Exell Wins FEI World Cup™ Driving In Geneva For The Eighth Time

Reigning FEI World Cup™ champion, Boyd Exell from Australia, won the FEI World Cup™ Driving Leg in Geneva for the eighth time in his career this morning. He finished over 11 seconds faster than runner up Sébastien Mourier from France who competed with a wild card while Dutch driver, Koos de Ronde, claimed the third place.

Dutch Level 4 Course Designer Johan Jacobs laid out a long course in the largest indoor arena in the world. The track consisted of a spectacular water splash, a bridge, three marathon obstacles and several cones, and despite the early morning start, the tribunes were filled with enthusiastic spectators who enjoyed the skills of the eight drivers performing at the 55th edition of the CHI Geneva.

Third win in a row

Boyd Exell proved to be in top form once again at the Swiss venue, where the drivers felt very much at home. Exell has a tremendous record at the Palexpo Exhibition Hall in Geneva where he won his second FEI World Cup™ title in 2010, and where he has been victorious at every leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving in which he has competed.

He put down a very fast round and was six seconds faster than during the First Competition on Saturday afternoon, despite one knock down. Before going into the Winning Round, which took place over a shortened course, he had an advantage of 16 seconds over Mourier. But the six-time FEI World Cup Champion just let his horses go and drove them smooth and fast through the course, securing his third win in a row for this season.

“I had two knock downs today and that was me interfering with my horses, I was trying to be too careful,” Exell explained afterwards. “I never underestimate the other competitors and I always feel pressure before the drive-off because I know how quickly you can go from hero to zero”, he wisely added.

With 30 points, Boyd is in the lead on the series rankings and has already secured his ticket for the Final in Bordeaux (FRA) on 6 and 7 February.

Magnificent round

Geneva was only the second-ever World Cup experience for French driver Sébastien Mourier, who had received one of the three wild cards for Geneva. Mourier competed with a wild card earlier this year in the FEI World Cup™ Driving Final in Bordeaux, where he finished sixth.

The Frenchman drove his beautifully turned out team of grey mixed warm-blood horses fast through the course, staying ahead of the more experienced drivers. Mourier qualified for the Winning Round where he had two knock downs, but by setting the fastest time he secured his second place. “I had never driven a Winning Round before, so I did not know how my horses would respond, especially in this long course. But it went very well, they were a bit tired in the end but they did a fantastic job, I am very grateful to them” he said.

Mourier prepared for this World Cup competition in the same way as for the outdoor marathons. “After my disappointing results at the European Championships in Aachen where I had a problem with one horse, I was luckily able to use that same horse again here, as it has fully recovered. I have not done any special training and it was amazing to be here. I now hope to receive a wild card again for the Final in Bordeaux,” he said with a laugh.

Long course

Since Mourier competed with a wild card, third-placed driver Koos de Ronde will receive seven points, putting the bronze medallist at the European Championships 2015 into the third spot in the current rankings.

De Ronde had changed two horses compared to his last start in Madrid (ESP). “I have six horses at my disposal for my indoor team and because of the long course in this large arena I choose to use two other horses,” said the Dutchman who put down the only clear round of the competition in the first round today.

“In the Winning Round I drove a little too safe,” he explained. “And I had a knock down as well so I punished myself twice. I should have taken more risk, but that’s the game. I found the course very long, especially in the Winning Round. I think it would have been more exciting if one of the obstacles had been taken out” he added.

Boyd Exell won the FEI World Cup™ Driving Leg in Geneva for the eighth time in his career (FEI/Eric Knoll)

Geneva -> London

Both Exell and De Ronde will compete in the fifth leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving series at London Olympia (GBR) next week, but they both feel this will not affect their horses. “We all know that December is a busy month with many World Cup competitions,” said De Ronde today. “Everybody is well prepared and the horses are all fit”, he added.

Father and son, József and József Jr. Dobrovitz, finished in fourth and fifth place today. Their leader horses lacked the necessary speed in order to keep up with the fast times of their fellow competitors. Dobrovitz Senior will also compete at London Olympia next week, where he will use one of Boyd Exell’s horses to spare one of his own.

