Picks of the week: Rays of Hope for a medal shimmer as D’Tigress beat Canada to advance in the Olympics, St. Lucia gets on the Olympics map while Djokovic completes a career,’ Golden Slam’, and Bastianini seals a win in Silverstone.
The Paris Olympics 2024 will be remembered as the stage where legends clashed and a new hero emerged. The men’s singles tennis finals witnessed a historic showdown between the oldest and youngest finalists in Olympic tennis history.
It wasn’t time for a joke when Novak Djokovic, the veteran champion, faced off against Carlos Alcaraz, the rising star, for a title that had eluded the Serbs all through his career. In a heart-stopping encounter, Djokovic triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2), claiming his long-awaited Olympic title and completing the coveted Career Golden Slam. Alcaraz, though defeated, earned a silver medal in his Olympic debut; not only did he win the silver, but he carted home the hearts of fans across the world with his emotional response.
Meanwhile, Team Nigeria’s basketball journey has been a groundbreaking one. For the first time in history, the D’Tigress have reached the quarterfinals, igniting hopes of a medal finish. Their remarkable run includes a stunning victory against 3rd-ranked Australia and a hard-fought win against 5th-ranked Canada, securing their spot in the next round. Though they faced a setback against France, their determination and skill have made every moment count. The Paris Olympics 2024 will be etched in the memories of Nigerian basketball fans forever.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons’ Olympic journey comes to a close after a 3-1 defeat to Japan in their final Group C match. Japan capitalized on a weak Nigerian defence to take the lead with Maika Hamano’s goal in the 22nd minute, followed by Mina Tanaka’s header in the 32nd minute. Although Jennifer Echegini scored for the Falcons in the 42nd minute, Hikaru Kitagawa’s goal in added time crushed their hopes of a comeback. The Super Falcons’ Olympic campaign ended with three consecutive losses in Group C.
Drama unfolded in the world of athletics as Favour Ofili’s name was mysteriously omitted from the 100-meter event in Paris, sparking widespread outrage. Taking to social media, Ofili expressed her devastation and pointed fingers at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC), and Nigerian Athletics Development Committee (NADC) for their alleged negligence. She recounted the heartbreaking tale of 14 qualified athletes who missed out on the previous Olympics due to funding issues for essential tests.
Minister of Sports John Enoh swiftly responded, condemning Ofili’s exclusion as “inexcusable” and vowing to impose severe sanctions after a thorough investigation into the blunder.
However, Ofili’s Olympic journey took a dramatic turn for the better as she stormed into the semi-finals of the women’s 200-meter event. With a blistering time of 22.24 seconds, she outpaced Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Gina Bass-Bitaye, claiming a thrilling victory.
Elsewhere, Temitope Adesina’s Olympic dreams were dashed as she narrowly missed the cut for the women’s high jump final. In another heart-wrenching turn of events, the 4×400-meter mixed relay team, comprising Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Emmanuel Ojeli, and Patience Okon George, fell short of the finals despite shattering the national record with a time of 3:11.99, finishing 9th overall.
Nigeria’s athletics campaign faced a series of setbacks as the trio of Chioma Onyekwere, Ashley Anumba, and Obiageri Amaechi failed to advance beyond the women’s discus throw qualification round. Sade Olatoye’s efforts in the women’s hammer throw yielded a 14th-place finish, with a respectable mark of 66.41m.
In the highly anticipated 100m event, Rosemary Chukwuma’s promising start was unable to propel her to the podium. Instead, Julien Alfred stunned the crowd with a blistering 10.72s performance, edging out Sha’Cari Richardson for gold. Richardson and Melissa Jefferson secured silver and bronze, respectively.
Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi ran a personal best of 44.50s to book an automatic spot in the semi-finals of the 400m after he finished as second, while Quincy Hall of the USA won the race with 44.28s. Chidi Okezie came close to automatic qualification but finished 4th with 45.52s and will make a return for the Repechage to get a chance to make the semi-finals; for Favour Ashe and Kayinsola Ajayi, both started out strongly in the 100m semi-final race, but their speed could only earn them a 6th place finish in 10.08s and 10.13ss.
However, Chukwuebuka Enenkwechi delivered a highlight performance in the shot put men’s finals, finishing sixth with a career-best mark of 21.42m. Despite these valiant efforts, Team Nigeria is still awaiting its first podium finish in athletics at the Paris Olympics.
The British Grand Prix experienced thrills and spills. The MotoGP riders put on a show at Silverstone, with Ducati Lenovo’s Enea Bastianini taking the top spot on the podium. The Italian ace edged out championship leader Jorge Martin, who suffered a costly mistake in the final stages, while Francesco Bagnaia rounded out the top three.
Meanwhile, in the world of football, the 2024/25 Premier League season is imminent, and teams are gearing up for their pre-season tours.
Manchester City is on fire, and the lightning caught Erling Haaland who netted a hat-trick to secure a 4-2 win against Chelsea in a preseason tournament. Next up, City will face off against Manchester United in the Community Shield match, while Chelsea will take on Real Madrid in the USA.
Liverpool is also not doing bad, though they haven’t made any tangible signings; the boys are looking strong under Slot, wrapping up their three-match tour with a convincing 3-0 win against Manchester United.
As Edo Queens approach the WAFU-B qualifying tournament for the CAF Women’s Champions League, Rivers Angels FC has announced Tosan Blankson as the new head coach for the Federation Cup winners, ahead of the 2024/25 season. The stage is set for an exciting season – stay tuned!
