. ..Akosa wins Silver
…Team Imo now with five medals
Team Imo won her first gold medal at the ongoing Ogun 2024 National Sports Festival on the Day Four of hostilities at the Abeokuta Sports Club on Wednesday.
The Eastern Heartland won the gold in the Darts 301 singles through Favour Okehie who also won medals for Team Imo at the last National Sports Festival in Asaba, Delta State.
Besides winning the Gold medal for Team Imo, Favour also teamed up with Cynthia Okoro in the Darts Doubles to win a bronze medal to make it double medals for her at the ongoing edition of the competition tagged Gateway Games.
Team Imo also made it three medals in Darts when Uzoma Mejuru powered home a bronze medal in the Men’s 301 singles.
Team Imo also got a bronze medal in Taekwondo Men’s 67kg through Chigozie Chukwudera.
Earlier, it was cheering news from the NYSC Orientation Camp in Shagamu when Imo’s Ebubechi Akosa lifted 150kg in the Weightlifting Clean & Jerk category to claim a silver medal for Team Imo in the Men’s 102kg.
Akosa a debutant at the National Sports Festival had failed his lifts in the Snatch category but he made up for his miss in the Clean & Jerk with the silver medal which was unexpected being a first timer.
Unfortunately his two other contestants in Weightlifting could not make it to the medal’s zone. 16 year old Marvellous Joseph finished sixth in Men’s 73kg with his 98kg and 127kg lifts in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk for a combined 225kg lifts.
Udoeshi Chidinma Goodness is another youngster that represented Team Imo in the Women’s 81kg. She finished in the 5th spot with her combined lifts of 147kg.
Both showed resilience and hard work and will get better with time and more competition fueled by good preparations.
In Beach Volleyball, Team Imo men’s side suffered two losses to Team Rivers and Team Kaduna in their preliminary games.
Also, Team Imo’s Chidinma Ezeh was beaten in two straight sets 4-2, 5-4 to Invited Junior Athletes, Goodnews Aina in the second round of the Singles Female, Lawn Tennis event at the Gateway Games on Wednesday despite her valiant attempt to turn the tide especially in the second set.
As at the close of Day Four of the National Sports Festival, Team has won 1 Gold, 1 Silver and three bronzes to make it 5 medals in Ogun 2024.
Team Imo Medallists at Ogun 2024 National Sports Festival
Favour Okehie (Darts) Gold
Ebubechi Akosa (Weightlifting) Silver
Favour Okehie/Cynthia Okoro (Darts) Bronze
Uzoma Mejuru (Darts) Bronze
Chigozie Chukwudera (Taekwondo) Bronze
