Lagos ITTF World Tour: Oshonaike Target First World Tour Title

For more than two decades, Olufunke Oshonaike has represented Nigeria at various international tournaments and up till now, she still has a lot in her offing.

At 39, the Germany-based athlete still believes she has what it takes to clinch the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour tagged Lagos Open.

After two attempts at claiming the title, Oshonaike made the last four in 2013 but she was knocked out in the quarterfinal in 2014. However, the former African champion is determined to lead the Nigerian against the visiting Egyptians when the tournament serves off on March 10 at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

“I know that by God’s grace if I play well without stress, nothing than the gold but the Nigerian factor is always affecting me. Above all I want to have a wonderful time. she said.

“I don’t want to disappoint my fans and I am confident that Nigerian players will defeat all the Egyptians. They (Egyptians) must also realize that they have a lot of players to contend with in Nigeria just like we were dealt with in Cairo recently,” she boasted.

Funke Oshonaike

She also expressed optimism that ITTF Star Player, Aruna Quadri would be ready to rub shoulders with the North African warlords.

As one of the oldest players that took part in the just concluded ITTF Africa Senior Championships in Cairo, Oshonaike is a force to reckon with in the sport as her records in the continent stand her out. However, her passion and commitment to her father’s land is unequalled.

“I knew that for me to wear the colours of Nigeria, it is a rare privilege which I must guide jealously and this has been my philosophy when I joined the national team in 1988 after winning All Secondary Championships in Lagos. My love for the game is second to none and I don’t hide my dedication to Nigeria at every time I am called upon,” she said.

The journey to stardom for the mother of two started at Igbobi Girls High School in Somolu, Lagos, where she dominated table tennis to the extent of becoming the national champion as a teenager.

Manu Garba picks Muhammed, 20 Others For AYC

Flying Eagles’ Head Coach Manu Garba (OON) has released a list of 21 players who will represent the country at the 19th African Youth Championship in Senegal.

Skipper Musa Muhammed, who led the U-17 squad that won for Nigeria a record fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, will lead the pack, supported by fellow U-17 world champions Akinjide Idowu, Izuchukwu Omego, Abdullahi Alpha, Dele Alampasu, Chidera Ezeh and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Nigeria play host Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville and Cote d’Ivoire in Group A of the tournament scheduled for 8th – 22nd March in the Senegalese cities of Dakar and M’Bour.

Ghana, Mali, South Africa and Zambia play in Group B. All four semi finalists will fly Africa’s flag at the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in New Zealand, scheduled for 30th May – 20th July this year.

Flying Eagles

THE FULL LIST

Joshua Enaholo,

Musa Muhammed,

Mustapha Abdullahi,

Akinjide Idowu,

Saheed AbdulGaniyu,

Izuchukwu Omego,

Bernard Bulbwa,

Alhassan Ibrahim,

Christian Pyagbara,

Abdullahi Alfa,

Saleh Usman,

Ifeanyi Ifeanyi,

Samuel Okon,

Obinna Nwobodo,

Ifeanyi Mathew,

Dele Alampasu,

Chidera Ezeh,

Taiwo Awoniyi,

Bello Zaharadeen,

Wasiu Jimoh,

Olorunleke Ojo

Babagana Kalli Retains FA Chairmanship Seat In Borno State

Alhaji Babagana Kalli has been re-elected as chairman of the Borno State Football Association.

In elections conducted in Maiduguri on Thursday and supervised by Member of the NFF Executive Committee and chairman of the Committee on Ethics and Fairplay, Alhaji Sharif Rabiu Inuwa, Babagana Kalli was unopposed but still had to satisfy the statutory requirement of two-third ‘yes’ vote of the delegates.

In the event, he swept all 31 votes cast by the eligible delegates, meaning he will retain the seat for another four years.

A former Executive Secretary of the Borno State Sports Council and one-time Team Manager of El-Kanemi Warriors FC, Alhaji Kachalla Gana, who was to oppose Kalli, stepped down on the Congress floor.

Babakura Abacha also retained his seat as 1st vice chairman while Mohammed Naza was re-elected as 2nd vice chairman.

Martin Crowe To Be Inducted Into The ICC Cricket Hall Of Fame

Ceremony to take place during New Zealand v Australia match in Auckland

New Zealand great Martin Crowe, one of the most stylish and elegant batsmen of his generation, will be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park in Auckland on 28 February, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced today.

When Crowe receives his commemorative cap from ICC Director and Chairman of Cricket Australia, Mr Wally Edwards, during the innings break, he will become the 79th inductee into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and third New Zealand player after Sir Richard Hadlee and Debbie Hockley.

Crowe made his international debut against Australia in Wellington in February 1982 at the age of 19. He retired 13 years later after playing 77 Tests, he had scored 5,444 at an average of 45.36. This included 17 centuries, the most by a New Zealand cricketer, while his 299 against Sri Lanka in Wellington in January 1991 stood as a national record until Brendon McCullum scored 302 against India in Wellington last year in February.

