Category: Sports

Egypt have been eliminated from the Tokyo Olympic Games men’s football event after going down by a lone goal to defending champions Brazil at the Saitama Stadium on Saturday. The African representatives had qualified for the quarter-finals after an impressive 2-0 win against Australia in their final Group C game. Matheus Cunha scored the goal which gave Brazil the slim win and ended African teams’ participation in the global competition. Egypt’s well-organised defence managed to keep Brazil at bay in the opening minutes. When the South Americans, who were enjoying…

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The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended Team Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare with immediate effect after a sample collected from the sprinter tested positive for human growth hormone. The AIU, which is an independent integrity body created by the World Athletics, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. The growth hormone is a non-specified substance on the 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. A provisional suspension is mandatory following an adverse analytical finding for such substance under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules. The AIU collected the sample from Okagbare…

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Some basketball fans have expressed shock over the senior national men basketball team, D’Tigers` loss to Germany 92-99 in their second group game at  the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team also lost their opening game to Australia 67-84 on Tuesday and were looking forward to redeem their image against Germany. The fans spoke with NAN in separate interviews  in Lagos on Wednesday. The Head Coach of Lagos Islanders, Seyi Ayodele, said that the team lost because of poor teamwork. He said that…

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Olympics organisers registered 16 new coronavirus cases related to the 2020 Games in Tokyo in their Wednesday report. However, no Olympic athletes were among those affected. The latest numbers bring the total number of positive tests linked to the Olympics since July 1 to 169. A total of 17 athletes have been infected so far.(dpa Share on: WhatsApp

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Heritage Bank Plc has been commended for its continued supports to Nigeria’s sports’ sector, especially backing the Ibadan Golf Club’s 30th anniversary event. The event that attracted dignitaries and stakeholders from various parastatals also had the presence of the Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Oluseyi Makinde and over 150 golfers who participated in the tournament during the weeklong celebration. In a speech during the grand finale of the 30th anniversary of the club, the Captain of the Ibadan Golf Club, Oladiran Ibironke commended one of Nigeria’s most vibrant financial institutions, Heritage…

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Defending champions Brazil were held to a goalless draw by Ivory Coast in Group D, after Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz was sent off for a trip on former Leeds winger Max Gradel on just 13 minutes. Luiz was initially booked, but the yellow card was upgraded to red by VAR, after he was deemed to deny a goalscoring opportunity. Ivory Coast, who won their opener against Saudi Arabia, also had a player dismissed late on as Eboue Kouassi received a second yellow card. Brazil, captained by former Barcelona defender…

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Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine has been suspended and will be sent home from Tokyo 2020 after he withdrew from the competition to avoid a potential meeting with an Israeli opponent. Nourine, 30, was due to face Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool in Monday’s first round of the men’s -73kg class. Victory would have meant he would take on Israel’s Tohar Butbul next. Speaking to Algerian TV, he said his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible to compete. Nourine pulled out of the 2019 world championships, also in Tokyo, after…

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The Tokyo Olympics were opened on Friday a year behind schedule by Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the cauldron in the culmination of a low-key ceremony. The event was in an all-but-empty stadium against the backdrop of the coronavirus. The emperor and other dignitaries wore face masks just as the athletes and most others involved in the three-and-a-half hour show likely watched by billions around the world on television. A minute’s silence was observed for the victims of the pandemic which had forced the first-ever postponement…

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Nigeria’s representatives in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics stepped out in national colours as the official opening of the games opens with a match past of all participating countries. Team Nigeria with all athletes featuring in different events joined others representing heir various coutries including the host nation, Japan. The head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, called the start of this year’s pandemic-delayed Games as “a moment of hope”. The opening ceremony took on a more sombre tone, but Africa’s delegations were there. Nigeria’s Olympians were dressed in white,…

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An Algerian judoka has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics before his event starts, after the draw set him on course for a possible match-up against an Israeli. Fethi Nourine told Algerian TV that his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete against Tohar Butbul. “We worked a lot to reach the Olympics, and the news came as a shock, a thunder,” he told the channel late on Thursday. Nourine said his decision was “final” and he would not “get his hands dirty.” The 30-year-old…

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