Olympics
ITTF Seeds Aruna, Assar in Top 16 of Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Following the official seeding list for the Table Tennis competitions of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Omar Assar have been seeded in 14th and 16th places respectively in the Men’s Singles event.
Also, the likes of Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo, Egypt’s Mohammed El-Beiali, Algeria’s Mehdi Bouloussa, Senegal’s Ibrahima Diaw, and Congo Brazzaville’s Saheed Idowu are expected to know their first-round opponents when the draws take place on July 24.
According to the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the seeding list was based on the ITTF World Rankings released yesterday evening.
Aruna who is ranked 19th in the world has been seeded 14th while Assar rated 22nd has been seeded 16th and they are expected to begin their campaigns from the second round of the Men’s Singles.
In the Women’s Singles seeding list, Egypt’s Dina Meshref missed the top 16 list by a whisker to concede the 16th place to WTT Contender Lagos champion, India’s Sreeja Akula.
With this development, Meshref who is seeded 17th, and her compatriot Hana Goda seeded 20th will begin their campaign from the second round of the Women’s Singles.
Nigeria’s pair of Offiong Edem and Fatimo Bello as well as Cameroon’s Sarah Hanffou and Algeria’s Lynda Loghraibi will also begin their quest for glory from the second round of the Women’s Singles.
As table tennis celebrates its 10th appearance at the Olympic Games, this list sets the stage for captivating battles across all categories.
World No. 1, China’s Wang Chuqin takes the top seed in the Men’s Singles event and he is followed by compatriot and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, Fan Zhendong.
Both players will be aiming to get their first gold medal in Men’s Singles and become the sixth Chinese player to take home the Men’s Singles gold.
French favourite, Felix Lebrun, seeded third, is a strong contender for a podium finish after a recent ITTF World Championships team silver medal and a strong showing at the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana.
Elsewhere, Brazil’s Hugo Calderano and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju have been named the fourth and fifth seeds in the Men’s Singles draw.
China remains a major force in Women’s Singles, but their top seeds face fierce competition. Sun Yingsha, with a recent World Championships title and World Cup victory, stands at the top of the list. The reigning Tokyo 2020 champion, Chen Meng, sits just behind, setting the stage for a potential clash and repeat of the 2020 Gold medal match.
However, the Chinese stars will face strong competition from the rest of the field. Japan’s Hina Hayata, seeded third, 2023 WTT Contender Lagos Shin Yubin of Korea Republic, seeded fourth, and Romania’s Bernadette Szocs, seeded fifth, have all proven their ability to threaten China in major tournaments.
There will be fierce battles in the Team Events and Mixed Doubles. China remains the top seed in both Men’s and Women’s Team events, but established teams like Germany and Japan are determined to dethrone them.
In the Mixed Doubles, China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, the top seeds, will face stiff competition from Japan’s Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto who are seeded second, and third seeds, Korea’s Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin.
Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in an extraordinary act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.
Hall of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years ago that showed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to present him with the light middleweight gold medal.
“I had the gold medal, but I want to give it back to you. It belongs to you,” Park said in the video through his son, who translated.
Jones, who was overcome with emotion by the gesture, covered his face with his hand before saying: “Wow, that is crazy.”
Their match at the Seoul Olympics remains one of boxing’s most contentious moments as Jones appeared to dominate the fight but lost to Park by a 3-2 decision that drew instant criticism and sparked enduring controversy.
Despite losing the gold medal match, Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics.
Jones went on to become a four-division world champion and is regarded as one of the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
“In 1988, I was robbed of the gold medal in what became one of the biggest controversies in boxing history,” Jones wrote in his Instagram post.
“By the grace of God, a couple of years ago, the man who won that medal made the trip from South Korea to my home to return it to me, feeling it was rightfully mine.
“I hope you enjoy this moment as much as I did.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
U.S. President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday creating a White House Olympics task force to handle security and other issues related to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, an administration official told Reuters.
The task force, made up of members from Trump’s cabinet and government agencies, will coordinate federal, state and local government work on transportation, the official said.
It also will “streamline visa processing and credentialing for foreign athletes, coaches, officials, and media,” the official said in an email.
The United States will host the Olympics in Los Angeles in three years. Trump, a Republican who lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, has expressed pleasure that his second term will coincide with the Olympics and the World Cup.
“During his first term, President Trump was instrumental in securing America’s bid to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The president considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle in his second term,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement on Monday.
Last month organizers of the Los Angeles games released the first look at the Olympic competition schedule . The city had also hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984.
“The creation of this task force marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028,” Casey Wasserman, the chair and president of LA28, said in a statement.
–Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
By DAVID LEE
Home is many places for swimmer Adaku Nwandu, who was born in China, lives in Singapore and wears the Nigeria flag on her swimsuit.
And it is at her current home in Singapore that the 17-year-old is making her debut at the World Aquatics Championships (WCH).
In the second heat of the 100m freestyle at the WCH Arena, the teenager, who has a Nigerian father and Chinese mother, led at the turn before finishing third in 1min 0.89sec – she eventually placed 59th out of 82 athletes overall.
After her race, Adaku shared with The Straits Times that she was born and raised in Shanghai, and started swimming when she was eight. Interestingly, it was ice cream that kept her in the sport.
Adaku, who still has the 50m freestyle heats on Aug 2, said: “At a school competition, I didn’t do so well and I asked my dad if we could make a deal. He said if I do better, he would buy me ice cream once every week, and that’s a promise we have kept with each other. And that’s what brought me here.”
In 2023, the family moved to Singapore due to her mother’s work posting. With her fluent Mandarin and love for Asian and spicy food, it did not take long for her to pick up Singlish and enjoy local delights like chicken rice and chilli crab.
She said: “We came here mainly because of my mother’s work, and also because the swimming scene back where I lived in China was a little bit toxic, so she also thought Singapore would be a new experience and better for my swimming.”
By then, she had already committed to representing Nigeria after its aquatics association contacted her after the National Sports Festival in Asaba, where the then 16-year-old was part of the national record-breaking women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
But Singapore is where she has been honing her swimming skills, as she has set her 50m and 100m freestyle long- and short-course Nigeria national records at meets here.
Noting her improvements, Singapore swimming coach and performance director Gary Tan said: “Adaku has been participating in our system for a while, and we hope it helps her develop as a swimmer and achieve what she wants while training in Singapore with her school (German European School Singapore).”
For someone who is inspired by Olympic champions David Popovici, Caeleb Dressel and Adam Peaty for “their dedication and the way they are able to take breaks for themselves to improve and get back to the water”, qualifying for Paris 2024 on ranking points was a dream come true.
Her Olympic debut was also unforgettable as her swimsuit ripped 20 minutes before her 50m freestyle heat, but she managed to finish second in her heat and 33rd out of 78th overall in 26.62 seconds, just 0.03 of a second off her personal best.
Back in Singapore, Adaku, who is in the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at her school, realised that she needed more of such resilience to reach her goals.
The swimmer, who also plays for the school’s volleyball team, said: “I had a lot of improvement the first year I came to Singapore. But this past year has been especially hard for me with family problems and also school. The workload in my first year of IB made it hard to balance training and school.
“Especially in the next year, I want to focus more on swimming and try to get some new personal bests because this year I just plateaued. I’m looking forward to training harder and preparing for my next competition and hopefully qualify for the next Olympics.”
-Strait Times, Singapore
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- U20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Flying Eagles Bank on ‘Magic of October 8’ to overcome Argentina
- World Cup3 days ago
CAF Rule Change May Boost Nigeria’s World Cup Qualification Hopes
- World Cup1 week ago
Super Eagles Walk Tightrope as Nine Key Players Risk Suspension in World Cup Qualifiers
- U-20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Nigeria, Argentina Renew Rivalry as Flying Eagles Target Quarter-Final Spot in Chile
- World Cup3 days ago
BREAKING! Lookman Suspended for Crucial Benin Clash
- World Cup3 days ago
Judgment Day Beckons in Group C: Only One Ticket, Three Contenders, Infinite Drama
- U-20 FOOTBALL1 week ago
Nigeria Face Must-Win Battle Against Colombia in Chile
- Premier League1 week ago
Mount and Sesko fire Man United to victory over Sunderland