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Abuja Agog As First IGP Open Weightlifting Championship Holds In November

Published

4 years ago

October 25, 2021

The maiden edition of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Open Weightlifting Championship will hold from November 8 to 12, 2021, the organisers have announced.

The competition is in collaboration with the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, NWF.

Speaking with the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation media team in Abuja, the Caretaker Committee chairman, Nigeria Police Weightlifting Association, DSP Briggs Asigoboka said the championship is part of sporting activities the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba is using to boost the moral of the force as well as restore the past glory when the force was synonymous with producing star athletes for the country.

DSP Briggs said the essence of the competition is, among other things, to boost the moral of the athletes in the rank and file, give them a sense of belonging and restore the past glory of sporting activities in the force as well as discover and nurture good weightlifters for the country and international competitions.

“The competition, IGP Open Weightlifting Championship, is the first edition and it will hold from November 8 to 12th, 2021.

“The whole essence of this competition is to boost the moral of our athletes and make them have a sense of belonging because when you have regular competitions, it will help them to keep fit and face the challenges ahead.

“That will also make them to measure up with their other colleagues in councils in the country. Therefore, the competition will ensure that our people are keeping fit and that they can go for other national competitions and compete against others.

“It will also serve as an avenue for us to look at prospects for competitions within the country and internationally,” she said.

She stressed optimism that the competition would be a yearly event as it is part of the vision of the IGP which is to bring sports to the front burner in the Nigerian Police Force.

“Hopefully it will be an annual competition. The IGP has the vision to see that we have regular competitions in all the associations so that everybody will be part of it.

“Apart from that, his dream is to see how we can bring Nigeria Police sports to the front burner again so that we can begin to have people in the national team as we used to have them in the past years.

“If competitions are regular, there is hope that our people will begin to feel important again compared to the past glory we had . We want to bring back the glory.

“We want to see how we can restore the gold records we had. We used to have people like Chioma Ajunwa and Sunday Bade in our national teams, always featuring.

”Regular competitions will give us the leverage and help our people to measure up in the country and by so doing take them to national teams and promote the image of the force.

“I have been given the responsibility to see how we can move our different associations to that level,” she said.

DSP Briggs further added that the first edition will concentrate on sister agencies such as the Nigerian Army, Navy, Customs, Fire Service, Road Safety, among others

She noted that invitation will be extended to nearby states – the Federal Capital Territory, Niger and Nasarawa to participate

“We are looking forward to having them join us. It is the first edition but subsequently, we hope to get everybody involved.”

The IGP Open Weightlifting Championship will feature all categories.

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NSF: Oparaoji, Ekpeyong, Quadri Gear Up for Tough Quarterfinal Clashes in Abeokuta

Published

2 weeks ago

May 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The tennis courts at the ongoing National Sports Festival in Abeokuta are buzzing with intensity as the competition hits the quarterfinal stage in both the men’s and women’s singles events, following a gripping round of 16.

Men’s Singles Quarterfinals:

Abubakar Yusuf of FCT will square off against Rivers State’s Abua Canice. Yusuf booked his spot with a 4-0, 4-2 win over Ehigiamusoe Endurance of Edo, while Canice cruised past Azi David 4-1, 4-0.

Bayelsa’s Uche Oparaoji faces Adeleye Daniel of Ekiti in a clash of skill and strategy. Oparaoji outclassed Urenyang Nuhu of Taraba 4-1, 4-2, just as Adeleye powered past Kaduna’s Ibrahim Sulaiman with the same scoreline.

In one of the most anticipated ties, Danjuma Lucky (FCT) will lock horns with Bayelsa’s top seed David Ekpeyong. Danjuma came through a thrilling contest against Ekiti’s Abamu Matthew, rallying to win 1-4, 4-2, 10-5, while Ekpeyong dominated Taraba’s Rubi Toba 4-0, 4-2.

Home favourite Christopher Bulus of Ogun will battle Edo’s Michael Chima for a semifinal ticket. Bulus swept past Rivers’ Timibra Godsgift 4-1, 4-0, while Chima triumphed over Delta’s Iloputa Ikechukwu in a straight-set win.

Women’s Singles Quarterfinals:

Delta’s Barakat Quadri, fresh off a 4-1, 4-0 win over Rebecca Ekpeyong of Bayelsa, will face rising star Emmanuel Bright of the IJA (Invited Junior Athletes), who overcame Rivers’ Maxwell Timipre 4-2, 5-3.

Edo’s Omotayo Blessing will battle Akwa Ibom’s Udoffa Mary in what promises to be a fiery encounter. Omotayo brushed aside Ekiti’s Adeusi Jesutoyosi 4-0, 4-1, while Udoffa outplayed Moses Favour of Kaduna 5-3, 4-0.

Elsewhere, Ogunjobi Success of Ekiti will test her mettle against Aina Goodnews of IJA, and Akwa Ibom’s Etoro Bassey faces Ogun’s Yakubu Ohunene in a South-South vs South-West showdown.

With the quarterfinals locked in, tennis fans are in for a thrilling ride as the battle for medals intensifies under the Abeokuta sun.

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