Nigeria made good its promises for a memorable outing as four Nigerian players yesterday booked their places in the semifnal of the ongoing 2015 African Junior Tennis Circuit holding in Lome, Togo.
The four players are Martins Abamu, Godsgift Timibra, Adetayo Adetunji and Angel McCleod.
In the Boys 16&Under, Abamu defeated Mannou Sylvester of Benin Republic 6-2, 6-1 while Timibra defied the crowd to beat Togo’s Sewabu Jacques 6-4, 6-2.
The winning streak of Nigerian players was extended by Adetayo and McCleod who defeated opponents from Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire respectively.
2015 ITF West and Central Africa Junior Championship, Lome, Togo,
National junior tennis coach, Mohammed Ubale expressed confidence in the players declaring they are unstoppable to clinch the top prize.
‘Our preparation for the championship has really helped the players. They are playing better as the tournament progresses.
Ubale, who predicted that Nigeria will be out for a repeat of their 2014 performance at the ITF tournaments, said the future of Nigerian tennis is getting brighter with promising players rising through the ranks.
The FIFA Ballon d’Or seems to have brought some spark to this very slow transfer market window but our man Paul has put together the usual daily dose of top transfer rumours, done deals and football transfer gist and titbits making the rounds
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Done Deals:
– French Ligue 2 side Angers have completed the loan signing of Axel Ngando from Rennes.
– Evian have signed Costa Rica international David Ramirez on loan for six months from Deportivo Saprissa with the option to buy the player at the end of the season
– Parma have announced the signing of Albanian international Andi Lila on an initial loan deal from PAS Giannina.
Today’s football reports and transfer rumours:
– Manchester United striker Will Keane is attracting interest from Reading, according to Goal.com.
– Liverpool winger Oussama Assaidi has reportedly agree a deal to leave Anfield to join Al-Ahli in Dubai
– Lionel Messi has fuelled speculation he would consider an exit from Barcelona, just one day after saying he had “no intention” of leaving the Camp Nou. “I don’t know if I will finish my career at Newell’s [Old Boys], I don’t know where I’ll be next year. I would like to finish my career at Barcelona, but you never know what will happen in the world of football,” Messi said
– According to reports, Leicester are interested in signing Tottenham defender Kyle Naughton
– MLS side Chicago Fires are keen on signing Wigan Athletic forward Shaun Maloney.
– According to reports in Portugal, Benfica are set for talks with Arsenal regarding the signing of Joel Campbell on loan
Matija Nastasic, photo credit mccc.co.uk
– Schalke have confirmed that Matija Nastasic will join the club from Manchester City on loan, subject to a medical.
– Juventus general director Beppe Marotta has suggested the club could consider a move for Borussia Dortmund’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan after admitting a move for Galatasaray’s Wesley Sneijder is no longer appears viable
– Schalke are reportedly lining up a move for Wolfsburg midfielder Vieirinha
– Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is optimistic James Milner will sign a new contract. “I hope that James will stay here and he will sign his contract in the next few days,” Pellegrini said
– Mainz have reportedly rejected Leicester’s €10million offer for forward Shinji Okazaki.
– Louis van Gaal is reportedly keen on adding 20-year-old defender Aymeric Laporte to his ranks for around £20million.
– Reports suggest that Lazio could be ready to try to hijack any prospective Juventus move for Rolando.
– According to reports, Torino are set to make a bid for Fiorentina winger Josip Ilicic today.
– Everton manager Roberto Martinez has quashed speculation that Manchester United might be signing Seamus Coleman in January.
– Crystal Palace are close to completing the loan signing of Yaya Sanogo from Arsena
– Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri says stories linking Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli with a move to Turin are ‘made up’ and the move won’t happen.
– Leicester boss Nigel Pearson says striker Jamie Vardy “is not for sale” after reported interest from West Brom
– Lazio are reportedly in talks to sign Ravel Morrison from West Ham
– According to the Guardian, Manchester United are on alert over the future of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, FIFA Ballon d’Or
Football tit bits:
– Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s best player for the second straight year, as he received the 2014 Ballon d’Or on Monday night. The Portuguese earned 37.66 percent of the votes, while Messi edged Neuer, 15.76 to 15.72 percent, for runner-up.
– Germany manager Joachim Low wins FIFA World Coach of the Year award after leading the team to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. Low received 36 percent of the votes while contenders Carlo Ancelotti garnered 22 percent and Diego Simeone 19 percent respectively.
– Nadine Kessler as been named the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year award she garnered 17.52% of all votes, while Brazil’s Marta came second with (14.16%) and Abby Wambach of the USA came in third with (13.33%) of all votes cast.
