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Did Rohr Foresee the Zambian Challenge?
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Super Eagles’ qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup has been postponed for another one month following the Zambia’s 1-0 defeat of immediate post-draw favourites, Algeria on Tuesday night.
The Super Eagles were initially projected to pick an outright qualification had the team achieved a double over Cameroon on Monday by taking the full points.
Picking of the ticket could also have been achieved on Tuesday if Zambia had not beaten Algeria in Constantine.
The stack reality now is that the Super Eagles have to win the next fixture against Zambia in Uyo to pick the ticket before a potentially tricky last match day fixtures which could involve horse trading with the two already eliminated giants, Cameroon and Algeria.
If Nigeria wins the October 7 fixture, the race to pick the Group B ticket gets to its climax. It will be coming on the eve of the 24th anniversary of that October 8, 1993 evening when Nigeria first qualified for the World Cup.
Hitherto, Zambia was the least expected to pose the most serious challenge for the Super Eagles, especially as the team was the first to concede goals and defeat in the power-packed Group B.
Moreover, the Zambian had the worst start in the final phase, losing on home soil.
But ahead of the Tuesday night surprised defeat of Algeria, Nigeria’s manager, Gernot Rohr at post match conference made reference to the danger posed by Zambia.
He told the gathering that the Zambian team that lost 1-2 at home to Nigeria was not the same side that beat Algeria 3-1 in Lusaka on Sunday.
“We are not done yet. We need to put up a good fight against Zambia when they come to Uyo next month”, he said as if he had premonition that Zambia could shock Algeria o n home soil.
“There have been changes in the Zambian side that lost to us and the team that beat Algeria 3-1 last Sunday”, Rohr said, noting that six new players have been injected into the side, especially from the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations under 20 earlier in the year.
Among the new inclusion that did not feature in the last October duel with Nigeria are Patson Daka, Fashion Sakala, Chisamba Lungu, Augustine Mulenga, Brian Mwila and Ziyo Tembo.
Two of them scored vital goals against Algeria that have put Zambia in contention for World Cup qualification. Patson Daka scored the vital goal that gave lifeline to Zambia on Tuesday night.
Patson Daka set Zambia on victory path on Sunday when he opened scoring in the sixth minute in the Lusaka 3-1 beating of Algeria.
A loss by Nigeria at home in October will put both Super Eagles and Zambia at par on points, but depending on the number of goals, Nigeria may have the edge on goal difference as the Super Eagles have a surplus of seven goals as against Zambia’s two.
Zambia will have to score three unreplied goals in the October match to be on equal level with Nigeria on all parameters.
A draw with Zambia on October 7 will stretch the group to the wire on the last match day on November 6 to set up potentially tricky fixtures as each will face the eliminated giants.
While Nigeria will be away to Algeria, Zambia will host Cameroon which may not up much resistance in the away fixture that means nothing to the team but could wish a complete routing of giants in the group.
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All’s well that ends well at Lagos International Badminton Classic
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BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
As the curtain fell on the 7th edition of the Lagos International Badminton Classic, Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat won the topmost prize, the men’s single final after beating India’s Samarveer in a thrilling clash.
He becomes the only non-Indian that clinched gold in the classic, the biggest and best in Africa.
The allure of the Vietnamese is the fact he was just one of the trio from his country and featured at the tournament without a coach.
He lived up to his calling as the number one seed, beating Samarveer 2-1 even though the Indian had two coaches behind him providing him with technical support.
The game started with the Vietnamese winning the first game by 21-10, but things turned around in the second game as the Indian won by 21-18 to drag the Vietnamese into a third game which was filled with thriller as there was tension packed rising and falling of both players.
Though Le Duc Phat took a lead by 21-20, he could still not be declared winner by the umpire because he needed to win by two point’s difference just as the rule states.
A masterly final stroke from the Vietnamese did the magic after he added the final point to win the third game at 22-20.
