Sports

Tennis: Madagascar Makes History As Nigeria, Cameroon Grab Olympic Tickets

Published

9 months ago

May 18, 2024

Four players from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Madagascar secured their spots at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after reaching the finals of the African Qualification Tournament taking place at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Fabio Rakotoarimanana made history in Kigali as he became the first Madagascan to qualify for the Olympic Games by beating Tunisia’s Wassim Essid 4-3 (13-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) in the second semifinal of the men’s singles at the qualifiers.

Nigeria’s Offiong Edem was the first to secure her spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a pulsating 4-3 win over Tunisia’s Fadwa Garci in the semifinal of the continental qualification championships.

Edem, who will be attending her fifth Olympic Games after featuring at Athens 2004, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020, had to raise her game to beat the Tunisian in an energy-sapping encounter at 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-1, 11-8, and 11-6.

Cameroon’s Sarah Hannfou joined the league of players heading to Paris after another action-packed tie against Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello.

The two-time Olympian lost the first game 1-11 but restored parity in the second game with an 11-9 win. She continued her dominance with 11-5 and 11-9 wins to take a 3-1 lead. But Bello stretched the match with a 10-12 win to put the encounter at 3-2.

Hanffou did not want the Nigerian to make a comeback, and with the cheers from the spectators at the BK Arena, the Cameroonian sealed her place in Paris with an 11-7 win to complete a 4-2 triumph (1-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 11-7) in the women’s singles.

In the men’s singles, Nigeria’s Olajide Omotayo had an easy passage to Paris after a dominant 4-0 (11-6, 11-4, 12-10, 11-7) win over Saheed Idowu of Congo Brazzaville.

The 2019 African Games champion and tournament’s top seed will be making his second appearance at the Olympic Games after his maiden outing at Tokyo 2020.

Fabio Rakotoarimanana became the first Madagascan to qualify for the Olympic Games by beating Tunisia’s Wassim Essid 4-3 (13-11, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9) in the second semifinal of the men’s singles at the qualifiers.

The remaining two slots for the continent will be contested by 12 players who made it to the quarterfinals of the first stage of qualification on Saturday, May 18.

Over 50 players from 15 countries competed at the three-day qualification tournament hosted by the Rwanda Table Tennis Federation (RTTF).

A satisfied President of the RTTF, John Birungi, said he was happy that they were able to host the Olympic qualification for the first time while acknowledging the support of the Rwandan government.

Sports

Transfer: Neymar in shock return to Barcelona after Santos move

Published

4 hours ago

January 30, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Neymar Jr., a former forward for Paris Saint-Germain, may be returning to his old team, Barcelona.

This follows his brief stay at Santos, the club he frequented as a youngster.

The Brazilian confirmed his transfer from Al-Hilal, a Saudi Pro League team, to Santos on Monday.

Al-Hilal will terminate his contract, and he will sign a brief six-month contract with his Santos.

June 2025 was the expiration date of his initial contract with Al-Hilal.

Neymar will also be a free agent after his six-month stay with his hometown team.

Fichajes.net reports sources close to the Brazilian as saying that he is keen on returning to Europe in 2025.

The former PSG superstar wants to prepare himself to lead Brazil in the 2026 World Cup.

After Santos, Barcelona has emerged as one of Neymar’s top destinations, the report claims.

When Neymar Jr. relocated from Santos to Barcelona in 2013, his journey into European football officially began.

In 186 appearances across all competitions, the Selecao great helped the Catalan team score 105 goals and dish out 76 assists.

Sports

Transfer: Marseille move to sign Iheanacho on loan

Published

4 hours ago

January 30, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Olympic Marseille, a Ligue 1 team, is interested in loaning Sevilla forward Kelechi Iheanacho for the rest of the season.

After the Nigerian failed to make an impression after joining on a free transfer last summer, Sevilla is willing to let him go this month.

This week, the Rojiblancos acquired Jerome Akor Adams, a fellow countryman, from Montpellier, a French team.

Despite having other offers on the table, Iheanacho is reportedly leaning toward a move to Marseille, according to French publications.

According to reports, Sevilla and the striker have contacted Marseille.

Before the winter transfer window closes, the 28-year-old is anticipated to make a decision regarding his future.

Sports

Former Belgium player Radja Nainggolan arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling

Published

2 days ago

January 28, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Former Belgian footballer, Radja Nainggolan has reportedly been arrested for alleged involvement in cocaine smuggling.

According to a report by Corriere della Sera, the former AS Roma midfielder was allegedly part of a smuggling operation transporting cocaine from South America to Antwerp.

The Brussels public prosecutor’s office confirmed Nainggolan’s arrest as part of a large-scale raid on 30,000 houses in Antwerp and Brussels on Monday, January 27, 2025.

“The federal judicial police of Brussels carried out thirty house searches on Monday morning in the context of a case from the Organized Crime department of the Brussels public prosecutor’s office. The searches mainly took place in the province of Antwerp and in Brussels.”

“The investigation concerns suspected activities related to the importation of cocaine from South America to Europe via the port of Antwerp, as well as its distribution in Belgium. We can confirm that the footballer RN (Radja Nainggolan) has been taken into custody in connection with this case,” the statement read as quoted by UK outlet, Daily Mail.

“Given that interrogations are ongoing, and in compliance with the principle of presumption of innocence, no further comment will be made at this stage.”

Nainggolan, 36, currently plays for Lokeren-Temse, a lower-tier club in Belgium. He rose to prominence during his time in Italy, representing clubs such as Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Cagliari.

The former midfielder announced his retirement from international football in 2018 after being omitted from Belgium’s squad for the FIFA World Cup that year.