Wild cards

Jerome Voutaz received the wild card in Geneva in 2013 and 2014 and is this season part of the series. Voutaz selected Geneva to compete for points instead of asking for a wild card in order to allow his Swiss compatriots, Werner Ulrich and Cyril Maret, to compete in the Palexpo as well, with wild cards. Voutaz felt less pressure than during his first competition abroad in Madrid last month, but felt the disadvantage of the long course in Geneva. “My horses turn very fast in the obstacles, but they lose speed in the length of the course. But I gave everything and I am very pleased with my horses” he said today.

The most experienced wild card driver, Werner Ulrich, finished seventh, assisted by his daughter Laura and son Stefan on the carriage. Ulrich competed for the eleventh time in Geneva this year and put a new outdoor leader horse to the test.

Local hero, Cyril Maret, received the wild card in Geneva 2014 as well and finished in eighth place today. Maret’s first performance in Geneva was in 2000 when he performed in a show with an Hungarian post – standing on the backs of two horses while driving three more horses in front.

Results FEI World Cup™ Driving, Geneva (SUI), 13 December 2015:

Boyd Exell (AUS) 328,86
Sébastien Mourier (FRA) 340,22
Koos de Ronde (NED) 343,00
József Dobrovitz (HUN) 181,91
József Dobrovitz jr. (HUN) 190,19
Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) 191,36
Werner Ulrich (SUI) 204,06
Cyril Maret (SUI) 214,59

FEI World Cup™ Driving, standings after 4 of 7 events:

1 Boyd EXELL AUS 30
2 IJsbrand CHARDON NED 17
3 Koos DE RONDE NED 14
4 Jozsef DOBROVITZ HUN 9
5 Rainer DUEN GER 8
Jozsef DOBROVITZ jr. HUN 8
7 Michael BRAUCHLE GER 7
Jérôme VOUTAZ SUI 7
9 Georg VON STEIN GER 6
10 Glenn GEERTS BEL 2

Cindy Timmer

Gold, silver and bronze decided at Sailing World Cup Melbourne

St Kilda’s usual foreshore and beach buzz on a warm summer Sunday grew louder when the Sailing World Cup Melbourne reached its peak. Eight Olympic classes peeled off their Medal Race one by one straight off the main beach, St Kilda Baths and pier, to the delight of visitors and sailors whose competition had already concluded.

Light morning northerlies moved around to the local sea breeze then tried to settle, swinging between south-east and south. By the time the men’s 49er skiff teams went hunting gold at 14:30, 15 knots was the reading on the track, the most finals day would deliver.

Fast finish in Melbourne
URL – https://youtu.be/ilY9a2NKUD8
Embed –

Event director Mark Turnbull OAM and Sydney 2000 sailing gold medallist, dashing between his various responsibilities around the St Kilda sailing precinct, took time to assess the popularity of the final day’s events. “We’ve got big crowds, plus the sailors are really happy, but importantly there are non-sailors everywhere; it’s the general public getting close to the action which is brilliant and one of the reasons why we brought sailing to the people this year.”

World Sailing’s Technical Delegate Antonio González de la Madrid Rodriguez agreed racing out of St Kilda put the sport front and centre. “We saw this today with St Kilda beach packed and the pier bustling. Melbourne is the start of the 2016 Sailing World Cup series and the journey to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is well and truly on!”

Melbourne’s 2015 World Cup, which drew more than 900 competitors representing 23 nations across nine invited, nine Olympic and three Paralympic classes, was the Oceanic qualification event for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. As of this week the Olympic campaign begins for Cook Islands sailors Teau McKenzie (Laser Radial) and Taua Henry (Laser) who gained entry for the Pacific island nation.

The winner of each Olympic class at the World Cup also qualifies for the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi in November 2016.

Organisers acknowledge major partners, the state government of Victoria under the Melbourne banner, City of Port Phillip through its St Kilda tourism brand, St Kilda Sea Baths and Mercedes Benz Brighton. Each Sailing World Cup medallist was fortunate enough to be presented with a pair of Bolle sunglasses.

Finn

Josip Olujic (CRO) and Oliver Tweddell (AUS) are close friends, but this didn’t hinder their battle for double points, the series trophy and an invitation to the Sailing World Cup Final. The start of their Medal Race was dramatic with both sailors OCS. Tweddell was first to return, quickly taking and then holding control of the race to finish up on the right side of the series countback split.

“It’s pretty nice to finally win on home waters, I think I’ve come second here four in a row,” Tweddell said. His has a big season ahead starting with the European Championships in March in Barcelona, one of several events that will earn the Melbournian points towards selection to the Australian Team for the Olympic Games.

