African Games
OLAJIDE OMOTAYO IS AFRICAN GAMES CHAMPION
The unexpected happened in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday August 29, as a new face emerged as the champion of Africa in the men’s singles event at the 2019 African Games.
Unfavoured Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo conquered three of the best players in Africa to be crowed the champion to come out of the continent.
From the quarterfinal stage, Omotayo worked his way to the final beating two former champions – Egypt’s Ahmed Saleh and Nigeria’s Segun Toriola in the quarterfinal and semifinal stages.
The final produced the best of Africa with Aruna Quadri going up against Omotayo and the fans were treated to an exciting match.
Omotayo threw caution to the wind and raced to the lead with a 3-0 (13-11, 11-9, 16-14) but experienced Quadri cut the lead to 3-2 with 8-11, 13-15 wins in the fourth and fifth games.
The sixth match was a display of energy and skills and it was the younger Omotayo that scaled through with 12-10 win to claim the second gold medals for Nigeria in the table tennis event of the multi-sports fiesta.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Dina Meshref retained her title to become the first female Egyptian to win the title back-to-back.
To beat Cameroun’s Sarah Hanffou, who had earlier edged out Nigeria’s Edem Offiong in semifinal, Meshref took charge from the start and controlled the match to end at 11-7, 11-4, 11-2, 11-7 to the admiration of the Egyptian fans.
A satisfied Meshref said she was happy becoming the first female Egyptian to set a new feat in table tennis.
“I am so happy becoming the first female Egyptian to win the women singles title back-to-back for the first time.
“But I must admit that it was not easy at all because the four years difference between the two titles was very long for me to be able to keep up with my performance. I am so excited that I was able to retain the title again,” Meshref said.
She added: “It was a bit easy for me winning the title this year because in 2015, I had to play against some Chinese players from Congo Brazzaville and I also confronted Edem Offiong of Nigeria in the quarterfinal stage.
“There was also a lot of pressure on me then because it was then the qualification for the Olympic Games. So this year, I played with less pressure and I had a good draw to the final.”
An elated Omotayo said: “I am very happy winning the African Games. I am so proud of myself because this is a big one for my career and it was a good journey for me from the start of this competition having won against some of the best players in the continent.”
African Games
BREAKING! Accra 2023 African Games Chieftain is dead
Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, who superintended the 13th African Games held in Accra Ghana in February has died.
He was the Chief Operating Officer of the Accra 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC).
According to sources in Ghana, Dr. Owusu-Ansah was a sports administrator and coach, and thus left behind, a significant legacy in the world of sports.
Dr Owusu-Ansah, a former Chief Executive of the National Sports Authority (NSA), was widely regarded as an encyclopaedia of sports knowledge.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Owusu-Ansah, a former national chief athletics coach, authored the best-selling book “Principles of Abundant Living.”
He played a pivotal role in establishing the Department of Sports Studies at the College of Education at the University of Ghana. Additionally, he served as the Director of the Sports Directorate at the University of Ghana, Legon.
African Games
ASFU mourns African Games 2023 chief executive, Owusu-Ansah
The Africa Students Football Union (ASFU) has expressed condolences over the passing of a patron of the union, Dr Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, who served as the COO of the just concluded 13th Africa Games held in Ghana.
Dr. Owusu-Ansah’s death was announced on Tuesday, April 23, 2024.
According to a release by the executive secretary of the union, Femi Abioye, Owusu-Ansah until his death contributed immensely to sports development on the continent and the world at large.
He left an indelible impact on the lives of students-athletes coupled with sports administration across Africa countries.
The ASFU’s President, Prof. Oluwaseun Omotayo, who was shocked at the news of the demise of Dr. Owusu-Ansah described the deceased as a pillar, saying his departure has left a great vacuum in sports management.
He relished the deceased contribution and unwavering dedication to ASFU, saying the Union would miss the deceased.
“We will miss Dr. Owusu-Ansah, whose contribution to sports, knew no bounds. He was always ready to serve. He helped build the Union and was pivotal to the Union programmes. We will surely miss him,” he said.
He extended the Union condolences to all those affected by this loss, praying God grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
African Games
A milestone as Egypt becomes the first country to get 100 gold medals in African Games
As the curtain is drawn on the 13th African Games in Egypt, the traditional overall winners, have this time hit a milestone.
They have become the first to hit a 100 gold medal mark in the 59 year history of the games.
As at Saturday morning, they have amassed 101 gold medals, 54 more than that of the second placed Nigeria
The biggest star of the Egyptian team is swimmer Marwan Elkamash, who won five gold medals in the men’s 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 4x200m relays, all in freestyle.
But medal haul is still short that that of his compatriot, Faten Afifi who fished out seven gold medals from the pool.
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