In the wee hours of Sunday, the 30-year-old produced the fastest splits in the two races to punch Nigeria’s ticket on day one of the World Relays.

He ran the third leg of the mixed 4x400m relay team with the fastest overall split of 44.78s to overtake the USA and handover the baton to Elo Jospeh who ensured Nigeria finished second with a time of 3:13.79, which automatically sealed their spot at the Olympics for the second consecutive time.

Okezie returned to the tracks to anchor the men’s 4x400m team and he showed no signs of tiredness as he overtook Jamaiaca’s anchor Demish Gaye on the home straight to ensure a second-place finish for Nigeria a time of 3:01.70.

His split was 44.46s and with their time of 3:01.70, they ran the fastest time by a Nigerian male 4x400m team since the bronze-winning team of James Godday, Musa Audu, Saul Weigopwa and Enefiok Udo-Obong ran 3:00.90 at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, described Okezie’s feat as a reward for hard work.

“We are all happy and he has been working very hard so I believe God is about to reward his work,” Okowa told our correspondent.

“He is a calm quiet man and he is still working hard. The last time he spoke to me, he said his aim is to reach the podium at the Olympics and I believe he is going to achieve that with the way he is going.”

Other Nigerians also hailed the African Games gold medallist for his impressive performance in the Bahamas.Related News

“Chidi Okezie deserves a national award. The two automatic qualification spots we have to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games had Okezie’s handwriting boldly written all over both races,” a sports analyst, Ifeoluwa Leo-Olagbaye wrote on Facebook.

“Without taking anything away from other brilliant athletes whom I will give their due flowers, I must say Okezie played a major role in both automatic qualifications. He was saddled with leading the 400m athletes to the Bahamas and he led on the tracks – that is the trademark of a born leader!”

Athletics writer, Deji Ogeyingbo, also wrote after the race, “Chidi Okezie is an absolute monster! Seals Nigeria’s second automatic qualification spot in Paris for the men’s 4×400.”

“Chidi Okezie is a monster. He’s grown into this 400m race thing. In the mixed, he outpaced the American, only for our anchor leg to lag behind and we finished second,” a fan Chiby Ike noted.

Born to a Nigerian father Moses Okezie and a Jamaican mother Carol Morris, Okezie graduated from Hampton University in 2015 and has a Master’s in Sports Administration. Before switching to Nigeria in 2016, he was part of the American 4×400m relay team that won a gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona.

Since he started representing Nigeria in 2016, Okezie didn’t win a gold medal for the country until the 2023 African Games in Ghana where he ran a personal best of 45.06s which is also the fastest time by a Nigerian athlete in that discipline in nine years.

It was also Nigeria’s first gold medal in the men’s 400m at the African Games since 1987.

At the Tokyo 2020 Games which was held in 2021, Okezie was among the 10 Nigerian athletes who were barred from competing due to out-of-competition issues and he will be looking forward to barring that experience in
Paris.

His compatriot, Nathan Tella started as a wingback in the game.

After Granit Xhaka opened the scoring for Xabi Alonso’s men, the home side equalised and seemed to change the match’s momentum, with Frankfurt in the ascendancy before halftime.

Patrick Schick ensured Leverkusen took a 2-1 lead into the break just as Ezekiel Palacios and Jeremie Frimpong added the third and fourth in the second half.

Boniface, who came on 30 minutes to the end of the game rounded off scoring from the spot in the 89th for his 12th league goal of the season while he also has eight assists.Related News

The striker has a 28-goal contribution for Leverkusen this season as they chase two more titles.

With the league title in the bag, one foot in the UEFA Europa League final and a DFB-Pokal final on the horizon, things couldn’t be going much better for Leverkusen at the moment.

As for the juggernaut that is Leverkusen, they’re showing no sign of slowing up and even with boss Xabi Alonso in the stands, displayed yet another dominant performance.

They are now level with Benfica’s 59-year European record for the longest unbeaten run in all competitions, and they can write another piece of history against Roma in the second leg semi-finals of the Europa League on Thursday.

