Oborevwori to officially declare open 8th NYG Thursday

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, will on Thursday officially declare open the 8th edition of the National Youth Games for Under-15 athletes, being held in Asaba, Delta State.

To ensure that the games officially kick off, Governor Oborevwori inspected the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on Wednesday to fine-tune preparations and conduct an on-the-spot assessment of the venue for the opening ceremony of the 8th National Youth Games.

He assured athletes and officials that this edition will set a new standard in terms of organisation and participation.

Athletes from across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, applauded the Governor when he visited the Stephen Keshi Stadium, which now has a new look.

State officials have stressed that all necessary logistics have been put in place to ensure a smooth and memorable event.

The Youth Games, which will run from September 9 to 19, are expected to be the biggest yet, with an emphasis on youth development and national unity through sports.

Meanwhile, the state contingents who arrived in Asaba for the games were duly screened yesterday by the Organizing Committee to authenticate the eligibility of the athletes.

The screening exercise was conducted in three batches, at different times of the day.

The first batch, which ran from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., included Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Volleyball, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Chess, Cricket, Cycling, Darts, Deaf Athletics, and Tennis.

The second batch, from 12 noon to 2 p.m., included Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Karate, Kickboxing, Kungfu, Traditional Sports (Abula), and the remaining Volleyball teams.

The last screening covered Para-Athletics, Para-Table Tennis, Rugby 7, Scrabble, Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Traditional Sports (Kokowa and Ayo), Weightlifting, and Wrestling, and was held between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.