Women’s 470 gold medal race / Carrie Smith & Jamie Ryan (AUS) Gold medalist
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
St Kilda sailing precinct, Victoria
Port Phillip Bay Sunday 13 Dec 2015
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

49erFX

There were three teams in the Medal Race, all equal in skill and determination. When it came to the final double-point race, the dying seconds decided the ultimate victor.

The finish was so tight even Australian’s Tess Lloyd and Caitlin Elks weren’t sure if it was them or Erica Dawson and Ellie Copeland (NZL) who finished second and therefore top scorer at the end of their gruelling five-day series. The Australian clawback from last secured them the World Cup gold medal and an invitation to next year’s Grand Final.

“At the start we got a little mixed up with what was happening with the wind and didn’t make the best choices on the course. Unfortunately that put us behind on the first leg and it was just catch up from there,” Elks said. “We both said anything can happen and we have lots to play for.”

“The biggest thing was the decision at the end around the bottom mark, whether to hold the kite or drop it,” Lloyd added. “We were behind so it was pretty much the only thing we could do and we just made it.”

Third was Julia Gross and Cecilia Jonsson (SWE).

RS:X

Joanna Sterling won the RS:X gold medal after a near-perfect series. In second overall was Audrey Yong (SIN) who comfortably stayed ahead of Lara O’Brien (AUS).

Sterling put her win down to working very hard on her fitness in the lead-up. “I did a month solid of fitness training before this event and this allowed me to work harder.”

Sterling enjoyed the interaction with the public in the St Kilda sailing precinct, the first time in seven years the vibrant suburb has hosted the World Cup on behalf of the governing body, World Sailing. “Everybody has been so much more involved in the racing. It’s been great as an athlete having people come up and ask you questions.”

Sterling is seeking to fill the Olympic spot she secured for Australia when she qualified the country for Rio in the women’s windsurfer class.

470 Men

To the end twin brothers Alexander and Patrick Conway (AUS) remained untouchable, determined to achieve the perfect tally even though their overall win was already locked in.

“We are happy with the result because our series was about being consistent in all conditions,” Patrick said. “The lessons from this event are for us to trust our speed and our decisions on the race course. We know what we are doing is working; now we need to keep the momentum going.”

The Conways will return to training in Sydney for the next two months before they head to Argentina for the 470 World Championships.

Second overall was Thomas Klemens and Timothy Hannah (AUS) and in third, Angus Galloway and Joshua Dawson (AUS).

Formula Kite / Ric Black (AUS)
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
St Kilda sailing precinct, Victoria
Port Phillip Bay Wednesday 9 Dec 2015
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

470 Women

Carrie Smith and Jaime Ryan (AUS) fought hard to keep pace with the leading men’s team in the final mixed fleet race. They finished second over the line, locking in their first Sailing World Cup gold medal and leaving silver to Sasha Ryan and Aurora Paterson (AUS). Third overall went to Pip Pietromonaco and Amelia Catt (AUS).

“Sailing in a small fleet was tricky, you have to work a little bit harder to keep your top position,” Smith said. “We are learning to work at the top of the fleet and being a team, plus risk management.”

“We’ve had a pretty tough year with illness that kept us out of the boat for a while,” Ryan added.

49er

Kiwi’s Logan Dunning Beck and Jack Simpson performed strongly in the “brutally shifty” penultimate day to set them up for the gold medal position and first international team to finish atop the Medal Race podium. “It’s a great feeling sticking it to the Aussies,” Dunning Beck admitted with a cheeky grin.

Brothers Will and Sam Phillips finished second overall and first Australian team, just one point in front of countrymen David Gilmour and Rhys Mara who led the skiff pack early in the week and ended up third in the 10 boat fleet.

Finn / Oliver Tweddell (AUS)
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
St Kilda sailing precinct, Victoria
Port Phillip Bay Wednesday 9 Dec 2015
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

Laser

Singapore’s Colin Cheng romping four-day performance pre Medal Race in the biggest Olympic division contesting the World Cup (35 boats) gave him a comfortable 13 point advantage before the fleet lined up this afternoon.

“I didn’t have too much pressure but I still wanted to go out and have a good race, and get the fundamentals right,” Cheng commented. “Everyone had up and down races and I was able to have a good buffer after stringing some good races together. Every single race all week was difficult.”

