Africa’s highest ranked table-tennis player, Aruna Quadri on Wednesday won a second medal for Nigeria at the ongoing 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana.

This was after the 35-year-old Quadri fell 4-3 to Egypt’s Omar Assar in the final of the men’s table tennis singles event.

The contest between the two rivals lived up to expectations as they thrilled the audience with breathtaking skills.

Assar took the first set 11-8, while Quadri who is currently the world number 14 ranked player, bounced back to claim the second and third 11-2, 11-2.

The Egyptian clinched the fourth set 11-7 before Aruna won the fifth set 11-9.

Assar then won the last two sets 11-9, 11-0 to claim the gold medal.

Offiong Edem won Nigeria’s first medal on Tuesday when she clinched the bronze medal in the women’s singles event.

(NAN)

LEICESTER City manager Enzo Maresca is a very happy man following the return to fitness of Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

The Foxes claimed their first win in four Championship matches last night, beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light as Ndidi was introduced in the second half.

The Nigeria midfielder had been out since December, missing out on the Super Eagles’ Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Cote d’Ivoire.

Ndidi’s muscle injury also ruled him out of 10 Leicester City fixtures, four of which they lost.

Last night’s away victory kept Leicester City on top of the English second-tier, three points clear of second-placed Ipswich and five of third-placed Leeds United, with the first two spots guaranteed promotion to the Premier League.

“It’s an important win,” Maresca said in his post-match interview. “Especially after three defeats in a row. Sometimes you have to win games in an ugly way. [In the] first half we were quite good, in the second half we suffered, but in this moment, the win is so important.

“The first half, especially the first half an hour, was unbelievable. We had many chances, we missed and we have struggled to score goals in these games. But at the end, it was important to win the game.”

It was a welcome return for Ndidi in midfield, the Nigeria international managing 20 minutes in his first appearance since the end of December.

“I’m very happy. We need him, Wilf is so important to us so it’s good to have him back,” Maresca added.

[NaijaTimes]

Jude Bellingham has been banned for two LaLiga games for “contemptuous or disrespectful attitudes towards a referee” after he received a red card in the aftermath of Real Madrid’s controversial 2-2 draw at Valencia, Spain’s competition committee confirmed on Wednesday.

The England international was shown a red card for arguing with referee Jesús Gil Manzano, who had already blown his whistle moments before Bellingham scored what would have been a game-winning header.

The referee’s post-match report said Bellingham had shown an “aggressive attitude” and allegedly shouted “It’s a f—ing goal” repeatedly.

The Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee handed Bellingham a two-game ban – the minimum possible for the offence, under its rules – on Wednesday, for what it called “attitudes of disrespect or a lack of consideration towards the referee,” with a €700 fine for the club, and €600 for the player.

In evidence to the committee, Madrid argued that Bellingham had not displayed an aggressive attitude, saying that the player had only spoken once to the referee, and denied that his words were offensive or insulting.

The committee found that the club had not proven their case beyond doubt based on the evidence presented, and so the body consequently had to accept the referee’s interpretation of Bellingham’s conduct.

Bellingham will miss Madrid’s LaLiga games against Celta Vigo on Sunday and Osasuna on March 16, returning for their match with Athletic Club on March 31.

He is set to feature for Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday, as they host RB Leipzig in the second leg at the Bernabéu.

Bellingham is also one yellow card away from a possible one-match suspension in the Champions League after picking up two already this season.

[Leadership]

Mohamed Salah has given Liverpool a major boost after the Egypt star travelled to Sparta Prague for Thursday’s Europa League clash following his recent injury lay-off.

Salah joined his Liverpool teammates on the flight to Prague after missing the previous four games due to muscle fatigue.

The 31-year-old has played just 46 minutes for Liverpool since leaving the Africa Cup of Nations early when he sustained a hamstring injury in a group-stage game against Ghana in January.

Salah’s substitute appearance came against Brentford on February 17, the forward scoring at the Gtech Community Stadium before subsequently being sidelined with a muscle issue.

He trained with the rest of the Liverpool squad on Wednesday and could feature in the last 16 first-leg meeting with Sparta.

Salah’s availability is significant for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp ahead of Sunday’s seismic showdown with Manchester City in the Premier League.

Second-placed City will arrive at Anfield one point behind leaders Liverpool in a tense title race.

Quadruple-chasing Liverpool won the League Cup final against Chelsea without Salah and also beat Luton, Southampton and Nottingham Forest in his absence.

But having Salah back is a huge lift for Liverpool heading into the decisive final weeks of Klopp’s last season in charge.

The Egyptian has scored 19 goals in all competitions this season, including 15 in 21 league games.

Klopp has taken his strongest available squad to Prague, with the likes of Darwin Nunez and Wataru Endo in contention to start after coming on as substitutes in last weekend’s win at Forest.

[DailyTrust]