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Golf: Vincent Torgah wins three straight events

13/4/2019

Vincent Torgah

Vincent Torgah won his third consecutive tournament at the FCT Classic on Friday by closing with a 1-over 73 and 10-under for the tournament 278.

The Ghanaian went into the final round with 11-under but could not improve his score after registering two birdies and three bogeys, his worst round of the event held at IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja, Nigeria.

This is the first time an African Tour golfer has won three tournaments in a row.

Nigerian Gift Willy shot 72 and retained solo second place with 285 for the tournament.

Fellow Nigerians Mohamed Liman and Sunday Olapade closed with 2-under 70 and remained tied for third place while Emos Korblah who headed into the final round with a share of the third ended at fifth after carding 1-over 73, 291 for the tournament.

The next tournament of the African Tour, Port Harcourt Classic, will take place from 15 to 18 May in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Golf: Torgah retains FCT Classic lead

11/4/2019

In-form Torgah holds a 9-shot lead after two rounds of the FCT Classic at IBB International Golf and Country Club in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Ghanaian played 3-under and added a 69 to his opening round 65 to remain on course for another victory.

Nigerian Michael Ubi finished with an even par 72 moving from a tied third to a solo second place after 36 holes.

Sunday Olapade scarcely improved his score following a 1-over par 73 with a 1-under par 71 and shared third place with Gift Willy who shot 71 and 73. Both of them are at course par 144.

Kingsley Oparaku jumped from a tied for eighth to the fifth place after carding 2-over par 72 totaling 1-over par 145.

Nigerian Badminton team claim readiness for Africa Championships

6/4/2019

By Ekpor Temple

There is a soaring spirit in the camp of the national badminton team as they prepare for the Africa Badminton Championships which comes up from April 22 -28th in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Eighteen countries already have registered for this year’s event which will see the top male and female badminton players slug it out for brilliance. The countries are: Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Congo, Congo DRC, Eritrea, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya.

Others are Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria as the Host.

Team Nigeria athletes are camped at the High Performance Center in the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State to get them fully ready for the championship.

“We have been camped here for the past three weeks, and the tournament starts in the next 18 days, I think from the look of things and what the players have displayed we are rightly and equally prepared for the tournament,” assistant coach of the team, George Shitta told ChinaAcheru.com.

He confirmed that the team looked shaped and was indeed very optimistic of hosting and winning this year’s Africa Badminton Championship.

He also revealed that most of the players that represented the country in Algeria the last time out are still in the team and to him the composure of the players is even better now as compared to then. Nigeria finished in second place in Algeria and the coach believes they have the best team Nigeria can produce at this point in time.

“Yes they are the best. Before the names were published, all the players underwent some trials. They played among themselves and the best 18 was selected from the 30 players in camp.

The captain of the side Enajoh Abah, happy that the fitness level of his team mates has improved tremendously, believes “everybody is in top form and ready for the tournament”.
Abah’s dream is to see Team Nigeria as a team and then win the tournament.

“The first is to play as a team so we can win the team events which is our priority, before the singles and double which I believe we can win 2 gold medals,” He told ChinaAcheru.com.

19 years on: African Badminton Championship returns to Nigeria

30/3/2019

By Ekikere Udofia

The Africa Badminton Championships return to Nigeria after nineteen years and Port Harcourt will be host when the top players from around the continent converge to stake claims for the number one prize.

At a press conference in Port Harcourt, the President of the Badminton Fédération of Nigeria Francis Orbih expressed the country's readiness to host Africa.

"We intend to host to win, hence the serious preparations to achieve this," Orbih said.

"We are privileged to be the hosts of this edition as it serves as the first qualifiers for the Olympics next year. We are really excited about the quality of countries that have registered to participate. These teams from some of the countries represent some of the best players on the continent,” Orbih said.

How Nigeria tried and failed

The first time Nigeria tried to host Africa in Badminton was 1996 when Lagos applied for hosting rights but failed.

In 2000, it was the turn of Bauchi but Nigeria failed again. Abuja tried in 2008 yet did not get it.

Francis Orbih says they want to host and win as that help the ranking of the country.

"When we came on-board as a federation, Nigeria was No 6 in Africa but as we speak to you, Nigeria is no 2.

“The only country standing between us and reclaiming the pole position in Africa is Mauritius.

“Currently, Mauritius is no 1 in Africa as they parade the No 1 male player (singles) Georges Paul and No 1 female player Kate Foo June,” he added.

Eighteen of the best in Port Harcourt

The biggest badminton championship on the continent sees Port Harcourt, Nigeria welcome 18 African countries for the All African Badminton championships at the Alfred Diete Spiff centre (civic centre), Moscow road Port Harcourt with six courts ready for use at the venue.

With this year's edition serving as an Olympic qualifier as declared by the Badminton World Federation and the first qualifier for next year's Olympic games, the flagship event of badminton in Africa will run from April 22 to April 28, 2019.

Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Congo, Congo DRC, Eritea, Egypt, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Seychelles, Uganda, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa,Togo, Nigeria are the eighteen countries taking part in this edition.

Nigeria ready to bite

The host country, Nigeria will parade a total of 18 players (9 male and 9 female).

In the men and women singles, Nigeria's Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Dorcas Adesokan are rated second in Africa respectively, same as the mixed doubles where Nigeria is also rated second.

Only in the men's double that the pair of Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Godwin olofuwa are rated no 1 in Africa.

Francis Orbih acknowledged that the first Rivers National Badminton championship last year was a test run for this year's African championship.

Torgah keeps lead early at Memorare

22/3/2019

Vincent Torgah had a 7-under par 65 and a total of 13-under 131 retaining his lead in round 2 of the African Tour’s Memorare at Arsenal Golf Club in Owerri, Nigeria.

The 2018 Order of Merit Champion fired 9 birdies and 2 bogies to take a 5-stroke lead over his compatriot Emos Korblah who shot 3-under and holds a score of 8-under par after 36 holes.

Nigerian Gift Willy finished at 5-under after an opening round of 2-under to sit at third place with a total of 7-under. Tied for fourth place are fellow Nigerians Udum Saater, Magnus Onumajuru and Chukwudi Okoro with 3-under.

Memorare, the second event of the 2019 African Tour schedule, continues tomorrow going into day 3 of the tournament

PH City 8 Ball Pool League welcomes the Boss

6/3/2019

IgoBoss takes aim, a fatal shot in the offing

IgoBoss has been here and there since the PH City 8 Ball Pool League but it seems he has begun to make a loud statement based on his recent results.

The most talked about players in the League have been Pen Dragon (for obvious reasons), Razor, Samuel, Israel and maybe, the Zen Master, however, IgoBoss is due some reviews.

On Monday at the Engine Room, V 10, Igo Boss continued his fine form, beating Davidaloca 4-2.

Davidaloca has not had an easy run in recent times as he fell 5-1 to Pen Dragon, though he manaded to go past DDK 2-1.

Forte may not be having an easy run in the League, but he gets his wins ebvery now and then.

Forte was up against TammyJiggy and won 2-1 on the night.

Ibori is a relatively new name in the news but he has had his fair share of victories.

On monday night, he thrashed DDK 3-0. he also was up against Baka and won 2-1.

On Tuesday, two games were played.

Igoboss thrashed Savimbi 6-0 and then Pen Dragon destroyed what was left of Savimbi 6-0.

The games continue at the Engine Room, V 10, 26 King Perekule Street, GRA Phase II, Port Harcourt.

PH City 8 ball Pool League: Where the chief banishes the King

3/3/2019

Roller-coaster ride for Amino at the PH City 8 Ball Pool League

The intrigues have not in any way reduced at the Engine Room, V 10 in Port Harcourt where the PH City 8 Ball Pool League continues.

Chief Marsh has so far been noted for finishing his games in record times while the King has proved (at least by his results) that he is anything but a king.

It was Chief Marsh against the King and it was easy pickings as it ended Chief Marsh 3-0 The King. The total match score was Chief Marsh 5-1 The King.

Chief Marsh was in terrific form on Friday also defeating DDK 3-0.

The travails of the King were not over as he came head to head with Baresi and lost again, this time 2-1.

But it was not all doom and gloom for the king as he had enough time to face off with Davidaloca and win 3-0.

Tough luck for Baresi

Baresi may have beaten the King 2-1, but it was really a poor day for him on Friday.

He faced off against Sammy and lost 2-1 while his encounter against Steve Daminky was another loss, 2-1 again.

Daminki hardly turns up, hardly smiles neither does he joke around while he plays, but whenever he turns up, he really raises the heat.

After beating Baresi 2-1, Daminki faced Davidaloca and won 3-0.

Razor made an appearance on Friday beating Soblo 3-0. Soblo had earlier drawn 3-3 against Savimbi.

Same Soblo was up against Baka and lost 4-2. Baka seems to be getting his groove back.

Baka faced up against DDK and it ended 3-3.

On Saturday at the Engine Room, Chief Marsh was not slowing down as he whooped Amino 6-0.

Israel beat Nengimo69 3-0 and Willo Baba ended his encounter with Baka 3-3

At this stage in the League it seems a bit obvious that the likes of Pen Dragon, Chief Marsh, Stevo Daminki, Sammy and Israel are favourites to win. Others like Razor, DDK, Savimbi and maybe Baresi have an outside chance of winning.

The games continue at The Engine Room, V 10, 26 King Perekule Street, GRA Phase II, Port Harcourt.

PH City 8 Ball Pool League

1/3/2019

Amino trying to get a win that has been far from him

Pen Dragon seems jaded but he has been able to somehow picks his wins at the ongoing PH City 8- Ball Pool League.

A few days ago, it was IgoBoss who took out the dragon in two straight games but managed to lose the match 4-2.

On Wednesday, Nengimo69 managed to take one game but eventually lost 2-1 to Pen Dragon.

Nengimo69 recovered to beat Sammy 2-1. It seemed Sammy was having a bad day on the night.

Tammy Jiggy was up against new boy, Amino and it was the newbie winning 4-2. It seems that was Amino’s first win of the League after losing his first two matches 3-0, 3-0.

Amino, probably thinking he was in luck, accepted the challenge from Sammy.

Believing his luck would hold on, but Sammy had other plans.

Sammy beat him silly. At the end of the match it was Sammy 5-1 Aminu.

In Thursday night’s games, Nengimo69 lost to Davidaloca 4-2 and Forte ended his encounter with Amino 3-3.

Baka came up against Savimbi who won 2-1and then Razor won one and lost one.

Against Nengimo69, Razor won 2-1 and against Davidaloca he lost 2-1.

PH City 8- Ball Pool League: The failed attempt to kill a dragon

27/2/2019

Baka and Davidaloca not finding things easy

The highlight of Tuesday was no doubt the failed attempt by IgoBoss to slay the dragon. He gave it his best shot, but it certainly was not good enough.

And yes, it was an eyeful watching Pen Dragon struggle for points on the felt as IgoBoss almost took him.

His game (Pen Dragon) seemed a bit off as he missed seemingly easy shots and he miscued when he shouldn’t have.

IgoBoss took him out in two straight games before he was able to get one back and lose the Big Balls 2-1. They took a break and with IgoBoss missing glaring chances, Pen Dragon won the Small Balls 3-0.

How not slay a Dragon

IgoBoss tried and failed and it was the turn of Forte who also had good chances against Pen Dragon and also missed an opportunity to win with 6 balls but he wasn’t up to the task. Forte eventually lost 2-1to Pen Dragon.

Unlucky Aminu

Aminu is new on the Felt but his welcome has not been the kind anyone looks forward to.

