siasia for life
A former Super Eagles player and coach, Mr Samson Siasia, has been slammed with a life ban by the world football governing body, FIFA. The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee of the world football body found Siasia, a former official of Nigeria Football Federation, guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches in violation of FIFA Code of Ethics. According to the statement on FIFA website, a wide-scale investigation was carried out on Siasa before the landmark judgment was delivered. The statement read: “The formal ethics proceedings against Siasia were…
Friday, 16 August 2019 05:19
Zenith Bank hails D’Tigress on quarterfinal qualification
Zenith Bank Plc, the sole sponsor of Nigerian Female Basketball League has hailed Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress for their exploits at the ongoing FIBA Women’s Afrobasket 2019 in Dakar, Senegal. Speaking on the progress of the team to the quarterfinal stage of the competition, Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu commended the team for their hard work, dedication and team spirit, and urged them to go all the way to the final and bring the trophy home. He expressed delight at the heroics of the team, comprised mostly of products of Zenith Bank Women Basketball League, which…
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Monday, 29 July 2019 04:56
Gov, 3 deputy govs run for cover as police shoot teargas to disperse unruly Kano Pillars fans
Security officials resorted to the use of teargas to disperse rampaging Kano Pillars fans on Sunday at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna. This was after their team defeated Niger Tornadoes 4-3 on penalty kicks after a goalless draw during the regulation time of the men’s competition final match of 2019 Aiteo Cup. But there were many after-effects, with dignitaries present for the match having to take cover as the effect of the teargas caused pandemonium. Those affected include Kano State Governor, Mr Abdullahi Ganduje, and deputy governors of Niger (Muhammed Ketso), Kano State (Nasiru Gawuna) and Nasarawa State (Emmanuel Akabe).…
Saturday, 20 July 2019 05:25
Africa Cup of Nations: Algeria beat Senegal to win final
Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time as a freak early goal secured a 1-0 win against Senegal in the final in Cairo. Baghdad Bounedjah's shot took a huge deflection off Salif Sane and looped over goalkeeper Alfred Gomes. Senegal, who have never won the competition, were awarded a penalty for handball in the second half but it was overturned after a VAR review. Algeria closed out the rest of the game to win their first title since 1990. Senegal's players collapsed on the pitch in tears at the final whistle. Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who…
Saturday, 20 July 2019 05:24
Ighalo becomes second Nigerian, after Rasidi Yekini, to win AFCON golden boot
Odion Ighalo has won the highest goal scorer award at the just concluded 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday night. The Super Eagles star scored five goals in the 32nd edition of the African football showpiece in Egypt. Ighalo becomes the second Eagles player, after late Rashidi Yekini to have won the golden boots award at the AFCON. The Shanghai Shenhua of China star striker scored in the third minute of play in the third-place match between Nigeria and Tunisia on Wednesday night. He scored a total of five goals at 2019 AFCON. He scored his debut AFCON goal…
Thursday, 18 July 2019 05:25
Nigeria grab bronze in 2019 AFCON
Odion Ighalo scored the fastest goal so far in the2019 Africa Cup of Nations as the Super Eagles beat Tunisia 1-0 on Wednesday night to win the Bronze medal at this year’s tournament. After Sunday’s semi-final losses, Tunisia and Nigeria wanted the bronze medal. But it was Gernot Rohr’s side that prevailed in the third place contest in Cairo. Nigeria shot into the lead barely three minutes into the game as Ighalo tucked home the ball after Ben Cherifia and Meriah made a mess of Jamilu Collins’ cross. Carthage Eagles responded well and would have gotten a quick equaliser had…