Crowe also played 143 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in which he scored 4,704 runs at an average of 38.55 with four centuries and 34 half-centuries. He played in three ICC Cricket World Cups, and led New Zealand to the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 1992 where his side lost to eventual champion Pakistan in Auckland. However, his innovative captaincy and most runs in the series won him player of the ICC Cricket World Cup 1992 award.

Martin Crowe batting
Photo credit Kristina D.C. Hoeppner
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5018/5521622167_cd4c02fdce_z_d.jpg

Crowe captained New Zealand in 16 Tests and 44 ODIs.

Overall, Crowe played 247 first-class matches in a 17-year career in which he scored 19,608 runs with 71 centuries and 80 half-centuries. Apart from representing New Zealand, he also played for Auckland, Central Districts, Somerset and Wellington.

Last week in Melbourne, former India captain Anil Kumble and Australia’s Betty Wilson were inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

The process for the selection of players into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame started last year when the ICC Chairman invited all the living ICC Cricket Hall of Famers to send their nominations. The ICC Nominations Committee reduced the long-list to 10 men’s and three women’s cricketers.

The short-list was then sent to the Voting Academy, which included representatives of all the 10 Full Members, media representatives from all the 10 Full Members, Associate & Affiliate Member, women’s cricket and FICA representatives as well as living ICC Hall of Famers. The ICC collated the nominations and forwarded the ballot papers to the auditors who provided the final results.

*ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – initial inductees (55)

Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell

2009-10 Inductees

Herbert Sutcliffe, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Victor Trumper and Clarrie Grimmett

2010-11 Inductees
Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, Ken Barrington, Courtney Walsh and Joel Garner

2011-12 Inductees
Belinda Clark, Frederick Spofforth, Curtly Ambrose and Alan Davidson

2012-13 Inductees
Enid Bakewell, Brian Lara, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne

2013-14 Inductees
Adam Gilchrist, Debbie Hockley, Bob Simpson and Waqar Younis

2014-15 Inductees
Anil Kumble, Betty Wilson and Martin Crowe. One more to be announced in due course

12 Countries Confirmed Tickets For CAVB Continental Cup Second Phase

Twelve countries in both men and women genders have already confirmed their tickets to second phase of the CAVB Continental Cup after the end of 6 tournaments out of 12 in the Sub Zonal phase were over making 50% of the Olympic qualifying competition.

The champions of the second edition of the CAVB Continental Cup will earn a direct ticket to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, with another chance for the second and third teams to qualify to the prestigious event through the World Cup.

Now 12 teams in each gender confirmed their places at the second phase (Zonal) of the Continental Cup. In the Men’s competition Tunisia, Morocco (Pool 1), Senegal, Gambia (Pool 2), Burundi, Kenya (Pool 8), South Africa, Mozambique (Pool 10), Angola, Zimbabwe (Pool 11), Mauritius and Seychelles (Pool 12) confirmed their qualification.

In the women’s competition Morocco, Algeria (Pool 1), Gambia, Senegal (Pool 2), Kenya, Burundi (Pool 8), South Africa, Mozambique (Pool 10), Angola, Namibia (Pool 11), Mauritius and Seychelles (Pool 12) will continue their campaign to the zonal phase.

The CAVB Sub Zonal phase features 12 tournaments where the top two teams in each proceed to the second phase making a total of 24 teams which will be divided into 4 pools of 6 in the second phase.

Summary of the qualification pathway in sub zonal phase of CAVB Continental Cup

12 Countries Confirm Tickets For CAVB Continental Cup Second Phase

Men Tournaments

Men Pool 1
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Tunisia. Tunisia
2.Morocco. Morocco
3. Algeria

Men Pool 2
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Senegal. Senegal
2.Gambia. Gambia
3.Cape Verde

Men Pool 8
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Burundi. Burundi
2.Kenya. Kenya
3.Tanzania

Men Pool 10
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.South Africa. South Africa
2.Mozambique. Mozambique
3.Botswana
4.Swaziland
5.Lesotho

Men Pool 11
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Angola. Angola
2.Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe
3.Namibia

Men Pool 12
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Mauritius. Mauritius
2.Seychelles. Seychelles

12 Countries Confirm Tickets For CAVB Continental Cup Second Phase

Women Tournaments
Women Pool 1
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Morocco. Morocco
2.Algeria. Algeria
3.Tunisia

Women Pool 2
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Gambia. Gambia
2.Senegal. Senegal

Women Pool 8
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Kenya. Kenya
2.Burundi. Burundi
3.Tanzania

Women Pool 10
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.South Africa. South Africa
2.Mozambique. Mozambique
3.Swaziland
4.Lesotho

Women Pool 11
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Angola. Angola
2.Namibia. Namibia
3.Zimbabwe

Women Pool 12
Ranking. Countries proceeding to the Zonal Phase

1.Mauritius. Mauritius
2.Seychelles. Seychelles

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