Category: Sports

Taiwo Oriss, Secretary General of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), said the federation has assembled a stronger team more than before, ahead of the U19 World Cup Africa Division One Qualifiers.

Oriss spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the backdrop of the level of preparations the team ahead of the event beginning on Sunday in Tanzania.

He said the NCF has prepared the team to compete well enough for the event.

“We have put together one of the best teams for the tournament, in fact, a stronger team than ever before.

“We know what is at stake. We know it is just one slot available and we have prepared the team adequately for the task ahead,’’ he said.

The Secretary recalled the team’s qualification in 2019, a feat that took the country to her first ever World Cup appearance in 2020 but regretted their failure to qualify again in 2021.

He said the board reviewed the lapses suffered in 2021 and have worked to correct them.

“We have better chances of qualifying this time.We have been able to look at what the chances are and have been able to identify the lapses suffered earlier.

“After the team’s qualification from Division Two in September in 2022, they have been in camp in both Benin and Lagos.

“In June, the federation sent the team for two-week training in India, the Omtex CWC training institute, which has one of the best facilities in India.

“At the moment, the team is in Kigali, Rwanda for a training tour where they face some selected Rwanda teams in preparation for the tournament in Tanzania,’’ Oriss said.

He said that the team has got lots of support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, as well as motivation from the president of the federation.

“They have the support of the Ministry as well as the biggest motivation from Uyi Akpata, the NCF president, who is doing everything to ensure the team’s qualification.

“I really don’t see anybody that can stand in the way of Nigeria this time. We have done our analysis and have looked at the teams we are facing.

“I think it is our time,’’ Oriss noted.

NAN reports that Nigeria will face hosts Tanzania, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Namibia and Uganda for the sole ticket to the 2024 World Cup in Sri Lanka.

The Qualifiers is scheduled for July 23 to 31.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A choir from South Africa who’ve won three international medals are overjoyed, saying it’s “just like the Olympics and football World Cup”.

Bokamoso Choir are from a town called Mabopane, just north of Pretoria, and flew home from the World Choir Games in South Korea at the weekend.

They told the Sowetan newspaper it was their first time competing at the global event that drew more than 46 countries and 400 choirs.

“Winning these gold medals has put us in a better position because now we are sitting at number four in the world standings. This has officially launched our name worldwide and will open some doors for us,” choir head Nceba Mdaka told the newspaper.

“We want to use arts and music as a get-away from poverty for these talented people.”

Source: BBC

Namibia’s T11 sprinter, Lahja Ishitile (guided by Sem Shimanda) reached the final of the women’s T11 200 metres (m) after finishing third in the 200m semi-finals on Sunday morning at the World Para Athletics Championships.

The 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships are underway in Paris, France where Ishitile and Shimanda ran a seasonal best time of 25.78 seconds to finish third in heat one, behind Brazilian sprinter Jerusa Geber and her guide Gabriel Aparecido dos Santos.

Dos Santos won that heat with a time of 25.04 seconds, while Cuiqing Liu of China and her guide Shengming Chen came second with a time of 25.27 seconds.

Only the winners of the two heats and the fastest two losing times advance to the final that will be held on Monday evening. The 25.78 seconds clocked by Ishitile was the fourth fastest time from all the two heats which booked her a spot in the final that will see athletes contest for medals.

Another Namibian still expected to compete on Sunday is T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and guide Paulus Filippus who will compete in the 200m heats at 19h25 local time.

Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals, and after nine days of competition, Namibia has won three medals which are silvers in the T11 400m by Lahja Ishitile, T11 100m by Ananias Shikongo guided by Even Tjiuiju and T13 400m Johannes Nambala.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the IPC.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Namibia’s Para athletes Ananias Shikongo and Johannes Nambala on Saturday night added two more medals to Team Namibia’s tally after finishing second in their respective finals.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) 2023 World Para Athletics Championships are currently underway in Paris, France.

