Delta Maintains Lead At National Sports Festival With 108 Medals

Delta State have held on to the top position on the log at the 2024 National Sports Festival tagged ‘Gateway Games’ in Abeokuta on Day seven.

The defending champions are closing in on another triumph in the games with dominant performances across all sports, culminating in a total of 103 medals.

Delta boats of 45 gold, 20 silver, and 43 bronze to sit comfortably on the top of the table ahead of second-placed Bayelsa.

Bayelsa remains in second place with 33 gold, 25 silver, and 25 bronze medals with a total of 83 medals.

Rivers maintained their spot in the third position with 27 gold, 22 silver, and 27 bronze for a total of 76 medals.

In fourth, the hosts, Ogun, have 27 gold, 16 silver, and 28 bronze to record a total of 71 medals.

Edo occupies the fifth position with 22 gold, 53 silver, and 50 bronze to rack up a total of 125 medals.

Meanwhile, participants in the table tennis event of the National Sports Festival will be battling for a total of 46 gold medals up for grabs.

The table tennis competition features athletes across three categories: able-bodied, para-athletes, and deaf athletes.

Seven gold medals are available in the able-bodied category, while deaf athletes will contest for five gold medals.

Para-athletes will compete for a whopping 34 gold medals across various events, including singles, doubles, mixed doubles, and team events.

In the able-bodied category, athletes will compete in singles (for men and women), doubles (for men and women), mixed doubles, and team events (for men and women).

Deaf athletes will contest in singles (men and women), doubles (men and women), and mixed doubles.

Para-athletes will participate in four team events—men’s classes 1–5 and 6–10, and women’s classes 1–5 and 6–10. There will also be 18 singles events for men and women, eight doubles events, and four mixed doubles events.

Delta State dominates the seeding lists for both able-bodied and para-athlete categories.

Fatimo Bello of Delta State is the top seed in the women’s singles, while Bayelsa’s Olajide Omotayo leads the men’s singles. Lagos and Oyo States top the seedlings in the deaf singles events.

According to the tournament referee, Lajide Ranti, this year’s tournament promises to be thrilling, especially with the inclusion of Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) by the National Sports Commission (NSC).

Lajide said: “We are going to witness top-class table tennis, especially from players who recently featured in the ITTF World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The knockout format of this year’s tournament will make it even more exciting and competitive. I hope we can conclude all matches before the closing ceremony on May 29,” Ranti said.

“The turnout of teams has been impressive, even from states that haven’t traditionally featured in the table tennis events of the NSF. Beyond the medals, I believe the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) will be able to discover new talents for future development.”

In a related development, Team Ogun has qualified for the final of the football event with a 2-1 win over the Golden Eaglets in the semi-finals.

Team Kwara earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Team Kaduna to set up a final clash with Team Ogun on Tuesday at the Moshood Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta. The game will kick-off at 6pm.

Delta Maintains Lead At National Sports Festival With 108 Medals is first published on The Whistler Newspaper