Second was Thomas Saunders (NZL) and third was Jeremy O’Connell (AUS).

Laser Radial

Australian Sailing’s Ashley Stoddart straightforwardly beat New Zealand’s Susannah Pyatt over the eight race series. “I just came back from our worlds a week ago so I was tired but warmed-up,” the gold medallist said. “I enjoyed the variety of conditions and it’s been cool having the final day where people could have a nosey.”

Third was Tatiana Drozdovskaya (BLR).

Formula Kite / Ric Black (AUS)
ISAF Sailing World Cup – Melbourne
St Kilda sailing precinct, Victoria
Port Phillip Bay Wednesday 9 Dec 2015
© Sport the library / Jeff Crow

IKA Formula Kite

Like his inaugural Sailing World Cup Melbourne, Florian Gruber’s (GER) fourth time ended with champagne spraying standing taller on the dais than his challengers. “I always enjoy the Australian lifestyle, pretty relaxed and super friendly people and I always have great experience at this event,” the gold medal winner said.

He hopes today’s win will be his last in the race board class and talked openly at the medal presentation of his vision for the foil board. “Foiling is the future; it’s the fastest thing on the water. Let’s see what the decision is for the 2020 Olympics, if it’s the race board I’ll be back in Melbourne on a race board.”

Martin Dolenc (CRO) finished second and Ric Black (AUS) third.

Sailors will now turn their focus to the 2016 Sailing World Cup Miami which takes place at the end of January 2016.

ICC World Twenty20 Trophy Departs On Global Journey On Today

David Richardson says Nissan Trophy Tour will provide fans the opportunity to get close to the trophy before the winning captain lifts it in Kolkata on 3 April

The ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 trophy will embark on a global journey from Mumbai on Sunday, 13 December, before returning to New Delhi on Monday, 1 February.

As part of the Nissan Trophy Tour, the trophy will visit 12 countries taking part in the tournament which will be staged in India from 11 March to 3 April 2016.

During its journey, the trophy will be on display at domestic and international matches, as well as at various public places, which will enable the fans to capture a very special moment with the most prestigious silverware in the shortest format of the world game. Details of the trophy’s public appearances will be announced by the host boards closer to the time.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “The Nissan ICC World Twenty20 2016 Trophy Tour has been designed to not only promote the tournament but also to engage with our fans and provide them the first opportunity to get close to the trophy, which will be lifted by the winning captain on 3 April in Kolkata. We would like to thank Nissan for their sponsorship of the Trophy Tour and we are sure it will be a big success as it travels across the world ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in India next year.”

Roel de Vries, Nissan Corporate Vice President and global head of marketing and brand strategy, added: “We partnered with the ICC to bring cricket fans closer to the game. Fans feel exhilaration and passion when watching a cricket match. Those are the same emotions we want people to experience when driving a Nissan. We hope the Nissan Trophy Tour will build excitement around the world ahead of the ICC World Twenty20.”

Scotland will be the trophy’s first port of call, before it travels to Ireland, England and the Netherlands as part of its European leg. Scotland and Ireland staged a successful ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 in July and, along with the Netherlands, qualified for the event proper. England, under the captaincy of Paul Collingwood, won the tournament in Barbados in 2010.

The trophy’s African safari will be from 2-7 January, during which it will make appearances in Harare (2 & 3 January) and Cape Town (5-7 January).

ICC World Twenty20 trophy photo credit icc-cricket

Pakistan will be the trophy’s first stop-over in the subcontinent (11 & 12 January), before it moves on to Bangladesh (14 &15 January) and then Sri Lanka (17 & 18 January). Pakistan won the ICC World Twenty20 at Lord’s in 2009, while Sri Lanka will defend the title it won in Dhaka last year.

On the Trans-Tasman tour, the trophy will arrive in Wellington on 21 January and will then head to Australia on 26 January where it will be displayed in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney until 31 January. After a hugely successful ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Australia will host the seventh edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2020.

From Sydney, the trophy will return to New Delhi on 1 February and will then start its domestic tour by making appearances at each of the venues that will host the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 matches.