In the 100m final at the Charlety Stadium, T11 sprinter Shikongo and his guide Tjiuiju equalled their African Record of 11.11 seconds to finish second behind Greece’s world record holder, Athanasios Ghavelas, who also equalled his championship record of 10.93 seconds to be crowned T11 100m world champion.

Meanwhile, T13 sprinter Nambala ran a seasonal best of 48.14 seconds to finish second behind Japanese sprinter Ryota Fukunaga, who ran an Asian record of 47.79 seconds to be crowned the new T13 400m world champion.

In an interview with Nampa after the race Nambala said winning the medal is a motivation for him to work hard ahead of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

“New guys are coming into the category and they are working hard, therefore I am encouraged and motivated to keep working hard so that I can keep up with them,” he said.

Shikongo on his part said that he was happy to win a silver medal after having a tough race in the 400m.

“Things did not go my way in the 400m earlier in the week but winning a silver here is encouraging as age is not on my side and I am begging to wind down on my career. I am now going back to the training field to continue working hard as we still have the Paralympic Games coming up,” he said.

Michael Hamukwaya the secretary general of the Namibia Paralympic Committee and Team Manager at the World Athletics Championships said credit should be given to the coach who did a good job in preparing the athletes.

“Athletes picked the right time, and all that credit should be given to their coach. We know what goes on behind closed doors, and it’s not easy therefore, credit should be given to him for having his three athletes win medals for the country, and slots for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. As a movement we are proud of the work that Letu Hamhola has done with his athletes,” Hamukwaya said.

After eight days of competition, Namibia has won three medals – which are silvers from T11 female sprinter Lahja Ishitile in the 400m and T13 Nambala as well as T11 Shikongo.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have arrived their camp in Brisbane Australia, ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand is scheduled to hold from July 20 to Aug. 20.

The nine-time African champions will begin her campaign on Friday against Canada before meeting hosts Australia on July 27 and the Republic of Ireland on July 31.

After a 10-day camp in Gold Coast, the team is now set for the World Cup beginning on Thursday.

In a video posted on the team’s twitter handle @ngsuperfalcons on Sunday, the team was welcomed to its Sofitel Luxury Hotel by officials of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

The Super Falcons have been unable to dominate at the World Cup just like they have done in Africa.

The team has been to every World Cup since 1991 but managed to finish in the top eight just once.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Namibia’s T11 sprinter, Lahja Ishitile (guide by Sem Shimanda) reached the semi-finals of the women’s T11 200 metres (m) after finishing second in her 200m heat on Saturday morning at the 2023 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Para Athletics Championships currently underway in Paris, France.

Ishitile and Shimanda ran a seasonal best time of 25.92 seconds to finish second in heat four, behind Brazilian sprinter Thalita Simplico and her guide Felipe Veloso, who won that heat with a time of 25.71 seconds.

The fastest time from the five heats held on the day was clocked by Cuiqing Liu of China and her guide Shengming Chen. They clocked 25.63 seconds to book themselves a spot in the semi-finals that will be held Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, T12 female sprinter Lahja Ipinge and guide Paulus Filippus did not progress to the final of the 100m after finishing last in her heat with a time of 13.22 seconds. The world record holder, defending champion Omara Durand of Cuba and guide Yuniol Kindelan won that heat with a seasonal best of 11.73 seconds.

Only the winners of the two heats and the fastest losing times advance to the final that will be held on Saturday evening.

Other Namibians also expected to compete on Saturday evening are T11 male sprinter Ananias Shikongo, who will compete in the 100m final, and T13 sprinter Johannes Nambala who will also compete in the 400m final.

Over 1 300 athletes from 107 nations are competing for 168 medals, and after eight days of competition, Namibia has won one medal – a silver in the T11 400m by Lahja Ishitile.

The major international multi-sport event involves athletes with a range of disabilities and is governed by the IPC.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency