Sports Groove

...Applauds Team Edo's podium finish at the Games By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye           The Executive Director of Sports Development and Operations, Edo State Sports Commission, (ESSC), Mrs. Sabina Chikere, a key figure in the development of sports in Nigeria, has described Sports in the Heartbeat State as hitting the right notes, regionally and nationally. The art and cultural city still reeling in the joy of winning the Niger Delta Games was blessed with another podium finish, this time on the National level. Mrs. Chikere described Team Edo's performance at the National Para Games as a striking demonstration of ongoing sporting transformation in the State, adding that it's hitting the right notes. The renowned sports administrator, was full of praises for the members of Team Edo to the games. "We keep getting better with each sporting outing.” Team Edo delivered a commanding performance at the 3rd National Para Games in Abuja, fi...

...As Shehu Dikko hails Para stars   By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye      The curtain has fallen on the 3rd National Para Games in Abuja but not without a powerful statement. From March 31 to April 3, Nigeria’s finest para-athletes turned the nation’s capital into a theatre of grit, glory, and unbreakable spirit, delivering a competition that was as inspiring as it was fiercely contested. At the closing ceremony, Mallam Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, didn’t hold back in his praise.  He hailed the athletes not just for medals won, but for redefining what sport means in a nation pushing for greater inclusion. “This was more than a competition,” Dikko declared. “It was courage on display. It was resilience in motion. It was Nigeria at its proudest.” The Games, staged in Abuja, lived up to that billing, showcasing athletes who refused to be defined by limitations, instead rewriting narratives with every race, lift, and thro...

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye in Abuja      The curtains came down in grand fashion at the velodrome of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium on Friday, as Enugu State powered their way to overall glory at the 3rd National Para Games. It was a fitting finale to days of grit, resilience, and elite competition, with Enugu finishing top of the medals table in emphatic fashion, 40 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze, leaving rivals trailing in their wake. Bayelsa settled for second with a strong haul, while Edo completed the podium in third. Rivers and Lagos rounded off the top five in a fiercely contested championship. The closing ceremony sparkled with high-profile presence, as Nana Kashim Shettima stood in for Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, delivering a powerful message of inclusion and hope. She hailed the athletes as true champions, regardless of podium finishes, praising their discipline and fighting spirit. “Medal or no medal, you are all champions,” s...

...Secures 13 medals as table tennis event comes to an end By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye in Abuja           From grass to grace, this is the inside story of Team Edo State's rise in table tennis, the once uneducated side powered by eagerness is now a consistent medal winner for the Heartbeat State. These are the words of the head coach of Team Edo table tennis, Goriola Olayiwola Wahab in an exclusive interview with FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG's Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye at the ongoing National Para Games in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Coach Wahab, fond called Mr. Consistent, led Team Edo to secure 13 medals Games, 4 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals. For coach Wahab in the Table Tennis coaching business it all began 1991, in Bauchi, when he teaching special athletes the games of pingpong. He then started working with the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Nigeria to help educate and train more athletes. “I started coac...