The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Tokyo Olympics

  • Tokyo Olympics: Nigeria’s Adijat Idris lost 0-10 to Ukraine’s Oksana Livach on Friday in the women’s event of the wrestling competition.

     

    Adijat Idris lost 0-10 to Ukraine’s Oksana Livach on Friday in the women’s freestyle 50kg event of the wrestling competition of the ongoing 2020 Olympic Games.

    The 19-year-old Idris was completely overwhelmed in the round of 16 match at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Tokyo, losing due to technical superiority.

     

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Livach recorded five technical points of two each in the fight which did not go beyond the first period.

     

    This loss by Idris brought to an end Team Nigeria’s competitive involvement in the Tokyo Olympics which ends on Sunday.

     

    It was an ending full of mixed feelings, after a performance that has been filled more with disappointments than joyful moments.

     

    Read Also

    Tokyo Olympics: Thompson-Herah grabs third gold as Jamaica win women’s 4x100m relay

    Olympics: Nigeria lose again in women’s wrestling as Ukraine’s Livach beat Idris

    US gymnast Biles out of two more Olympic finals

    Even though Team Nigeria would be returning home with two medals —- one silver, one bronze —- the talking point of their performance would still be the series of misses.

     

    The team of 25 male and 30 female athletes failed to return home with more medals as a result of several near-misses.

     

    The misses were seen more as a result of administrative lapses than the athletes’ failure.

     

    NAN reports that this no doubt will form the shape of the reception the team will receive  on their return home.

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo Olympic: Nigeria’s Blessing Oborodudu defeats opponents in wrestling, advances to semi-finals

     

    Nigeria’s Blessing Oborodudu has booked her place in the semi-finals of women’s wrestling event at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

     

    Powerful Oborodudu defeated Azerbaijani’s Elis Manolova and Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan to advance to her first Olympic semi-finals.

    Azerbaijan 13-2 to reach the quarter-final, the impressive Nigerian wrestler beat Zhumanazarova to advance to the semi-final of the women’s wrestling freestyle 68kg event.

    She will face Mongolia’s Battsetseg Soronzonbold in the semi-finals.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo Olympics: Puerto Rico wins first Athletic Gold

     

     

    Hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn claimed Puerto Rico’s first Olympics athletics gold on Monday but Belarusian sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya was absent from the women’s 200m after claiming her country had forced her to leave the Games.

     

    Also on day four of track and field in steamy Tokyo, Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou left it late to win the men’s long jump while Dutch distance runner Sifan Hassan kept up her bid for an unprecedented treble on track despite falling.

    Elsewhere on day 10 of competition, the track cyclists start their campaign with Britain’s dominance under threat and transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard is preparing to make history in the women’s weightlifting competition.

     

    The Olympic Stadium witnessed a dramatic evening on Sunday as unheralded Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs stormed to a shock gold in the men’s 100 metres in a time of 9.80 seconds.

     

    Attention switched on Monday to the finals of the women’s 100m hurdles and the men’s long jump as well as qualifying for the women’s 200m and 1500m.

     

    Camacho-Quinn, 24, who had set an Olympic record 12.26sec in the semi-finals of the 100m hurdles, surged home to claim her first major title in 12.37sec.

     

    World record-holder Keni Harrison of the United States took silver in 12.52sec while Jamaica’s Megan Tapper claimed bronze.

     

     

     

    “For such a small country it gives little people hope,” said Camacho-Quinn. “I am just glad I am the person to do that.”

     

    In the men’s long jump, European champion Tentoglou leapt a best of 8.41 metres on his sixth and final attempt to snatch victory from Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria, who also jumped 8.41m but had an inferior second-best jump.

     

    “What an incredible competition,” said Tentoglou. “What an incredible jump, the last jump. I wasn’t able to get it right at the start. But in the end I managed to pull something out to get the medal.”

     

    Defending 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah continued her audacious bid for an unprecedented Olympic women’s sprint “double-double” as the Jamaican advanced to the 200m semi-finals.

     

    Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, outgunned by her teammate in the 100m final, also progressed, but 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson, also of Jamaica, failed to make it through after inexplicably slowing with 40 metres to run.

     

    Christine Mboma of Namibia, who has to run this distance because her high testosterone levels mean she is barred from the 400m, clocked the fastest time, 22.11sec, to finish ahead of hot US favourite Gabby Thomas.

     

    Belarusia’s Timanovskaya was supposed to be competing in the 200m heats but instead spent the night in a Tokyo airport hotel.

     

     

    Officials said the 24-year-old sprinter, who claimed her team was forcing her to return home after she criticised the athletics federation, spent the night under protection and may be seeking asylum.

     

    Distance runner Sifan Hassan kept alive her hopes of an unprecedented Olympic treble of 1500, 5,000m and 10,000m after picking herself up to win her 1500m heat following a potentially disastrous fall.

     

    Away from the action, US shot putter Raven Saunders has risked disciplinary action after making the first protest on a medal podium of the Olympics.

     

    The 25-year-old African-American athlete crossed her arms in an “X” gesture during Sunday’s medal ceremony after claiming silver.

     

    US media outlets reported that Saunders, who is black and an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights, said her gesture was made in solidarity with “oppressed people”.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo Olympics: Disqualified Nigerian athletes protest

     

    Nigerian athletes staged a protest in Tokyo after 10 of them were disqualified from taking part in the the track and field events of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

     

    The protesting athletes carried placards with the inscription “Why should we suffer for someone else’s negligence”, “All we wanted to do was compete” and “We are not just alternates but potential medalists.”

