Sports
Cash Reward, Trophies, As Curtain Falls On 3rd Body Language Gymnastics Event In Lagos
Medallists at Third Body language Gymnastics Club competition which took place in the city of Lagos last weekend left the venue happier with cash rewards and trophies.
The competition which began on Saturday ended on Sunday.
Not fewer than 98 gymnasts participated in the 3rd edition of the competition held in Ilupeju, Lagos.
National Youth Games and National Sports Festival gold medalist, Avani Goel emerged best overall gymnast having won 5 gold medals in the competition. She won gold on floor exercise, balance beam, on vault, uneven bars to beat other contestants to award.
Meanwhile, the organiser and founder of Body language Gymnastics Club, elated Coach Michael Ocheke while speaking with media stated that more of such competition staged to discover young talents gymnasts will continue come up through his organization. Stating that the cash rewards and trophies are to encourage and spur the athletes to do more.
He reiterated the plans to use Body language Gymnastics Club as a platform to discover and develop grassroots talents in gymnastics across the country.
“Raw talents can be discovered in a competition like this and we are committed to doing more of this. This is the Third edition and we are hopeful that it continues every year.
“The essence of the competition was to discover promising young gymnasts who would fly the nation’s flag in future international competitions. And we are already moulding one with some others. Avani Goal at her tender age has won gold medals at the National Youth Games and last two National Sports Festival.
“While others who will represent different states from our club are preparing and ready to beat their contestants to the podium.”
The fourth edition according to coach Michael will come in 2024.
Sports
A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival
…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday
Joel Ajayi
After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.
Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.
The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.
A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.
The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.
From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.
The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.
The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.
The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.
As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.
” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.
The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.
” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.
” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.
The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.
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