Sports
Olympian, Uche Eke gives Scholarship To Two TIG Gymnasts in USA, Donate Equipments
Joel Ajayi
Despite not growing up in the country, the Olympian who represented Nigeria at the Gymnastics event in Tokyo 2020 Uche Eke has given out scholarships to two Members of Tony Asuquo Gymnastic TIG Club to pursue their career in sports in the United States of America.
Uche who is now a Software Engineer in the state promised to donate gymnastics equipment to his childhood club to help the children have better training.
Softspoken Eke, the trailblazing Nigerian Olympian who made history by representing the country at the Tokyo 2022 Olympics, is presently in Nigeria on holiday, seizing the opportunity to make a significant impact on the future of gymnastics in the nation.
Addressing a gathering during a training session at Moshood Abiola Stadium’s gymnasium hall, Eke articulated his post-retirement commitment to establishing a robust platform for the flourishing of young Nigerian gymnasts. Reflecting on the profound opportunities he presented by representing his country, he underscored the importance of creating avenues for the next generation of Nigerian talent.
Recalling his own experiences while preparing for Tokyo 2020, Eke recognized the abundance of untapped talent among aspiring gymnasts, hindered only by the lack of appropriate environments and equipment. Now, he is determined to make a difference by providing scholarships for two promising gymnasts to pursue training in the United States, ensuring access to cutting-edge facilities and participation in top-tier competitions.
Expanding on his philanthropic endeavors, Eke announced plans to support the Tony International Gymnastics Club (TIG) by providing essential equipment. His goal is to empower young athletes, enabling them to hone their skills and potentially secure podium finishes at future Olympic Games.
He expressed that he desires to see many Nigerian Gymnasts succeed and surpass what he has done, saying that he desires to see the next person that will go to the Olympics for Nigeria to win a medal not just go.
When asked if he is going to participate in this year’s Olympics in Paris? Uche expressed: “It makes me sad to say that I will not be participating. But you know, we are doing some other things such as trying to sponsor two gymnasts, and take them, somewhere in the United States and have them trained up with great equipment.
“That is why I am here, the idea of picking some children from Nigeria, taking them abroad, we have raw talents, looking at them they are strong but the only disadvantage is equipment, it’s bad for their safety, and it slows down the pace of their learning process. Everyone here is determined, they have the Nigerian blood flowing through them that is why I decided to give scholarships to two of them every year to enable them to have better equipment.”
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Sports
Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney
Joel Ajayi
The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.
Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.
In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.
The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.
In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.
At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.
According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.
He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.
“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.
Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.
He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.
The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.
He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.
“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.
Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.
The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.
According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.
The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.
It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.
The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.
He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.
“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.
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