– Colombia’s James Rodriguez has won the Fifa Puskas goal of the year award for his World Cup strike against Uruguay, beating Irishwoman Stephanie Roche. Netherlands striker Robin van Persie was third for his diving header against Spain in the World Cup.
– Lazio President Claudio Lotito believes Francesco Totti’s selfie in the Rome derby was ‘inappropriate’. “The selfie was an inappropriate gesture that has nothing to do with football. Incidents? The selfie is harmless, but it fires up an already high-pressure situation. Totti’s selfie was out of place, and my captain [Stefano Mauri] would never have done it.” Lotito said
– Valencia have extended the contract of head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, keeping him at the Mestalla until June 2018.
Season V of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) provides an unprecedented opportunity for boxers to achieve individual qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
As WSB boxers retain their Olympic eligibility, the road to Rio 2016 Olympic Games is paved with possible gold for the competitors, with a quota of 17 places up for grabs throughout the competition, while this number was only five before the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Categories from 52kg to 81kg will be granted two quotas each, while 49kg, 91kg and +91kg will each be granted one quota. The magnitude of this opportunity has not been lost on the Franchises, who are all training with intense discipline to make Season V the most entertaining, enthralling and important edition to date.
In Group B, former winners and future hopefuls will challenge for success, and with four teams from Europe, two from North America, plus two South American Franchises included, the global aspect of WSB is represented fully.
South America has been home to many of the greatest boxers of all time, and Argentina Condors, fresh off their second season of WSB action, are looking to establish themselves as the dominant Franchise from their continent in Season V.
To accomplish that goal, they will have to perform better than the new Franchise from Venezuela, who according to many boxing insiders are amassing an impressive squad for the upcoming season.
The two South American boxing giants will meet each other in week five, and week 12 of the season, and both will be hoping they will be in position to progress into the knock-out stages of the competition come the end of the group stage.
One franchise who will be confident of getting out of the group will be Azerbaijan Baku Fires, who lost the engrossing WSB Season IV Final against the sublime Cuba Domadores, by the narrowest of margins.
The Baku Fires will be looking to go one further in Season V, and they have the knowledge and awareness of how to successfully negotiate their way through the group stages in order to reach the latter stages of the tournament.
Astana Arlans Kazakhstan were eliminated by Azerbaijan in Season IV, but the two Franchises struck up a kinship after their hard fought semi-finals contest.
Many WSB teams would be delighted with a semi-final finish, but as the Season III champions, Kazakhstan will be looking to go all the way again this time around.
In order to fulfill their hopes, they will have to beat the big teams, and their matches with Azerbaijan in week three and week 10 will be keenly awaited by WSB fans.
Italia Thunder have been one of the most successful Franchises in WSB history, and the flamboyant team have one of the finest squads in the entire competition.
After winning Season II, the Italians have failed to reach the semi-finals stage in the last two seasons, and they have a difficult start to life in Group B.
Their season starts with two tough away matches, firstly against Azerbaijan, and then they face USA Knockouts in week two.
The Knockouts reached the quarter-final stage last season, before running into the dominant Cuba Domadores, and the American side will at least want to replicate their accomplishments in Season V.
World Series Of Boxing
They will have to work hard to maintain their supremacy as the North American leaders of WSB, as one of the best boxing nations in the world joins WSB, with Puerto Rico looking to produce a hurricane over the competition.
Six of Puerto Rico’s eight medals in their Olympic Games history belong to boxers, and this Caribbean island, with a population of just over 3.5 million people, boasts the highest index in terms of World Boxing Champions per capita on the planet, statistics that their WSB fighters will use to spur them on to possible glory in the competition.
Completing the group at this moment will be Hussars Poland, who will be looking to forget their disappointing season last year, and concentrate on improving their talented squad even further.
The Polish team have great durability and courage, and they will seek to turn their resilience and willing into results and wins, starting with their first week match away against Puerto Rico.
WSB Season V starts on Thursday 15th January 20.00 GMT at London’s legendary York Hall with British Lionhearts taking on China Dragons, followed up by seven epic clashes on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th January.
Eagles Performance Shocks Yaya Toure, Leon Balogun…
…Anyansi, Amadu, NFF Members Hail Team
Reigning African Footballer of The Year, Yaya Toure, who captained the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire has said he was shocked at the display of the Super Eagles made up of entirely Nigerian league players against his star studded teammates last Sunday night in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to the media and later to Coach Dan Amokachi, Toure said at a point he believed that his mates were deceived to believing that Nigeria was going to parade a wholly home based side but was convinced that it was not the case. Amokachi had to tell him that apart from Steve Ukoh, who plays in Switzerland and had his first cap for the Eagles all the other players are from the Nigerian Premier League.