He lost his first game 3-0 and then his second game 3-0.

Baka won 2-1 against DArcher and this was after drawing 3-3 against WilloWoo. He also lost 2-1 to Savimbi on Monday.

Chief Marsh is back

Chief Marsh seems to have shaken off the lethargy of his poor performances last week.

He wasted no time to wipe out DArcher 3-0 on Tuesday and then against Amino, he won 3-0.

Nengimo69 is finally picking up some points and his pace in the league. Nengimo69 lost 2-1 to Israel but then beat Zsi Hunghez 2-1.

Shooting stray arrows
DArcher has not been much of an archer since the Pool League began because his shots have been going astray.

Baka beat DArcher 2-1 and Davidaloca also beat him 3-0.

Happy days are here again

And these may be the words of Davidaloca as things seem to be looking up for him.

After his 3-0 win over DArcher, he beat Zen Master 2-1 and then DDK 3-0.

Davidaloca drew 3-3 against TammyJiggy but then it was losses to WillyWoo, 2-1, and Savimbi 2-1

Forte lost 2-1 to Tammy Jiggy, Israel beat Steve 2-1 and IgoBoss lost 1-0 to Tammy Jiggy.

Other results are IgoBoss winning 3-0 against Israel, Sammy winning 3-0 against Willy woo and DDK beating MarkTee 3-0. Israel thrashed Amino 3-0.

Israel takes over at PH City 8- Ball Pool League

25/2/2019

Israel doing his thing on the Felt

It was not the best of starts for Israel but over the weekend he made himself the man to beat at the ongoing PH City 8 Ball Pool League.

On Thursday and Friday, Israel lost a couple of games from winning positions.

One of them was against Pen Dragon on Friday and there was another against Sammy on Thursday. And the argument was that he either lost concentration too easily or he lacked proper game management to lead him all the way especially in difficult situations on the felt.

Against Pen Dragon on Friday, Israel lost 2-1 and against Sammy on Thursday he lost 3-0. He should have won these games

He beat Chief Marsh 2-1 on Friday though and it seemed like he had gotten back his mojo.

He started with a 2-1 loss to IgoBoss on Sunday, then he beat Forte 4-2. Israel thrashed Razor 4-2 and then took out Zen Master 3-0.

“Let’s just say that I wasn’t really acquainted with the table and things were not going well as planned. Last week I lost to a couple of people and maybe they were just better than I was back then,” Israel told ChinaAcheru.com.

He now sees himself as qualified to win the League.

“It is very possible considering the fact that I am a great player. I am hopeful of better things to come,” Israel said.

Baka blows hot and cold

At this stage of the League it is difficult to figure out Baka. He like Forte and Zen Master will win one and lose two, then come back to win two and maybe lose again.

On Friday night, Baka lost 0-3 to Baresi but on Sunday he came back stronger with a 6-0 spanking of IgoBoss. Baka was determined to recover the lost points all in one day as he challenged Zen Master and won 2-1.

The Zen Master and the King

While we agree that the Zen Master really has no knowledge to pass on to people, the King has to make up his mind if he really is royalty or just the jester in the King’s court.

On Friday, the Zen Master lost 3-0 to MarkTee. Note that MarkTee has not exactly wowed the hall with bright performances. Zen Master took a break and returned on Sunday, this time losing 2-1 to DDK, 3-0 to Israel and 2-1 to Baka.

The King? That’s a laugh because he lost 2-1 to DDK and 2-1 to Chief Marsh. Now tongues are wagging. Is the King really in control of his Kingdom or is he an imposter?

In other games played on Friday, Pen Dragon took out Forte 3-0. That one was quick and brutal.

Pen Dragon beat Israel 2-1 and Tammy Jiggy beat MarkTee 2-1.

On Sunday, Sammy lost 1-2 to IgoBoss.

The Venue is still The Engine Room, V10, 26 King Perekule Street, GRA Phase II in Port Harcourt.