Sports

Ikeja Youth Games: Winners emerge in Snooker, Table, Tennis, Draughts

Published

2 years ago

January 23, 2023

…As Football Quarter final pairings released

The Snooker event of the Honourable James Abiodun Faleke Ikeja Games has been won by a 37 year old clearing and forwarding agent Babatunde Oladimeji who defeated Aremu Ibrahim to clinch the top price .
While the third place went to Ikusika Victor.

The Ogba, Ikeja based winner said he started playing the game about sixteen years ago when he came third at the Lagos State Rothmans Snooker competition.
Oladimeji defeated Salami Habeeb in the semi final, while Aremu Ibrahim outplayed Ikusika Victor.In the third place game, Victor Ikusika outplayed Salami Habeeb.

In Scrabble, 16 year Faidat Bello, student of Oregun Senior High school who started playing scrabble at the age of 11 years was the center of attention as she emerged in the 5th position out of 100 schools, 50 public and 50 private schools. She was the only public school student that got to the final stage of the competition held at Chris Land school, Okpebi, Ikeja.

In table tennis, Adeboye Adekoya won the pro event, while Rasheed Balogun came second with Bolaji Asekun finishing in the third positionIn the female category, Ayo Udoh out stroked Aliya Adedeji.

Draughts game have Sunday Amoo as winner, with Abiodun Ojo and Femi Daniel Olanipekun finishing in the second and third place respectively.

The quarter final pairings of the football event have been released by the National Institute for sports- led Technical Committee. According to the draws, Agidingbi representatives of Ward B will slug it out with Oregun Ward C team.

In the other pairings, Seriki Aro/ Ipodo of Ward E will be up against Onilekere Ward D, while Ward F of Oluwole Sogunro battle against Aguda/ Oke Ira Ward G .

The last pairing is between Opebi and Police Barracks GRA.

The matches will be played between 28th – 29th of January across different venues in Ikeja.

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Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…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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