In a bid to develop the game of netball in the country, officials of the Nigerian Netball Federation on Tuesday demonstrated the game at the ongoing national festival.
The game was played on a makeshift court at the Stephen Keshi stadium complex under the watchful eyes of the sports minister, Hon. Sunday Dare and other officials, as Team Dare, competed against Team Okowa.
According to a female official of the Federation, She said the demonstration was to create awareness of the sports in the country.
She said that the sport was in existence in the year 60s and 70s, but it died because of a lack of facilities.
“I played netball in the 60s in primary school and I played netball in the 70s in secondary schools.
“We don’t have the netball courts and basketball came and killed the sport and took over even the few existing courtyards. It is only in South Africa that it is been played professionally. We want to replicate that here”, she said.
At the end of the demonstration, the players were awarded certificates of recognition.
Meanwhile, as the 21st National Sports Festival entered Day 6, defending champions, Team Delta, were still holding sway to their title as they have so far recorded 127 medals comprising 69 gold, 33 silver and 25 bronze with Ogun and Oyo States occupying 2nd and 3rd position on the medals table respectively.
Hosts Delta State is leading the medal standing right from Day 1 of the tournament and Ogun State was closely following them with 25 medals comprising 10 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze while Oyo State is 3rd with 25 medals of 9 gold, 10 silver and 6 bronze.
The coast is getting clearer day by day as Abia, Bayelsa and Edo States were jostling to push harder in the ongoing competition with Bayelsa having 30 medals (8 gold, 7 silver, 15 bronze); Edo – 54 (7 gold, 16 silver, 31 bronze); Imo – 14 (6 gold, 1 silver, 7 bronze), and Lagos – 32 (5 gold, 15 silver, 12 bronze).
The competition left the remaining States recording between one and 21 medals so far, while Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Yobe and Zamfara States were yet to record a single medal since the commencement of the Games.
In the final results for Judo released by the organisers, Team Delta has emerged overall winners after days of intense battle among contending states. In the overall medal table released by officials, Delta clinched the first position with six gold, two silver and four bronze.
The second position was shared among Edo, Bayelsa and Rivers states who all had one gold, two silver and three gold medals each while Yobe state came third with one gold and two silver.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) occupied the fourth position while Akwa Ibom finished fifth with one gold and two bronze.