Toure added, “At a point I had to tell my teammates to slow down the pace of the game and when we scored we could not wait for the final whistle, because the boys were all over us. They must be commended for their confident display” he declared.
All the way from Germany, Eagles defender Leon Balogun, has also said kudos to the Eagles for a good display against the Ivoriens. “My heart and soul has always been with the team and hopefully I will rejoin the team to recreate those beautiful moments that we had when I first played with them”, he said. Balogun presently plies his trade with German second division side, SV Darmstadt 98.
Also speaking on the match, NFF Technical Committee Chairman, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu, General Secretary, Musa Amadu and HOD Technical Department, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme commended the grit with which players of the Super Eagles approached the game after staying together for only nine days before the match.
Super eagles Abu Dhabi Training
Anyansi said it was a fantastic advertisement for the Nigerian league, noting that with more time together the team will go places and probably be champions of the forthcoming CHAN tournament. Amadu on his part, said he believed that despite observable lapses, the team was simply in a class of its own, especially against the backdrop of the fact that they were playing against a much more experienced side. Ikpeme on his part said “I am impressed, very impressed, the players must keep it up and improve on what we have seen today”.
Others who showered praises on the team are Executive Committee members of the NFF, Inua Rabiu Sheriff and Hussein Modibbo, who were both in Abu Dhabi to cheer the team.
Season V of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) is widely anticipated to be the greatest instalment of the world class boxing competition, with three news Franchises, plus two returning ones joining defending Champions Cuba Domadores and ten more teams competing to achieve team glory.
WSB is the only Global Team Boxing competition where national teams go head to head in a league format, and this season will see 16 teams compete in two groups of eight with the top three teams qualifying for play offs.
Group A consists of the current WSB defending champions Cuba Domadores, Season IV semi-finalists Russian Boxing Team, Season III runners-up Ukraine Otamans, the returning British Lionhearts, exciting Mexico Guerreros, durable Algeria Desert Hawks, plus two new Franchises, from China and Morocco.
World Series Of Boxing
With four continents represented in the group, many pugilism aficionados are excited about the all-African encounter between Algeria Desert Hawks, and newcomers Atlas Lions Moroccan Boxing Team. With Algeria’s prior experience in WSB they will be wanting to assert themselves as the best African team in the tournament, but Morocco are being tipped to put together an impressive squad, and they will meet each other in week six, and week 13 of the season.
Defending champions Cuba Domadores were the number one seeds in the draw, which resulted in them starting the season at home, against Morocco in week one. The Cuban team lost just once in WSB in their debut season away to Russian Boxing Team in the group stages, and they will seek to avenge that loss in week ten this time around.
Russian Boxing Team reached the semi-final stage last season, in part due to their excellent home form, and they start the season at home to Algeria. Consistently excellent in WSB, the Russian Franchise are always contenders to win every match they compete in, and there are many within the boxing world who consider this to be their year.
British Lionhearts reached the quarter-finals in Season III, and after missing Season V, they return to WSB with a team full of confidence and flair. Boasting many decorated medalists from a variety of international competitions, including eight medalists from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the return of the Lionhearts has resulted in much media attention in Britain, and they will be looking to start their season in style.
Mexico Guerreros were the Franchise to eliminate British Lionhearts in Season III, but failed to sparkle last season. As one of the proudest boxing nations in the world, they will be giving it their all to succeed in Season V, and after a tricky opening tie away in Ukraine, Mexico then have two home fixtures in a row against their African competitors, and will be hoping that a quick start will help them to qualify for the knock-out stages.
China Dragons are back in WSB after fielding the Beijing Dragons in Seasons I and II, and after much success in international boxing competitions over the last two years, their squad will be confident of causing upsets. There are no easy contests in WSB, but China’s start to the season is a particularly tricky one, as they will face Britain, Russia, Ukraine and Cuba in their first four matches.
Lastly, Ukraine Otamans have consistently qualified for the knock-out stages of WSB during their history in the competition, and they will be looking to reclaim the form they showed in reaching the Finals in the third season of WSB.
Important tournament on the pathway to the ICC Cricket World Cup
The Pepsi ICC World Cricket League (WCL) Division 2 starts in Namibia this week and it gives the opportunity for teams to advance along the pathway to the ICC Cricket World Cup.
This will be the third WCL Division 2 to be staged and the second to be hosted in Namibia and many teams have had some great success stories on their way to the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier and ODI status. In 2007, Argentina, Denmark, Namibia, Oman, Uganda and United Arab Emirates all participated in the tournament in Namibia.
