Sports

Djokovic Beats Carlos Alcaraz to Win Olympic Tennis Gold

Published

5 months ago

August 5, 2024

Admin

Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 34, has finished a career milestone that long eluded him as he bagged his very first-ever gold medal in tennis at the Olympics.

On Sunday, Djokovic of Serbia defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz to finish among the sport’s legends as the fifth player ever to finish a career Golden Slam.

Djokovic, 37, won a thrilling final at Roland Garros on Sunday 7-6 [7/3], 7-6 [7/2]. It took him to 24 Grand Slam titles and he became the oldest singles champion since tennis’s return to the Olympic program in 1988.

The victory puts him in the distinguished company of Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf, and Serena Williams as the only players to have won all four Grand Slams and an Olympic singles gold.

Alcaraz was looking for his shot at Olympic gold after an excellent summer that had seen him win both the French Open and Wimbledon; this tenacious display from Djokovic denied him.

He did celebrate quite emotionally, however. He held high the Serbian flag and shared a moment with his family in the player’s box.

We almost played three hours, the final shot was the only moment when I was sure I could win the match,” Djokovic said after a battle that must have tired him to the core, particularly as he had lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final recently.

A clearly emotional Alcaraz could barely conceal disappointment in a post-match interview. “Three hours, a big battle with tough moments,” said the 21-year-old. “It’s very painful to lose.

In terms of both endurance and skill, both players did very well: neither gave up serve, with Djokovic saving a few break points to cruise through both tiebreaks and seal the win after two hours and 50 minutes of high-quality tennis.

In the other Olympic tennis news, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti won the bronze medal after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime to take his country’s first men’s tennis medal for a century.

Then there was the women’s doubles, where the Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider could win gold but would not be registered as such in the official medals table like all Russian success as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain won the bronze in the women’s doubles, finishing off a fairy-tale tournament run after defeating Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.

Djokovic’s historic win adds another illustrious chapter to his career and makes him one of the all-time greats in tennis.

Sports

I Failed In Front of the World Four Years Ago — Lookman’s Touching Speech After Winning CAF Award

Published

3 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Super Eagles star, Ademola Lookman had delivered a touching speech after winning the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.

According to him, he learned from his failure four years ago which made him a better player.

He said: “Just over four years ago I failed in front of the world. Fast forward four years, I’m the best player in Africa,” Lookman said after receiving the award.

“I want to say to the young children and people watching this: don’t let your failures weigh you down that they break your wings. Matter of fact, turn your pain into your power and continue to fight.

“Firstly. I want to thank the Almighty God for everything he has been doing in my life, and everything he has been blessing me with.

“I want to thank the president, I want to thank all my teammates- club and country. I want to thank them for all their support and love that they gave me.”

“This award today is a blessing to me, to my family, to my nation, and to be recognized as the best player in Africa. It’s something incredible and I’m extremely proud of.”

Sports

CAF Awards 2024: Full List of Winners

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman, South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, and Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie emerged as some of the standout winners at the 2024 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Awards.

Lookman, who plays for Atalanta, clinched the prestigious CAF Men’s Player of the Year title, beating contenders such as Simon Adingra, Achraf Hakimi, Ronwen Williams, and Serhou Guirassy.

South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams dominated the night, bagging both the Men’s Interclub Player of the Year and the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year awards.

Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, known for her stellar performances, was named Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Full List of CAF Awards 2024 Winners
CAF Men’s Player of the Year: Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)
Women’s Interclub Player of the Year: Sanaa Mssoudy
Men’s Interclub Player of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Club of the Year: TP Mazembe
Men’s Club of the Year: Al Ahly FC
Men’s National Team of the Year: Ivory Coast
Women’s National Team of the Year: Nigeria
Men’s Young Player of the Year: Lamine Camara
Women’s Young Player of the Year: Doha El Madani
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria)
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
Women’s Coach of the Year: Lamia Boumehdi
Men’s Coach of the Year: Emerse Faé
Goal of the Year: Mabululu (Angola)

Sports

Ronaldo To Contest Brazilian Football Federation Presidency

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Brazil legend Ronaldo has confirmed he wants to become president of the country’s football governing body to address a “deep crisis” the sport is facing nationally.

“I have hundreds of motivations, but I think the biggest of them is really to restore international respect to Brazilian football,” he said in an interview on Monday with the Globoesporte website.

Ronaldo said he wanted to be an “alternative for significant change” as candidate for the job of running the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

“O Fenomeno” (“The Phenomenon”), as the 48-year-old became known over the course of his 1993-2011 career, said he wants to use the CBF presidency to help Brazil’s national team to regain its glory as five-time world champions.

“The Selecao has to recover its prestige. I’ll do everything so that the players understand the historic importance of playing for the national team,” he said.

Ronaldo scored both goals when Brazil beat Germany in the 2002 World Cup final in Japan, and was twice winner of the Ballon d’Or.

To lodge his CBF candidacy, he needs the support of Brazilian regional clubs and federations.

To get those, he promised to travel “all around Brazil” and share the “incredible plans” he has for the sport.

The date of the next CBF election has not yet been set, but should happen between March 2025 and March 2026, according to Brazilian media.

‘Much deeper problem’

Current CBF chief Ednaldo Rodrigues has been criticized for slotting in temporary coaches for the national team after Tite’s 2022 exit while waiting for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive — something that did not happen when the Italian decided late last year to extend his contract as manager of Real Madrid.

Currently coached by Dorival Junior, the Selecao are fifth in South America qualifying for the 2026 World Cup tournament, seven points behind leaders Argentina.

“My problem is not Ednaldo. The problem is much deeper. My goal is to bring the people closer to the Selecao. Today, the people are indifferent when the Selecao plays,” Ronaldo told Globoesporte.

“I am an alternative of significant change for Brazilian football, which is going through a deep crisis,” he said.

Ronaldo, a former star for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, already has leadership experience.

In 2018, he took majority control of Spain’s Real Valladolid, and in 2021 did the same for Cruzeiro, the Brazilian club where he started his career.

He sold his Cruzeiro stake in April this year.

In his interview, Ronaldo said he was in talks to “very soon” sell his Valladolid stake to avoid “any obstacle” to his CBF candidacy.

AFP