SPORTS
Madueke Wins 2022 CBN Tennis Open Male Singles Title
Nonso Madueke won the 2022 CBN Senior National Open Tennis Championships’ male singles title on Saturday in Abuja after a stunning comeback against Henry Atseye in the final match.
Madueke, who was trailing his opponent after the first set, bounced back in the next two sets to claim the championships’ top prize.
After losing 2-6 in the first set, Madueke stormed back to win 7-6(10) in the second set, before Atseye retired injured at 0-2 down in the third set.
Tournament’s number one seed Atseye had come into the game with a lot of confidence after an energy-sapping 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 victory against Wilson Igbinovia in the semi-final.
The 18-year-old Igbinovia’s dream of a second championship win within the space of two weeks after winning the second edition of the DavNotch Open was cut short earlier on Saturday.
Tournament’s number four seed Madueke, on the hand, had quite an easy ride to the final as he dismissed unseeded Friday Gabriel 6-0 6-0 in the other semi-final encounter.
Atseye was still expected to dominate the game, in spite of the fatigue element, and he did not disappoint as he quickly went on the front foot, employing an aggressive approach in the first set to take it 6-2.
Madueke, however, shook off the early nerves and got his game back on track as he regained control in the second set to take it 7-6(10) after a long rally which dragged the game late into the night.
A physically-exhausted Atseye tried very hard to push himself to the limits and sustained a serious injury in the process.
It saw him retiring early in the third set to concede the game to Madueke.
“It was not an easy match, but I knew that as long as I kept on fighting, I was going to scale through.
“We both had to play two consecutive matches today and even though my opponent’s semi-final game was quite tougher than mine, I knew that I couldn’t rest on my oars.
“I had to keep pushing and stay focused. Thank God I had the victory at last,” an elated Madueke said.
The 44th edition of the CBN Senior Tennis Tournament ended on Saturday. (NAN)
SPORTS
World Cup 2026: Neymar Will Start Against Norway – Brazil Coach
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Neymar is fully fit and ready to play a full 90 minutes against Norway in their FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16 clash.
The Brazil boss has revealed that the Santos ace will appear alongside the Real Madrid star as the South Americans continue their World Cup campaign.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Ancelotti said: “Neymar can play 90 minutes… and he can play with Vinicius Jr.
“I think they WILL play together.”
The South American side have never beaten Norway in four meetings and will be seeking their first win on Sunday night as Ancelotti plans his side to face the likes of Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland.
The country’s all-time top scorer, Neymar, made his long-awaited World Cup debut in Brazil’s third group-stage match against Scotland in Miami, coming on in the 76th minute.
Neymar made a total of 15 appearances with his Brazilian club across all competitions in the 2025/26 season.
Since 2017, the star has suffered over 45 injuries and missed more than 270 matches, significantly interrupting his career.
In 2018, he played every 90 minutes of all five Brazil matches despite recently recovering from an ankle injury.
But, in Qatar, Neymar missed much of the group stage after receiving a tackle in the opening game against Serbia.
SPORTS
NBBF Unveils D’ Tigers Squad for Angola World Cup Qualifiers
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has unveiled a 12-man D’Tigers squad for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.
The qualifiers, tagged Window Three, will hold from July 2 to July 5, marking the beginning of a new era under Head Coach David Fizdale.
A statement from the NBBF on Monday said Fizdale will make his competitive debut as D’ Tigers coach, bringing decades of NBA coaching experience and expertise in developing elite basketball talent.
“The coach will lead a blend of experienced internationals and emerging players as Nigeria pursues qualification for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“The squad comprises Uchenna Ireogbu, Ikenna Ireogbu, Caleb Agada, Martins Igbanu, Paul Dibal and Stanley Okoye.
“Others are Daniel Utomi, Chimezie Metu, Wesley Iwundu, Christian Mekowulu, Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu and Michael Eric,” the statement said.
Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Guinea, Rwanda and Tunisia in the decisive phase of the qualification campaign.
It stated that NBBF President, Ahmadu Musa Kida, expressed confidence in the team and welcomed Fizdale to his first official assignment with Nigeria.
“Kida described Fizdale as an experienced coach with the leadership qualities required to guide D’Tigers to greater success in Africa and globally.
“He congratulated the selected players and urged them to represent Nigeria with passion, pride and professionalism throughout the qualifiers,” it said
It quoted Kida as saying, “the federation remains committed to attracting world-class coaches and sustaining a high-performance environment for the national teams.
“Fizdale’s appointment followed the successful tenure of former coach Mike Brown, who elevated Nigeria’s profile in international basketball,” he said.
Kida expressed confidence that experienced players, emerging talents and quality coaching would strengthen Nigeria’s qualification campaign.
He urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to support D’ Tigers as they represent the country in Angola.
Nigeria will face Guinea on July 3 before taking on Rwanda on July 5 in Luanda
The top teams from the African qualifiers will advance towards qualification for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2027.
SPORTS
Trump to Attend World Cup Final, Present Trophy
United States president Donald Trump will attend the World Cup final and help present the trophy, says Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Trump, 80, is yet to attend a game at the World Cup, but may still make an appearance before the final on 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The World Cup started on 11 June and took place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“We will be together with the president enjoying the final and handing the trophy to the winner, of course,” Infantino, now a close friend of Trump, told Fox.
Asked if they would make the presentation together, Infantino added: “Of course, we are together all the time.”
The United States is hosting 78 of the 104 matches at the tournament, which is also being held in Mexico and Canada.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, told the Telegraph, external that Trump likes to “leave people watching” and is yet to attend a game because of his busy schedule.
Trump was at the UFC White House event last week, and was recently booed in New York as he became the first US president to attend the NBA Finals, watching game three which the eventual champions the New York Knicks lost 111-115 to the San Antonio Spurs.
Last summer, Trump remained on the winners’ podium at MetLife Stadium after handing the Club World Cup trophy to Chelsea’s Reece James, which caused apparent confusion to some of the players involved.
“They told me that he was going to present the trophy and then exit the stage and I thought that he was going to exit the stage, but he wanted to stay,” said James.


