...And more medals on the 9th Day

Gold medalist Tiki Gelana, and Silver medalist, Priscah Jeptoo

Africa celebrated more medal wins on Day 9 of the London 2012 Olympic Games, and as was expected, the wins came from athletics.

It was a wet morning when Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia won the gold medal in the Women’s Marathon, while fellow African; Priscah Jeptoo of Kenya took the silver.

Other wins came from the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase, where Kenyans, Ezekiel Kemboi and Abel Kiprop Mutai got the gold and bronze medals respectively.

Oscar Pristorius successful attempts to qualify for the Olympics and more so, the Men’s 400m semifinals must be applauded, even if he did not make it to the finals. Oscar ranked 23rd in the Men’s 400m semifinals.

Amantle Montsho of Botswana was not able to be part of the winning three, but came in at the 4^th position.

Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia

A new event – the Women’s Boxing Tournament – at the Olympics started yesterday. Round of 16 bouts were held and saw Africans Rim Jouini of Tunisia in the Women’s Light category, and Elizabeth Andiego of Kenya, and Edith Ogoke of Nigeria in the Women’s Middle Category compete. Only Edith Ogoke won her own bout.

In the Men’s Bantam category, Algerian Mohamed Amine Ouadahi lost out in the quarterfinals to Satoshi Shimizu of Japan.

The Angolan Women’s Basketball Team suffered another defeat in the hands of the Czech Republic as they lost 47:82. They were unable to record any win throughout their participation in the Basketball Tournament.

Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya

The Angolan Women’s Handball team also lost to Brazil in their Group A preliminaries. Their only win in the group matches was against Great Britain.

Egypt could not proceed to the quarterfinals of the Men’s Team Foil in the Fencing Tournament, as they lost to Great Britain.

The South African Men’s Hockey team did not record any win in their match against Pakistan, as they lost 4:5. They finished at the bottom of the group with only one point.

The Algerian Women’s Volleyball Team lost to Dominica Republic in their Preliminary Group match. They finished at the bottom of the group with one point.

The Journeys of Day 8

 The medal picks of Day 8 came from the Men’s 1500m freestyle in the Swimming Tournament where Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia won a bronze medal and the Men’s 10,000m where Tariku Bekele of Ethopia also won a bronze medal.

It was a mixed outcome at the Athletics Tournament with some unexpected results. Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare had shown so much promise, it looked more than certain that she would get a medal in the Women’s 100m going by her performance at the Heats, Yet, she came in 5^th place, in probably her worst time this season.

Kenenisa Bekele was the African favourite for the Men’s 10,000m, but he came in 4^th place with Tariku Bekele winning the bronze medal.

Ghana’s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena didn’t make into the first three in the Men’s Long Jump, but made it to the 8^th position.

Amantle Monthso of Botswana is the only African to make it to the finals of the Women’s 400m.

South African 'Blade Runner' Oscar Pristorius qualified for the Men's 400m semifinals, where he ranks as No.16 - the highest for Africa in the lineup.

In the Men’s Basketball Tournament, Nigeria lost to Argentina in a 79:93 points score; while Tunisia lost to France 69:73.

Ramy Elawady of Egypt will not be progressing to the quarterfinals of the Men’s Light Fly in the Boxing Tournament. Richarno Colin of Mauritius and Abderrazak Houya of Tunisia were eliminated in the Round of 16 in the Men’s Light Heavy.

However, Abdelhafid Benchabla won his Round of 16 against Enrico Kolling of Germany in the Men’s Light Heavy and will face Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Bernard Esterhuizen of South Africa came in 11^th place in the Men’s Sprint event of the Cycling Tournament.

Karim El Zoghby of Egupt made the first qualification in the Individual Jumping event in the Equestrian Tournament.

The young lions of Senegal had to exit the quarterfinals after a 2:4 loss to Mexico. Egypt lost 0:3 to Japan thus ending Africa’s chances at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament.

The Tunisian Men’s Handball team had a 34:17 victory over Great Britain in the Group A preliminaries. They have one more match against Argentina, which will determine their continued participation in the tournament. The Men’s Volleyball team lost to Germany 0:3 in the preliminaries of Group B. They have also been unable to secure any wins since the tournament began, and will play against USA in their last match.

South Africa was still not able to record any win in the Women’s Hockey Tournament, as they lost for the 4^th time to Australia.

Africa Shines on Day 7

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia

...And the race has begun. Three Africans claimed the medals at the Women’s 10,000m. Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia retained her Olympic title and won the gold medal, leaving Kenyans, Jepkosgei Kipyego and Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot, to take the silver and bronze medals respectively. Hopefully this will be the trend for the other track and field events as Africa wins the first Athletic event of the London 2012 Olympics.