     

    The PUNCH had reported that the Athletics Integrity Unit disqualified Ruth Usoro, Favour Ofili and eight other athletes after they failed to conduct the mandatory three out-of-competition tests before the Olympics.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo Olympics: Nigeria Basketball Team loses to Germany

     

    Nigeria’s D’Tigers lost against Germany in their basketball second group game at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

    The Nigerians blew an 11-point lead from the third quarter to lose in the game that ended 99-92.

     

    Both Nigeria and Germany lost their first games and needed victory in the second.

    While Nigeria lost against Australia, Germany suffered a first match loss to Italy.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo 2020: Nigeria eyes olympic glory in basketball after football teams fail to qualify

     

    The Nigeria Men’s National Team celebrates after the game on July 10, 2021 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

     

    Football has always been Nigeria’s favourite sport with a historic Olympic gold the pinnacle of its success, but the country now eyes basketball for glory at the Tokyo Games.

     

    The West African nation of 210 million people made history 25 years ago when their football team struck gold in Atlanta at the expense of top-rated Argentina, the first Olympic title won by an African team.

     

    But for the Tokyo Games, both the men and women’s football teams failed to qualify, with medal hopes shifting to other sports including the men’s basketball team, as ‘D’Tigers’ carry the nation’s aspirations following some shock results in the lead-up to the Olympics.

    Ranked 22nd in the world, Nigeria upset a United States team featuring NBA stars like Kevin Durant 90-87, having been blown away 156-73 by the same opponents at London 2012.

     

    The Nigerians also stunned world No.4 Argentina 94-71 in another warm-up game for Tokyo.

     

    “We have not won anything yet, but I have a feeling I can uplift a whole continent,” said 51-year-old coach Mike Brown, formerly in charge of the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

     

    “We are not going for the experience, we’re going to Tokyo to win,” he said.

     

    “This morale-boosting performance on the eve of the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics is a positive signal that Team Nigeria will achieve podium finishes at the Games,” added Nigeria’s sports minister Sunday Dare.

     

    “I am delighted with the progress our athletes are making in their respective sports and I strongly believe we will have many of our athletes in strong medal positions at this Olympics and future international global events.”

     

    Like the Nigeria football team, the ‘D’Tigers’ squad is dominated by players from the diaspora who play in the NBA.

     

    They have strength in depth at each position, with Miami Heat trio Gabe Vincent, Precious Achiuwa and KZ Okpala on the roster, along with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Josh Okogie and Detroit Pistons center Jahlil Okafor.

     

    Against the USA, Vincent scored 21 points while Israel-based Caleb Agada pitched in with 17 as Nigeria became the first African nation to beat the 15-time Olympic champions.

     

    “It gives all of us the confidence to go out there and perform at a high level just like we did against USA and Argentina,” said Okafor.

    “The message is to take care of business and avoid any let-down.”

    – Domestic league struggles -They trained stateside for four weeks before concluding preparations in Kisarazu, Japan.

     

     

    However, critics argue that the team’s fate in Japan will have minimal bearing on the domestic championship, which has been disrupted in recent times by a drawn-out power tussle in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).

    The men’s domestic league does not have a title sponsor amid grumblings that no home-based player made the cut for Tokyo.

    “What the team have done is a great development for Nigerian basketball internationally, but it’s killing us locally because we’re not investing at home,” said former ‘D’Tigers’ captain Olumide Oyedeji.

     

    “We have got carried away by what we are achieving internationally.”

     

    Oyedeji advocated for better opportunities for the players based in Nigeria.

     

    “It’s not a crime to be born in Nigeria, it’s not a crime to play in Nigeria, it’s not a crime to reside in Nigeria,” he said.

     

    “So, we should give the local boys a chance too, a hope for the future.”

     

    “The players who are now available for Nigeria are those who were not previously because the NBA season was on,” he said.

     

    “They don’t have a chance to play for the US who have so many great players, but they all now want to play for Nigeria because they will be seen at the Olympics and it will be great for their CVs.”

     

    Tokyo marks the third straight appearance at the Olympics for Nigeria, who failed to make it past the group stage at the past two editions.

     

    They have been drawn in a tough-looking group with Australia, Germany and Italy, and tip off their campaign on Sunday.

     

    “I see no reason why they cannot continue their success in the exhibition matches at the Olympics,” said Will Voigt, who led Nigeria to their first-ever African basketball championship title in 2015.

    “They are talented, confident and self-driven.”

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com

  • Tokyo Olympics: Australia loses to Japan in Softball

     

    The Tokyo Olympics started in earnest on Wednesday, even if unofficially or unceremoniously, after a one-year postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Games started with Japan’s 8-1 win over Australia in the opening round of the women’s softball tournament.

     

    The match kicked off at 9 a.m (0000 GMT) in Fukushima, the city hit hard by the tsunami-caused meltdown at the nuclear power station in 2011.

     

    Three softball and six women’s football matches are scheduled in total for Wednesday, two days before Friday’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo Games.

     

    Also in action is the U.S women’s football team, with the world champions seeking revenge against Sweden after they lost to the Swedes in the 2016 quarter-finals.

     

    Japan won the last Olympic softball tournament in 2008.

     

    The sport was dropped at the 2012 and 2016 Games and will also not  feature in 2024.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.punchng.com