The University of Ibadan has had a brilliant outing at the NUGA ‘25 so far. In the opening game of the competition, the UI Pioneers defeated LASU by 2 goals to nil, courtesy of a first-half strike in the 12th minute from Obinna, after an assist from Eskiman. In the 87th minute of the encounter, Akorede added another from the penalty spot to seal the game.
The same day, Kelani Funmilola and Malik Barakat won the gold medal at the female scrabble event (doubles), while Enyi Kingsley and Onuh Benjamin won the bronze medal in the male category. In the male tennis event, UI beat DelSU 4-1 in the first set and 4-0 in the second set to qualify for the next stage. In the male singles, UI beat BOUESTI 4-0 in the first set but lost 2-4 in the second set. A tiebreaker decided the encounter, with UI eventually progressing by defeating BOUESTI by a score of 10 to 8.
In the first round of the male chess event, UI beat Bayero University 2½ to 1½. However, the females were held to a 2-2 draw against Gombe State University. The long-anticipated match between the UI Pioneers and UNICAL heralded the beginning of the second gameday. After 90 minutes, neither team could find the back of the net, ending the match 0-0. That brings UI’s point tally to 4 after 2 games. They need a draw or a win against Usman Danfodio University to proceed to the knockout stages of the competition.
Furthering the male tennis campaign, Marvin Onafurume beat Igoche Theodores of FUTPREY 4-2, 4-0 to proceed to the quarter finals. However, the male and female tennis teams lost the quarter-final matches later in the day. In table tennis, UI won the male and female fixtures, defeating FUOYE and UNICAL 3-0 respectively in both categories.
The swimming teams suffered losses in the 50m breaststroke male and female categories and the 100m freestyle female category. They eventually finished 3rd in the 1st and second heat races of the 100m freestyle male category. A medal eventually came through Gloria Akinyemi, who finished second in the 200m backstroke female category. Another medal came from the 4 × 100m mixed freestyle relay where the team finished second.
UI will continue their NUGA ‘25 campaign tomorrow, hoping to increase their medal tally.