The 2007 event featured some close-fought matches and an exciting final in which the winners United Arab Emirates defeated Oman by 67 runs. United Arab Emirates have gone on from strength to strength gaining ODI status until 2018 after being finalists at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2014, missing out narrowly to Scotland and will now feature in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
United Arab Emirates played hosts to the WCL Division 2 in 2011 with array of teams on show including Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Uganda and Bermuda. United Arab Emirates defeated Namibia in the final by 1 wicket promoting both teams to the ICC World Cricket League Championship 2011-2013 and ICC Intercontinental Cup 2011-2013.
As a result of strong performances in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in 2014, Hong Kong finishing third and Papua New Guinea finishing fourth both gained ODI status until 2018.
Following the recent decision of the ICC to “break the glass ceiling” and allow AMs the opportunity to play Test cricket, the WCL is now an important part of this process as it provides a pathway into the ICC’s four-day Intercontinental Cup. In addition, WCL Division 2 can enable the top teams to progress to the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Championship 2015-17.
Fixtures
17 Jan – Namibia v Kenya (Wanderers), Netherlands v Canada (United), Uganda v Nepal (Wanderers Affies)
18 Jan – Namibia v Uganda (Wanderers), Nepal v Netherlands (United), Kenya v Canada (Wanderers Affies)
19 Jan – Rest/reserve day
20 Jan – Nepal v Canada (Wanderers), Kenya v Uganda (United), Namibia v Netherlands (Wanderers Affies)
21 Jan – Kenya v Netherlands (Wanderers), Namibia v Nepal (United), Canada v Uganda (Wanderers Affies)
22 Jan – Rest/reserve day
23 Jan – Netherlands v Uganda (Wanderers), Namibia v Canada (United), Nepal v Kenya (Wanderers Affies)
24 Jan – Final (Wanderers), 3rd v 4th play-off (United), 5th v 6th play-off (Wanderers Affies)
All matches are scheduled to start at 0930 local time
With a month to go before the HSBC Sevens World Series and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series resumes, we take a look at the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for the game’s shorter format in 2015 and 2016.
In the modern world of high performance, sports psychologists often eschew measurables like speed and distance in favour of intangibles like momentum and confidence. The Olympic sport of rugby sevens demonstrates speed and certainly travels distances in abundance, but most of all is benefiting from an irresistible force of momentum, an upward curve propelling it onwards into its Olympic future.
The men’s HSBC Sevens World Series, embarking on its 16th season, and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, now in its third instalment, together provide the constant heartbeat of elite competition. Never before have they been more significant, or carried greater global appeal, than they do in 2015 and 2016.
Olympic qualifying
In the 2014-15 season both series double as direct qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games. The top-four ranked countries in each will book their places in Rio alongside the hosts, Brazil, guaranteeing their places in history. For the men that journey will take in nine rounds across five continents, while for the women an expanded season now visits six global stops.
For those who miss out on top-four status, the second half of 2015 will bring regional events from which six more qualifiers in both men’s and women’s will book their tickets to Rio. And for those still not on the plane, there’s a last chance saloon –one final global repechage event in the first half of 2016 –to qualify the 12th and final men’s and women’s teams.
All roads lead to Rio, and to Tokyo in 2020, and yet in truth rugby sevens has already made its Olympic debut, in 2014. With the dust barely settled on the giant success of the Commonwealth Games rugby sevens tournament in Glasgow, Nanjing hosted the latest Youth Olympic Games, where Australia and France won gold in the women’s and men’s categories respectively, in doing so carving out their own special niche in rugby folklore.
This link with youth is an important one to make too because rugby sevens will bring a youthful, playful vibe to the Olympics. On the field these are young athletes, undaunted by the extreme physical demands of the game’s shorter, lung-busting format. Off the field, fuelled by the intoxicating mix of sporting drama and party vibe, the crowds around the world help make rugby sevens the spectacle and success that it is.
It is no wonder, in fact, that National Olympic Committees and governments are now recognising new opportunities presented by hosting rugby sevens events, and backing their national teams. While the heartlands of international rugby will forever hold the sport’s character and principles dear, in truth access for the sport to establish itself and grow in other, younger markets was limited before this Olympic boon. Even the most die-hard fan stateside wouldn’t have dared dream that full-time USA sevens players – men and women –would live, train and dine alongside other more vaunted athletes at the county’s Olympic Training Centre in Chula Vista, California. Never had the notion been entertained that rugby, in any form, could enter into schools’ curricula in either China or Russia. And yet all of these things are now becoming a reality.