Nissan Trophy Tour schedule:

13-14 December – Scotland
16-17 December – Ireland
20-21 December – England
22-23 December – Netherlands
2-3 January – Zimbabwe
5-7 January – South Africa
11-12 January – Pakistan
14-15 January – Bangladesh
17-18 January – Sri Lanka
21-24 January – New Zealand
26-31 January – Australia
1 February – arrival in New Delhi

Gov’s Cup Tennis: French, Bosnia players win 1st leg, as Futures 4 begins Monday

The first leg (Futures 3) of the 15th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship was concluded on Saturday with 17-year-old French lady, Tessah Andrianjaftrimo and Aldin Setkic of Bosnia winning the women and men’s singles respectively.

Right from the first round of the Main Draw eight seed Andrianjaftrimo showed her intention of being a champion with her style of play which saw her stopping top players standing on her way to glory.

She showed no mercy to her final opponent, 5th seed Tadeja Majeric of Slovakia who she defeated in 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 at the Lagos Tennis Club, Onikan.

Men’s singles top seed, Setkic justified his rating winning his way to the final and defeating French Sadio Doumbia in one sided two straight sets of 6-1,-6-0 in Saturday’s final

Andrianjaftrimo described Majeric as a tough opponent. She however said that she was happy winning the Governor’s Cup the very first time she was coming to Lagos to play an International Tennis Federation (ITF) approved competition.

The women’s doubles was won by the duo of Margarita Lazareva from Russia and Ukraine’s Valeriya Strakhova, while the men’s doubles was won by the pairs of Pel David and Van Der Duim Antal, both from the The Netherlands.

The Trophy Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship
photo credit; governorscuplagostennis.com

Trophies were presented to all the winners during a brief ceremony attended by the vice chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Engr. Afolabi Salami, President of Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Barrister Rotimi Edu, Vice President of Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Mr. Yemi Owoseni, Director General of Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Ayo Agbesanwa and a host of other guests.

Meanwhile, the second leg of the competition (Futures 4) served off on Sunday with some qualifying matches, while the Main Draws will begin on Monday. The grand finale of the 15th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship will be held on Saturday, 19 December with the Minister of Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalung and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as special guests of honour

Rugby Stakeholders Charts Way Forward During 2015 AGA

Rugby stakeholders yesterday gathered at the Media Centre of the National Stadium, Lagos to evaluate their 2015 score card and forge a way forward as 2016 beckons.

The Annual General Assembly chaired by the President of the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation, Sir Edward Fom Pam had in attendance member of the NRFF executive board, club representatives from all the regions and members of the press.

At the meeting, the president lamented the non-availability of funds which really affected their 2015 projections as he urged all stakeholders to make the needed sacrifices to ensure the growth of the sport in the country.

Also present at the meeting was the main sponsor of the federation, Kelechi Mbagwu, the MD/CEO of CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited.

Kelechi praised the federation for their accountability, transparency and the ability to hold firm in the face of daunting challenges in a difficult financial year for government, corporate world and individuals.

Kelechi who doubles as the Chairman, Sponsorship and Marketing Committee of the federation proposed sanctions for clubs who fail to show up at the annual AGA as he appealed to the league committee to help financially distressed clubs and regions.

Meanwhile, the Technical Director announced a get into rugby program for coaches, referees and interested members of the public who wish to participate in the sports as a referee, administrators or coach.

He stated that Sports Writers will also benefit from the training as series of seminars will be organised to help journalists have a better understanding of the game to help them in their reportage.

At the AGM, the secretary of the referees association, Muhammed Salisu was elected as the coordinator of the association while Ayo Olatunbosun Johnson was elected the secretary by the general assembly.

For the Coaches Association, former Nigerian international, Ofoha Joseph was elected as the coordinator and Samson Okeowo elected as secretary. The coordinators were charged with the task of coming up with an effective operational strategies, Odionyemma Teduse Chukwuma was appointed as the NRFF Operation’s Officer while Afolabi Oni was officially appointed as the Media Officer of the Federation.

Mytrofanov continues APB ascent on star-studded night of boxing in Kyiv

Kyiv’s sold out Palace of Sports was the venue for a huge Saturday night of boxing in Ukraine, with Olympic Gold Medalist Oleksandr Usyk’s battle against Cuban Pedro Rodriguez headlining the event. The undercard of K2 Promotions’ glittering event saw two key AIBA Pro Boxing contests starring local talent, with the experienced Middleweight Dmytro Mytrofanov facing Ecuador’s Marlo Delgado and Light Welterweight Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn against Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam in front of more than 7000 spectators.

AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, who attended the match alongside fellow IOC Executive Board Member and Ukraine National Olympic Committee President, Mr Sergey Bubka, praised the event: “It was one of the best matches I have ever attended and I would like to congratulate the boxers and the organisers on the spectacular show”.

The Middleweight match-up saw two very different boxing styles make for an engaging, evenly balanced encounter, with Mytrofanov edging the opening rounds as he repeatedly stalked the Ecuadorian at the ropes, landing cleaner and more effective punches.

Delgado kept his cool to come back strongly, relying on his light footwork to create openings as the Ukrainian continued to press powerfully. The tempo was relentless, and the crowd cheered loudly in the fourth as the contest burst into relentless action with sharp combination punching. The result the crowd wanted rarely looked in doubt though, and Mytrofanov won 78:73 on all three judges’ scorecards.

“I am very happy that I won and I would like to thank all the fans for their incredible support in the arena tonight. I would also like to thank APB for the opportunity to box at such a high level in my home country,” Mytrofanov said after the bout.

In the earlier APB match, Qatar’s Thulasi Tharumalingam used heavy counter-punches to repeatedly stumble his Ukrainian opponent before flooring Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn in the third round to silence the home crowd. From then on Tharumalingam took full control of the bout, landing almost at will and knocking Kyslytsyn down again in the final round as he powered through to a unanimous 59:54, 59:53, 59:54 points win.

“I’m very happy to have won in Ukraine against Kyslytsyn. It wasn’t easy, and to defeat a Ukrainian on his home turf, with the country’s great boxing tradition, means a lot. I’m happy to get the chance to fight in APB and besides my goal to become the APB Champion I want to qualify for the Olympic Games through APB,” said Qatar’s victorious Light Welterweight.

Pinnick ecstatic as Nigeria U23 Team lifts U-23 Afcon trophy

NFF President Amaju Pinnick was in ecstasy on Saturday night after the U-23 National Team, won the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Dakar, Senegal.

“This is another reason to celebrate. We are delighted. But we give a lot of credit to the players and the officials led by Coach Samson Siasia. They showed exceptional perseverance and unyielding spirit to do the nation proud.

“The NFF as a Federation has special praise for Coach Siasia. He was strong mentally and never lost focus, even in the face of odds. He is deserving of every encomium.”

The triumph was the fourth major trophy in the 14-month life of the Amaju Pinnick administration, with the Super Falcons’ 2014 African Women Championship title, the Flying Eagles’ Africa U-20 Cup of Nations win in Senegal earlier in the year and the Golden Eaglets’ successful retention of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile in November being the others.

Siasia Samson Nigeria U23 Coach credit fifa.com

The Nigeria U23 Team had already made of sure of a place in the men’s football tournament of the 2016 Olympics before the final, when a well –placed penalty by Oghenekaro Etebo condemned host Senegal to defeat in Wednesday’s semi final at the same venue.

Nigeria’s player of the tournament, Etebo, set the Nigeria U23 Team on the way in Saturday’s final, with a goal from the penalty spot in the 14th minute. The forward himself had been double–teamed by two Algerian defenders but picked himself up to send the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Algeria drew level in a most bizarre manner, when Nigerian defender Segun Oduduwa headed past his own goalkeeper and into the net from a delicate pull–out by an Algerian forward in the 31st minute.

Etebo, who rained shots at the Algerian goal from every angle, was strong and purposeful all through, and five minutes to interval, picked up the ball in the centre circle and ran past a horde of Algerian defenders before firing low into the net past the Algerian goalkeeper.

In the 69th minute, the brilliant Nigeria goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel saved his second penalty in as many matches. After foiling Sory Keita in the first half of Wednesday’s semi final, Daniel again rose to the occasion to stop Algeria’s dangerman Ferhat after Oduduwa, who had a game to forget, had fouled an Algerian striker in the box.

The Nigeria U23 Team weathered the expected final 20–minute onslaughts of the North Africans very well, even creating chances of their own, and were fully worth the African title at the end.

NFF 1st Vice President, Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi, who was also leader of delegation when the U-20 boys lifted the African title in Senegal in March, was among the dignitaries at the Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor on Saturday night.

South Africa picked the third African ticket, condemning host Senegal to misfortune with 3-1 penalty shoot–out defeat in the third place match.