The currents standings of the Women’s Heptathlon have Nigeria’s Uhunoma’s Osazuwa in 24^th place. The event continues today with the Long Jump, Javelin and 800m.

In the Women’s 100m, Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare improved on her personal best, and is ranked 2^nd place. She is definitely competing in the semifinals today. Also in the lineup for the semi finals are Murielle Ahoure of Cote d’Ivoire, who is ranked at the 6^th position, and Gloria Asumnu of Nigeria who is ranked 16^th.

Interestingly, there are two other Nigerians on the lineup who are representing other countries.

Three Africans qualified for the semifinals of the Men’s 400m Hurdles, which will take place today – Kurt Couto of Mozambique, Ameachi Morton of Nigeria, and Kasse Mamadou Hanne of Senegal.

Round 1 of the Women’s 400m has Amantle Montsho of Botswana leading the lineup for the semifinals today. Regina George of Nigeria stands at no.10. Other Africans who qualified for the semifinals include Joy Nakhumicha Sakari of Kenya, Omolara Omotosho of Nigeria and Tjipekapora Herunga of Namibia.

The first round of the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase saw Abel Kiprop Mutai and Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya, Nahom Mesfin and Roba Gari of Ethiopia, Benjamin Kiplagat of Uganda, and Hamid Ezzine of Morocco qualify for the final on Sunday.

Ghana’s Godfrey Khotso Mokoena is the only African athlete who will compete in the final of the Men’s Long Jump.

In the Men’s 1500m, Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi, Ethiopia’s Mekonnen Gebremedhin, Morocco’s Abdalaati Iguider and Mohamed Moustaoui, Kenya’s Silas Kiplagat, all qualified for the semifinals which will take place on Sunday.

Chad Le Clos(left)

At the Aquatics Centre, Zimbabwe's  Kirsty Coventry didn’t make it into the medal lineup, as she came in 6^th place in the Women’s 200m Backstroke, while Chad Le Clos of South Africa won a silver medal in the Men’s 100m Butterfly.

While prospects in the Athletics Tournament are looking very good, hopes for getting a medal in the Boxing Tournament seem to be dwindling. No African qualified for the quarterfinals in the Men’s Fly and Men’s Welter Categories.

In Handball, the Angolan Women’s Team, defeated hosts, Great Britain 31:25 in the preliminaries of Group A.

South Africa's Men’s Hockey Team where defeated by Spain in 2:3 loss in the preliminaries of Group A. After playing three matches, they occupy the bottom position of their group with only one point.

In Table Tennis, the Egyptian Women’s Team was defeated by Netherlands 0:3 in the First Round. The Men’s Team also had the same loss to Austria.

The Preliminary Round of Group A in the Women’s Volleyball, saw Algeria lose to Italy, 0:3. Algeria will definitely not be moving on to the Final Round, as they are currently at the bottom of the group and have not recorded any win.

The Best & Worst of Day 6 and the Hopes for Day 7 at the Olympics

Nigeria received a big lash from Team USA as they had a terrible loss of 73:156 in the Men’s Basketball Tournament yesterday.

Africa still won another gold medal in the Men’s Lightweight Four in the Rowing Tournament courtesy the South African team.

South Africa's Victorious Rowing Team

In Swimming, South African, Roland Schoeman, will take part in the final of the Men’s 50m Freestyle, later this evening.

Still in the same tournament, South Africa’s Chad Le Clos will aim for another medal in the final of the Men’s 100m Butterfly.

The final of the Women’s 200m Backstroke has seven-time Olympic medal champion Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe.

The Olympic Stadium, venue of the Athletics Tournament

Africa's hopes to raise her medal count should increase, as the Athletics Tournament begins today with qualification rounds in most of the events, though the final of the Women’s 10,000m will take place this night, and the lineup will include Tirunesh Dibaba, Werknesh Kidane, and Beleynesh Oljira of Ethiopia; Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot, Sally Jepkosgei Kipyego and Joyce Chepkirui of Kenya.

Day 5 -Africa in the Men's Football Quarterfinals

Moussa Konate of Senegal

Africa’s performance on the 5^th day of the Olympics didn’t hold much excitement except in the Men’s Football Tournament, where the Senegalese team had a 1:1 draw with the United Arab Emirates. They now have a sure ticket to the quarterfinals where they will face Mexico. Gabon and Morocco however did not make it through, but Egypt will meet Japan.