World Rugby
The perfect sevens team
Yes, throughout 2015 we are guaranteed fireworks as the best rugby sevens players try desperately to win a world series, and book their countries’ places in Rio. And after 2015, after a giant Rugby World Cup, things will get even more interesting. Because only then will some of rugby’s household names – Habana, Fofana, Folau, Halfpenny and Sonny Bill – possibly look to ‘cross codes’ and tick off what must be another burning career ambition: to be an Olympian.
Will the sevens coaches take their requests seriously? Yes. Will they be guaranteed places in their countries’ sevens teams? No. Not without proving they are worthy of a place and fit enough to stand up to the game’s aerobic requirements. Many a good ‘fifteens’ player has tried and failed and it all points to a very interesting couple of years.
The 2014-15 season is the biggest yet by far, but beyond that is where all of rugby’s stars collide and sevens plays out to billions on free-to-air television. And that is when real change will happen.
China confirmed their status as the best table tennis nation on earth, after winning both the Men’s and Women’s events at the 2015 ITTF World Team Cup, which concluded today in Dubai.
North Korea put up a close battle against the defending Chinese Team in the Women’s Team event. RI Mi Gyong and RI Myong Sun pushed their opponents, LIU Shiwen and ZHU Yuling, to their limits in the both of the first 2 sets of the Teams match.
RI Mi Gyong came back from 0-2 down against LIU in the first set to tie at 2-2, but lost the 5th decider (7-11,4-11, 12-10, 11-9. 9-11) in North Korea’s first appearance in the completion since 1991. The 24 year old shared “We have great memories from here and battled hard in the final. We had chances, but we could not quite do it. We will take inspiration from this event and use it as motivation to take our team forward in the future.”
Similar for North Korean defender RI Myong Sun, who was on track to cause a major upset against world number six ZHU Yuling. However ZHU’s class told in the overcoming RI 3-2 (7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 14-12, 11-5) to the delight of the Chiin the cheers of the crowd at the Al-Nasr Sports Club.
“My match was a big battle. I had to keep my patience and take my chances. I was surprised at her level. They are now a strong challenger to China. I am very happy that I have won my first World Team Cup, and I look forward to many more titles in the future.” shared ZHU who turned 20 yesterday.
DING Ning (CHN) who was named the 2014 Female Table Tennis Star at the DUBAI 2014 ITTF Star Awards held earlier in the week added “It was a tough match, tougher than we expected. I have to congratulate my team mates for winning their crucial matches to give us a 2-0 lead before I played the doubles. It was not easy for them, so I am proud of them. This event was a good chance to give our younger players such as ZHU Yuling a chance to play on the biggest stage and they did very well. This title means a lot to us.”
Grand slam winner LI Xiaoxia (CHN) claims her 5th World Team Cup title today despite not being able to play due to her knee injury, making her by far the most successful athlete in the history of World Team Cup.
In the Men’s Finals, the Chinese Men’s Team swept Team Austria 3-0 to claim the gold medal, without dropping a single game. This is Austria’s first ever Finals appearance and the first a European team has made it to the Finals since 1995.
ITTF World Team Cup
FAN Zhendong and ZHANG Jike overcame Daniel HABESOHN and Robert GARDOS respectively 3-0 in the opening two singles matches. FAN took the first set from HABESOHN (11-3, 11-5 , 11-8). World and Olympic Champion ZHANG Jike however, suffered a scare from Robert GARDOS when GARDOS came back from 2-8 down to level the score at 10-10 in the third game, ZHANG overcame GARDOS 11-7, 12-10, 12-10.
The dynamic duo of ZHANG Jike and XU Xin eventually ended Austria’s dream with a 3-0 (11-3, 11-7, 11-9) win over Austrian pair of Stefan FEGERL and Daniel HABESOHN.
Follow the match, a very satisfied XU Xin stated: “This victory means one more major world title for us, and of course means a lot to our team. The World Team Cup is similar to the Olympic Games in terms of the playing system, and this will probably be the last time we compete in this system before the Olympics hence this is a very valuable opportunity for us here. Austria did very well, we hope they continue to get stronger and push us harder next time.”
17 year old Youth Olympic Games Champion FAN Zhendong, who won his first World Team Cup title here added:
“We played well here in Dubai, and our results proves that our hard work and efforts have paid off well. However, we still cant let our guards down as competition is getting tougher internationally, other national teams are also training hard and getting stronger, so it’s important for us to train even harder to maintain our edge over the rest.”
The bronze medals for the Men’s Team event went to Germany and Chinese Taipei, while Singapore and Japan took home the Women’s Team bronze.
The table tennis world’s focus now turns to the start of the GAC Group 2015 World Tour, which kicks off in Hungary on 28 January 2015.
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