In an official statement addressed to the Nigeria Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Remi Aboderin, UBO Vice President David Maizner lauded Idowu’s exceptional performance against his Ghanaian opponent Bastie Samir, ultimately resulting in a second-round knockout.

The statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday read in part, “Mr. Rasheed put on a wonderful performance, defeating his more experienced opponent Bastie Samir by spectacular second round knockout.

“Unfortunately controversy followed, but justice was eventually done and we are proud to call Mr. Rasheed our champion. I can furthermore inform you that our team decided this week to declare Mr. Rasheed as the UBO Boxer of the Month for April 2024.

Idowu, upon learning of the honour, expressed his gratitude, while speaking to PUNCH Sport Extra saying, “I’m really excited, and I appreciate them. I didn’t expect this and may God bless them more.”

On their social media pages, the UBO wrote, “For his heroics feats and for defeating the legendary big name of Ghana boxing via K.O in round two, also for staying calm in the ring whilst been denied of his hard won light-heavyweight title victory, the Universal Boxing Organization has decided to honor Idowu Rasheed of Nigeria who defeated Samir Bastie of Ghana, a boxer who always gives the “Money Man” @Floyd Mayweather sparring whenever Floyd has a big fight scheduled, the Universal Boxing Organization has declared Idowu Rasheed as professional boxer for the month of April 2024.”

Idowu is looking forward to successfully defend his title next now that he has received his deserved
belt.

According to the prospectus of the tournament, each country is expected to present two men and two women for the African Cup while Egypt as the defending champions in men and women will present three players each. Rwanda will present four men and four women as the host country.

In the list of participants released by the continental table tennis ruling body, African Table Tennis Federation, Omar Assar of Egypt as the men’s singles defending champion will be joined by her compatriot – Hana Goda who will also be defending her title in the women’s singles.

Aruna, a finallist at the 2022 edition held in Lagos, Nigeria, suffered an injury in the final to forfeit the match to Assar after coming back from the brink of defeat to level up. He led in the seventh game, but a thigh injury forced him to surrender the title to the Egyptian in front of the supporting Lagos fans.https://live.primis-amp.tech/content/video/amp/videoIframe.php?s=113240#amp=1

The Nigerian, who had dropped in the ITTF ranking to 19th place and hoping to use the tournament to climb his way back to the top of the world rating, will again be facing a Herculean task against the Egyptian trio Assar, Mohamed El-Beiali and Youssef Abdel-Aziz.Related News

Omotayo, who is yet to show why he was crowned the 2019 African Games champion, will be looking forward to another showdown against some of the finest African stars in Kigali.

Edem, who spearheaded Nigeria’s silver medal at the 13th African Games in Ghana, will be looking forward to a repeat of her Accra’s superlative performance in Kigali.

Bello, a finalist at the 2022 edition must have put her below-par performance in Ghana behind her with the hope of reenacting her 2022 form in Rwanda.

At the Olympics Qualification Tournament, Aruna will be eyeing his fourth Olympic Games appearance when the event kicks off on May 16 at the BK Arena in Kigali. Egypt will not be competing as they had already picked their tickets at the 2023 African Championships in
Tunisia.

Though it wasn’t the most eventful weekend for Nigerian players abroad, the likes of Chuba Akpom and Victor Boniface still made their impacts felt for their clubs, writes ABIODUN ADEWALE

SUNDAY

THE NETHERLANDS

CHUBA AKPOM (AJAX)

Akpom registered his 11 goal and second assist of the Dutch league season and helped Ajax to a 4-1 win at Volendam. The Arsenal Academy product provided the Dutch giants’ first goal in the 25th minute with a fine assist for Kenneth Taylor while he doubled the lead in the 59th minute. Brian Brobbery and Taylor added the third and fourth goals before the home side got their consolation in the 80th minute. The win ensured Ajax stayed two points ahead of Utrecht in the UEFA Europa League race with 52 points and two games to go.

GERMANY

BONIFACE, TELLA (BAYER LEVERKUSEN)

Victor Boniface came off the bench and scored the last goal while Nathan Tella started as a wingback as German champions Beyer Leverkusen continued their incredible win with a 5-1 win over Frankfurt. After Granit Xhaka opened the scoring for Xabi Alonso’s men, the home side equalised but Patrick Schick ensured Leverkusen took a 2-1 lead into the break just as Ezekiel Palacios and Jeremie Frimpong added the third and fourth in the second half. Boniface rounded off scoring from the spot in the 89th for his 12th league goal of the season while he also has eight assists. Leverkusen also extended their unbeaten run to 48 games in all competitions.

ITALY

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE (AC MILAN)

Chukwueze returned to the starting lineup for AC Milan, his first start in four matches and made it count with an assist as AC Milan and Genoa played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at the San Siro. He assisted Alessandro Florenzi for Milan’s first goal just before halftime to level the game at 1-1 but a chaotic second half saw Milan go behind again and take the lead before allowing the visitors to draw the game. German defender, Malick Thiaw who replaced Chukwueze in the 81st minute scored an own goal six minutes after coming on to make the scoreline 3-3.

RAPHAEL ODOGWU (SUDITROL)

Thirty-three-year-old Odogwu scored a 68th-minute penalty for his second consecutive goal in the Serie B and eighth goal of the season as Suditrol forced a 2-2 draw at Pisa.

Odogwu started his professional career with his childhood club Virtus Verona. He later had stints with Real Vicenza, Renate, Altovicentino, and Arzignano before returning to Virtus Verona in 2019. On 24 July 2020, he signed a 2-year contract with Südtirol.

BELGIUM

YUSUF, EJUKE (ANTWERP)

Chidera Ejuke played the entire game but Alhassan Yusuf started from the bench as Antwerp suffered their sixth defeat in the Jupiler Pro League championship playoffs as a result of a 2-1 defeat at home against Club Brugge.

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA (CLUB BRUGGE)

Fresh from winning Club Brugge’s Player of The Month Award for March, Onyedika put in another great shift for 90 minutes as the club beat champions Antwerp 2-1 away from home to move to the top of the Jupiler Pro League championship playoffs. Onyedika has been massive to the club’s push for the league title, registering three goals recently.

DENMARK

STEPHEN ODEY (RANDERS)

Odey’s club Randers are coasting away from relegation in the Danish topflight but they were handed a 2-1 defeat by fellow strugglers Lyngby in the relegation playoffs. The former MFM man played 62 minutes during the game but couldn’t add to his four-goal tally.

SCOTLAND

DESSERS, BALOGUN (RANGERS)

Nigeria striker Dessers was not among the scorers as Rangers thrashed Kilmarnock 4-1 as the race for the Scottish Premier League title intensifies. Despite not adding to his 14 goals and three assists in the league this season, Dessers featured for 90 minutes while Balogun played 45 minutes. They are currently second with 82 points and three points behind leaders Celtic.

SPAIN

TONI PAYNE (SEVILLA)

Payne started for Sevilla as usual but she was unable to help them avoid a 1-0 defeat against Real Betis which left them seventh in the table with 39 points. The Super Falcons midfielder has six goals and four assists in 26 league games this season.

SWITZERLAND

SAMUEL KALU (LAUSANNE)

After returning from an injury, Kalu made his first start for Swiss side Lausanne in their 3-1 defeat at Yverdon but they are still seven points above the relegation zone. The 26-year-old has played 17 league games for Lausanne this season scoring three goals plus two assists.

TURKEY

KENNETH OMERUO (KASIMPASA)

Super Eagles defender Omeruo was an unused substitute in Kasimpasa’s 4-1 defeat at Basaksehir, a result that ensured the home team consolidated their position for a UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs spot. In 23 appearances this season, the defender has one goal and one assist to his name.Related News

FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU (HATAYASPOR)

Dele-Bashiru was present for Hatayaspor as they held Gaziantep to a 1-1 draw away from home. The 23-year-old has been consistent for Hatayaspor, scoring six goals and providing three assists in the league.

SATURDAY

ENGLAND

IWOBI, BASSEY (FULHAM)

Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey put on commendable displays as usual for Fulham in their goalless draw against Brentford FC and Frank Onyeka.

AINA, AWONIYI (NOTTINGHAM FOREST)

Taiwo Awoniyi made a long-awaited return to action, while Ola Aina featured prominently as Nottingham Forest FC bolstered their survival hopes with a convincing 3-1 away win over 10-man Sheffield United. Awoniyi who had missed seven games played a minute in the game as Forest now sit a place and three points above Luton in the relegation zone.

NDIDI, IHEANACHO (LEICESTER)

Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were in action as Leicester City fell to a 2-0 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers, but the Foxes had done enough to be crowned the Championship winners.

JOE ARIBO (SOUTHAMPTON)

Aribo helped Southampton seal a place in the promotion playoffs in their 2-1 away victory over Leeds United. He dominated the midfield with seven duels won and created a crucial goal-scoring opportunity.

BELGIUM

JORDAN TORUNARIGHA (GENT)

In the First Division A, Torunarigha played his part well as Gent defeated Mechelen 4-2 to confirm their superiority in the race for who picks up the ticket for the UEFA Conference League Playoffs.

TOLU AROKODARE (GENK)

Arokodare shook off any injury fears to make the starting lineup for Genk, but their day ended in a disappointing 4-1 loss at Cercle Brugge.

CZECH REPUBLIC

IGOH OGBU (SK SLAVIA PRAGUE)

In a stellar defensive display, Ogbu anchored the backline for SK Slavia Prague, while Muhamed Tijani made a commendable impact off the bench, propelling their team to a resounding 5-0 victory against FC Baník Ostrava.

ABDULLAHI TANKO (OSTRAVA)

Tanko’s early departure following a 52nd-minute red card only compounded Baník Ostrava’s woes in the defeat against Oghu’s Slavia Prague.

GERMANY

KEVIN AKPOGUMA (HOFFENHEIM)

Akpoguma impressed, winning seven duels and creating two goal-scoring opportunities, as TSG Hoffenheim salvaged a late 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig in Bundesliga action.

SPAIN

RASHEEDAT AJIBADE (ATLETICO MADRID WOMEN)

Super Falcons captain, Ajibade shone for Atletico de Madrid Femenino in their hard-fought 1-0 victory over UDCA Tenerife in Liga F, where they faced off against Super Falcons stars Monday Gift and Rinsola Babajide. Ajibade is just a goal shy off 40 club career goals.

SWEDEN

SILAS NWANKWO (MJÄLLBY)

In the Allsvenskan, former Nasarawa United striker, Nwankwo, who made a return from a long injury last October opened the scoring for Mjällby in the 19th minute, but Brommapojkarna netted a late equaliser to force a 1-1 draw.

TURKEY

PAUL ONUACHU (TRABZONSPOR)

Last week’s hat-trick hero, Onuachu forgot was caged and allowed no breathing space by Samsunspor defenders in a 3-1 defeat for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Osimhen only signed a new contract at Napoli at the start of the year with his release clause set at around €130m but that has not deterred interested clubs from making offers for the coveted striker.

Following impressive seasons with the Partenopeans, the Super Eagles striker has emerged as one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe.

However, according to Il Corriere dello Sport, PSG are favourites in the hunt for the 25-year-old as they see the Nigerian as the perfect replacement for Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappé.

The French champions however face competition from Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, who are also expected to launch their bids for the player in the coming days.

Sky Sport Italia transfer expert, Gianluca Di Marzio, wrote that Chelsea had approached Napoli to ask about Osimhen as well.

According to the Italian, the Blues are hoping to lower the cost by including Lukaku as part of the deal.

“Not just PSG on Victor Osimhen. For the Nigerian striker, the French can soon open negotiations with the Neapolitans, who however have also had initial contacts with Chelsea in the meantime,” Marzio said.Related News

“The English are trying to understand the feasibility of an 80/90 million operation with the inclusion of Lukaku plus a young player in the negotiation.

“Lukaku is a target of the next sporting director Giovanni Manna, who already wanted to bring him to Juventus in an exchange with Vlahovic.”

This could be more intriguing than many might think, as Napoli’s new director of sport is going to be Giovanni Manna, who already tried to bring Lukaku to Juventus last summer.

Lukaku has made it clear he does not want to remain at Chelsea and would prefer to stay in Italy, as after his loan at Inter, he spent this season with Roma.

Osimhen’s recruitment will come as a big boost for the London club who have heavily relied on Cole Palmer due to the inconsistency of Nicolas Jackson who was brought in from Villarreal last summer.

Despite missing a large chunk of the 2023/24 season due to injuries and his involvement with Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, the striker still boasts 17-goal involvement (14 goals and three assists) in 22 appearances in the Italian topflight league.

The 25-year-old has been in fine form for Napoli, guiding the Serie A club to their first league victory in 33 years with a league-high 26 goals in 32 Serie A games last season, and 31 goals across all competitions.

Mikel Arteta’s side moved four points clear at the top but Man City have two matches in hand, the first of which comes at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers later on Saturday.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, with Arsenal securing a deserved reward for their first-half dominance as they racked up 16 shots in the first period alone.

Leandro Trossard and Declan Rice made sure of three points with late finishes as defeat left Bournemouth – who had an Antoine Semenyo strike ruled out in the closing stages – 10th in the table.

How the match unfolded
A flowing Arsenal move almost ended in Trossard converting Ben White’s 10th-minute cross, only for a last-gasp Marcos Senesi block to thwart the Belgium forward.

Bournemouth had Mark Travers to thank soon after as the goalkeeper saved fizzing efforts from Kai Havertz and Saka, as well as a one-on-one with William Saliba.

Travers’ one-man resistance continued when he pushed away Thomas Partey’s low left-footed curling attempt, before Rice fired narrowly wide following Havertz’s delicate header.

Yet Arsenal finally got their breakthrough as Travers felled the marauding Havertz before Saka coolly swept into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.

Saka should have doubled his tally after the interval but sent a glorious opportunity straight at Travers following a smart offload from Havertz, who went close minutes later.

David Raya was forced into action at the other end to deny Dominic Solanke after 53 minutes, while Justin Kluivert whipped a free-kick just over.

That spell of Bournemouth pressure came to an abrupt end with 20 minutes to go when Rice twisted to tee up Trossard, who slotted a smart right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner.

The Cherries thought they had snatched a goal back just three minutes later but Semenyo’s rebounded strike after Ryan Christie hit the crossbar was ruled out for a Solanke foul on Raya.
Arsenal then suffered a similar fate with the officials as Gabriel’s rocketed volley was disallowed for offside. But Rice was not to be denied in stoppage time as he ran onto Gabriel Jesus’s through-ball and fired under the helpless Travers.

Advantage Arsenal thanks to super Saka
Arsenal have won 14 of their 16 Premier League games so far in 2024, dropping points only against Man City (0-0) and Aston Villa (2-0) this year.

That incredible run of form ensures a tantalising title race will continue towards the final two matches of the season, when Arsenal travel to Manchester United and then host Everton on the final day.

Their success this season can be somewhat apportioned to star winger Saka, who has now become the first player to score 20 goals for Arsenal in a season across all competitions since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck 29 in 2019/20.

Saka is also the first Englishman to do so for the club since Theo Walcott, who netted 21 times in 2012/13, as the England international continues to deliver in key moments for the Gunners.

Cherries blunted by dominant Gunners
Bournemouth had won 1-0 at Wolves and 3-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion in their two Premier League encounters before this – but they have never triumphed in three consecutive top-flight games without conceding.

A wait for three straight such victories will go on into next season, though Andoni Iraola will look back on this campaign with fond memories.

They have never won more matches in a top-flight season than their 13 in 2023/24 (also 13 in 2018/19) and – despite this underwhelming performance – will have another chance to set an outright club record when they host Brentford before visiting Chelsea on the final day, with a top-half finish still possible.