PAGE 30 — SUNDAY Vanguard, JUNE 13, 2021 Euro 2020 cracker: Sterling set to start England’s opener against Croatia Gareth Southgate is set to unleash an array of attacking talent against Croatia today with Raheem Sterling winning his race to start the European Championship opener. Sterling was awarded an MBE on Friday night in the Queen’s Birthday honours <strong>for</strong> services to racial equality. “It’s a proud moment - not just <strong>for</strong> myself but <strong>for</strong> my family,”he said. England team-mate Jordan Henderson won an MBE too, <strong>for</strong> services to charity. And Sterling is expected to start at Wembley, with Southgate throwing caution to the wind in his bid to get off to a winning start. Doubt had surrounded whether he would be in the XI. Moore rescues Wales against Switzerland Wales fought back to draw with Switzerland in their opening game of Euro 2020, as Kieffer Moore marked his return to the starting line-up with what could prove to be a vital equaliser. In only his third start in nine matches under interim manager Robert Page, the Cardiff City striker was close to giving Wales an early lead when his header was superbly tipped over by Yann Sommer. Switzerland took control of the match from that point and, after squandering several chances, they eventually scored as the impressive Breel Embolo headed in from Xherdan Shaqiri’s corner. Wales were slow to improve from their sluggish start but, with 15 minutes left, Joe Morrell’s delicately clipped cross found Moore, whose flicked header into the bottom corner sent the small but loud pocket of Wales fans in Baku wild. Those supporters then thought their hearts had been broken 10 minutes later as Swiss substitute Mario Gravanovic scored moments after coming on - but a VAR check disallowed his goal <strong>for</strong> offside. Switzerland kept pressing <strong>for</strong> a winner deep into added time but were denied by a series of brilliant saves from Danny Ward. Such was the intensity of the late Swiss pressure, a draw will have felt like a great relief <strong>for</strong> Wales, whose next game is against Turkey in Baku on Wednesday. After Turkey were crushed 3-0 by Italy in Friday’s tournament opener, Wales’ second match in Baku could have a signifi<strong>can</strong>t bearing on their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Ajunwa laments dearth of schools sports in <strong>Nigeria</strong> Former Afri<strong>can</strong> and Olympics long jump Champion, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara has called on <strong>Nigeria</strong>n sports authorities to urgently revival school sports competitions. Ajunwa, who was speaking during the Edo State edition of the Chioma Ajunwa Foundation Olympic talent hunt, said it was disheartening that there is no plat<strong>for</strong>m <strong>for</strong> talented sports men and women to be discovered in the country. “This is why the Chioma Ajunwa Foundation has taken it upon itself to offer the youngsters an avenue to showcase their talents. “We’ve done this in Lagos, Abia and Edo so far and I <strong>can</strong> tell you that the enthusiasm of students <strong>for</strong> Sports is overwhelming. “Government at all levels and corporate concerns must pay attention to school sports if we are seriously interested in sports development.” There was a large turnout of schools <strong>for</strong> the Edo State leg of the talent hunt concluded at the University of Benin Sports complex. The students, mostly female, participated in athletics and football and organisers have drawn a long list of track and field and football talents. “We are glad having this kind of <strong>for</strong>um <strong>for</strong> the kids to show what they <strong>can</strong> do in sports. Krejcikova wins first French Open singles title *Krejcikova Unseeded Czech Bar bora Krejcikova sealed her rapid rise in the singles game by claiming a first major title in a hard-fought French Open final. Krejcikova, 25, won 6-1 2-6 6-4 against Russian 31st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Roland Garros. The <strong>for</strong>mer doubles world number one has won the title on her fifth appearance in a Grand Slam singles draw. On Sunday, Krejcikova has the chance to win the doubles when she plays in the final alongside Katerina Siniakova. No player has won both the women’s singles and doubles titles at Roland Garros since France’s Mary Pierce in 2000. Krejcikova sealed the first half of what could be a rare double when she served out victory with her fourth match point. When Pavlyuchenkova hit a return long, the Czech clenched her fist in celebration and looked up to the sky as she remembered her mentor Jana Novotna. “I’m super happy I was able to enjoy it. I’m just really happy,” said Krejcikova, who has also won two Grand Slams doubles titles. “It is hard to put into words because I <strong>can</strong>not believe what just happened. I <strong>can</strong>not believe I actually won a Grand Slam.” *Moore AFN election: Chaos, confusion reign in professional bo<strong>die</strong>s’ polls *As Ebewele cries foul *Gusau threatens to drag WA, CAC to CAS By Ben Efe Athletics Federation of <strong>Nigeria</strong> has dived deeper into crisis as its board membership election fixed <strong>for</strong> June 14, has been thrown into confusion. Procedural issues from some the of zonal and professional bo<strong>die</strong>s election <strong>for</strong> the AFN board membership held last week indicate that all is not well. If a compromise is not reached in the general congress billed <strong>for</strong> today in Abuja, there will be elective congress on Monday, which is a public holiday. Some of the contestants alleged that the zonal and professional bo<strong>die</strong>s election did not follow the 2017 adopted AFN constitution and there<strong>for</strong>e every election conducted so far is null and void. They accused the Sports Ministry of interfering in the process. One of the most contentious elections was that of the Athletics Coaches Association of <strong>Nigeria</strong> and Association of Athletics Technical Officials. It failed to hold in Ilorin last Thursday as tempers boiled over. Former Edo State Commissioner <strong>for</strong> Sports, Brown Ebewele and his supporters condemned the election after he was disqualified from further participation and also suspended by the coaches’ association. “The whole process in Ilorin was a fraud. It was NAATO executive headed by Lucas Ogunjimi that caused the confusion. He had a list of delegates, which was fraudulent. Besides he was the one that constituted the electoral Committee, which was made up of mostly NAA- TO members and they had their minds made up to favor a particular <strong>can</strong>didate,” said Ebewele who denied disrupting the election. He added his suspension was a way of removing him from the equation. Meanwhile factional AFN president, Ibrahim Gusau has threatened to drag the World Athletics and Confederal of Afri<strong>can</strong> Athletics to the Court of Arbitration <strong>for</strong> Sports, CAS. Gusau who is also conducting elections <strong>for</strong> the AFN faction he heads, accused the WA and CAA of contravening their own statues by adopting the 2017 AFN constitution <strong>for</strong> the government recognised AFN election. French Open Final: Djokovic aims to make history against Tsitsipas Novak Djokovic backed himself to recover from his epic French Open semi-final victory over Rafael Nadal as he turned his focus today’s clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas While handing the king of clay just his third loss in 16 years at Roland Garros will have given Djokovic immense satisfaction, the bigger prize is still at stake. Should the 34-year-old lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires again, he would become the first man in the Open era, and only the third ever, to win each grand slam title at least twice. It would also take his overall tally to 19 slams, only one short of the record jointly held by Nadal and Roger Federer, giving him the chance to potentially overtake both this season. “It’s not the first time that I’ve played an epic semi-final in a grand slam and then I have to come back in less than 48 hours and play finals,” said Djokovic, who admitted he was “not the freshest guy” after battling past Nadal on Friday evening in four sets of spellbinding drama and quality. “My recovery abilities are pretty good, I must say, throughout my career. Obviously my physiotherapist will try to do everything possible so I <strong>can</strong> be fresh. Because I’ve played enough tennis, I don’t need to train too much. It’s really now just about taking things slowly until the day of the finals.” Transfer: Galatasaray fail to buy Onyekuru Turkish giants Gal atasaray have failed to take up the buy-up option on Henry Onyekuru, whose deadline was Friday, June 11. Onyekuru played on loan at Galatasaray this past season from Ligue 1 club AS Monaco with an option <strong>for</strong> the Turkish club *Onyekuru to buy him <strong>for</strong> 4.3 Million Euros thereafter. Top officials of Galatasaray are reported by the Turkish media to have said they have requested <strong>for</strong> 15 more days as regards this transaction as they <strong>can</strong>not take a decision until a new club administration is in place. Onyekuru scored five goals in 14 Super Lig appearances after he joined the Istanbul club halfway through the season in January. He has most recently been linked with a transfer to perennial Greek champions Olympiacos, who will like Gala play in the UEFA Champions League in the new season. Benfica reluctant to loan out Ebuehi Portuguese Primeira Liga side Benfica are re luctant to loan out Super Eagles fullback Tyronne Ebuehi <strong>for</strong> a second successive season. The right-back spent the whole of last season on loan at Twente, where he emerged as a key player <strong>for</strong> the Enschede side, starting all but one of their matches in all competitions. Twente want to continue their collaboration with the Super Eagle but the stumbling block to a deal has to be removed. The Dutch club have to trigger the option to buy in Ebuehi’s loan deal from Benfica if they wish to sign the player <strong>for</strong> next season. The option to buy was set at two million euros but Twente want it reduced <strong>for</strong> a deal to take place. Benfica wanting to part company with Ebuehi is justified as he has yet to make his competitive debut three years after joining the club due to his well-documented injury problems. His contract with The Eagles expires on June 30, 2023. WCGC: Danzinger wins, to represent <strong>Nigeria</strong> in Portugal Team Danzinger, represented by the duo of Bola Afolabi and O.R.M Oladapo have emerged winner of the 2021 World Corporate Golf Challenge. The event organised in <strong>Nigeria</strong> by Falcon Golf Development Company (FGDC) was decided at Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort in Uyo over the weekend. To come top in the competition, Team Danzinger grossed total of 81-stable<strong>for</strong>d points to beat the field of over 100-teams. Danzinger started the game with an opening 42-stable<strong>for</strong>d point and closed with 39-stable<strong>for</strong>d points to top the field. Their victory earned them an all expense paid trip to Portugal in November where the world final of WCGC has been scheduled to hold. Speaking shortly after being declared the winner, Team Danzinger promised to be a worthy representatives in Cascais, Portugal. They said apart from representing their company, Danzinger in the world corporate event, they will do all they <strong>can</strong> to launder the nations image as well. With a combined score of 79-stable<strong>for</strong>d points, the pair of Paul Erokoro and A. Ajibade came in the second position. The team signed <strong>for</strong> an opening 37 and a closing 42 to duck in the second position. In the third place were the team of Jide Aknyemi and James Woo. The pair carded and opening 37 and a closing 37 <strong>for</strong> 74 total over two days. Emma Owoicho and Ugo Nkwocha score of 38-36 <strong>for</strong> 74-stable<strong>for</strong>d points placed them in the 4th position losing on countback to the third placed Akinyemi and Woo. Godwin Ekpo and Onofiok Onofiok, completed the top five winners in the competition. World Corporate Golf Challenge 2021 winner; ORM Oladapo (middle) and Bola Afolabi receiving their trophies in Uyo over the weekend
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