The victory did not just deny the Indians an opportunity to cart away all the other gold medals available at the tournament, but it also made Le Duc Phat the second Vietnamese to win the men’s single of the Lagos Badminton Classic since Nguyen Tien Minh first won the championship in the 2019 edition.
In the women singles, women doubles, men doubles and mixed doubles, it was an all India affair, as the Asians who are the only foreign country to come to the championship with the highest number of players cleared all gold available in those categories.
In the women’s singles final, Indian’s Shreya Lele feasted on her fellow compatriot Kavipriya Selvam with two straight wins, to become women’s champion from wins of 21-11 and 21-16.
The women’s doubles and men doubles was also an all Indian affair, as a combination of Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi beat the duo of Vaishnavi Khadkekar and Alisha Khan 2-0 (21-11, 21-16 ) to emerge women double champions.
In the men double final, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Vishnuvardhan Goud PANJALA beat the duo of P.S Ravikrishna and Akshan Shetty with 2-0 (21-17,21-19) to win the gold, while the host, Nigeria’s duo of Alhaji Aliyu Shehu and Uchechukwu Deborah Ukeh, who lost in the final of the mixed doubles bowed to Indians duo of Sathwik Reddy Kanapururam and Vaishnavi Khadkehar by 2-0 (21-12,21-14).
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Amusan lost to conservation of strength, says Falilat Ogunkoya
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Nigeria’s first athlete to win an individual track and field medal at the Olympic Games, Falilat Ogunkoya has offered explanations on why Nigeria’s biggest hope for a medal at Paris 2024, Tobi Amusan failed to make the mark.
Falilat who was Nigeria’s first medallist at the Atlanta ‘96 Games won a bronze medal in the women’s 400 m and a silver in the 4x400m.
“I think Tobi Amusan was tensed up. She was restless. I don’t know what really happened to her. She probably was trying to conserve her energy for the medal race and overdid it”, remarked Falilat while trying to explain the third position that the Nigerian brightest prospect had in the Heat 1 of the women’s 100m hurdles race.
Her chance of qualifying was hit a decisive blow when the third and fourth place in the last heat returned better time than the 12.55 seconds of Amusan.
For most of the Nigerian athletes, Falilat is of the opinion that they were probably over confident and in some instances failed to heed to instructions from their Team Nigeria coaches.
“Most prefer to listen only to their foreign coaches. I am not saying they should discard them, but when they come to Team Nigeria, the coaches should be listened to.”
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Next federations’ elections will change the face of Nigerian sports, says minister, Enoh
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Nigeria’s sports minister, John Owan Enoh has stated that a scrutiny of the sports’ federations’ constitution will be conducted, ostensibly to ensure round pegs in round holes.
This is coming on the heels of the glaring zero medal outing Nigeria is about to record as the curtain falls on Paris 2024.
“There will be stiffer scrutiny of the constitutions governing Nigeria’s sporting federations in advance of the forthcoming elections”, the minister remarked in a press statement issued by Diana-Mary Nsan, his special assistant on media.
“We did everything as a Ministry to prepare the athletes adequately and provide them with every financial support but unfortunately the performance has not produced any podium finish.”
He continued, “As we go back home we must do everything to prevent future occurrence of the Paris disaster and if this will entail the review of how people are elected to lead our sporting Federations, it will be done.”
Emphasizing the importance of upcoming federations’ elections, Senator Enoh noted, “I know that elections into the Federations are coming and it will be the perfect platform to get only those who have something to offer to lead the various sports.”
Reflecting on the complexity of these elections, he added, “I am aware that the Sports Federations Elections in Nigeria are even tougher than our National Elections and you will begin to ask yourself why is it so.”
The Minister concluded, “So for me as a Minister it is important I supervise an Elections where only the best hands will lead the various Federations and I also understand that in some of the Federations their constitutions will need to be reviewed for better inclusion.”
This call for reform aims to enhance the leadership and effectiveness of Nigeria’s sports federations, paving the way for improved performance on the global stage.
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