Cote d’Ivoire’s Rene Phillip Kouassi couldn’t make it past the 1/32 Eliminations of the Men’s Individual Event in the Archery Tournament, after he lost to Gael Prevost of France. Nada Kamel of Egypt didn’t fare well either in the Women’s Individual event, as she also crashed out in the first round of 32.

The duo of M. Edwards and A. Viljoen of South Africa were defeated by their Russian counterparts in the quarterfinals of the Women’s Doubles event of the Badminton Tournament.

In the Women’s Basketball, Angola suffered another defeat as they lost 52:76 to China in the preliminary round of Group A, thus ending their participation in the Basketball Tournament.

After three winless matches, South Africa will also not be proceeding to the quarterfinals in the Men’s Beach Volley Ball Tournament.

Africa’s hopes in the Boxing Tournament seem to be increasing. Amine Mohamed Ouadahi of Algeria qualified for the quarterfinals after beating William Alcantara Encarnacion of Dominican Republic in the Round of 16 in the Men’s Bantam Category. Also moving on to the quarterfinals is Mohammed Arjaoui in the Men’s Super Heavy Category.

In the Men’s Individual Epee of the Fencing Tournament, Abdelkarim El Haouri of Morocco and Ayman Fayez of Egypt lost out in the Round of 32, while Alexandre Bouzaid of Senegal lost out in the Round of 16.

The Women’s Individual Sabre event saw Melissa Lea Moutoussamy of Algeria losing in the Round of 32.

In the Women’s Handball Preliminaries, Angola lost to Montenegro, 25-30. They are currently 5^th in Group A.

The South African Men’s Hockey team drew with Great Britain, 2:2 in the preliminary round of Group A, where they occupy the 5^th position with only 1 point.

The Algerian Women’s Volleyball team suffered a 0:3 loss to Russia in the Preliminary Round of Group A. Their next match will be against Italy.

Africa didn’t lift any medals in the 77kg category of the Men’s Weightlifting Tournament, but Ibrahim Ibrahim Ramadan of Egypt ranked 5^th, while Felix Ekpo of Nigeria ranked 8^th.

Africa’s representatives in the Men’s 90kg of the Judo Tournament did not get past the Elimination Round of 32, the same obtained in the Women’s 70kg category.

The main attraction today is probably the match between Nigeria and USA in the Men’s Basketball Tournament.

We’ll also be looking to see if Ahmed Mejri of Tunisia can make it to the quarterfinals of the Men’s Light category in the Boxing Tournament. Mujandjae Kasuto of Namibia and Rahou Abdelmalek are also billed to compete in today’s Men’s Middle Round of 16.

NIGERIA DAY AT THE AFRICA VILLAGE

DJ Abass

We’ve been all about sports since the Olympics started, so we decided to provide a little side dish on what’s happening at the Africa Village.

Three days ago, Richard Spiropoulos, PANA TV’s Executive Producer was at the scene of the Nigeria Day, where Nigerian heritage, culture and Arts was on full display in Kensington Gardens, inside London’s Hyde Park to kick off long a line of African festivities, food, music and celebration.

“Organizers arranged a day for all the African nations who had put up stands and stalls inside the village with the most populous African nation – Nigeria - first in line; and the Nigerians put up quite a show, and they cooked their hearts out too.

Kas, PANA TV Exec. Producer, & Ozone Step

The ‘WaZoBia’ lounge where the Nigerian camp set up shop was packed all day as people streamed in and out, welcomed warmly by pretty hostesses decked in full Nigerian regalia, and eloquent Olympic staff members explaining what it means to be Nigerian in the 21^st century.

NOC officials in chow mode

DJ Abass gave an unending mix of Nigerian music all day as visitors who were new to the sounds of Nigerian music quickly became acquainted with tracks by D’banj, Wande Coal, Chuddy K, P-Square and a long line of other Nigerian music superstars.

After a while, there was a break from the music and it was time for Theater Arts, and a Nigerian play entertained the audience, while the main music acts got ready to hit the stage.

Inside the WaZoBia lounge, some of the organizers of the event, like Damilola Oshilaja, Goke Dokun and the one and only DJ Abass described to interested visitors how they helped plan and execute the event and what else to look forward to.

Comedians like Wale Gates helped lighten the mood as people took their seats in anticipation of the music concert. According to him, ‘every African wants to be Nigerian, and well, they can today.’

U.K-based singer Ezi and her two dancers gave them a taste of what was to come as she shimmied and sang out in sultry tones a couple of tracks from her upcoming album. The show also featured a very entertaining upcoming star, Ozone Step, popular singer and soon-to-be movie star Kas, before Eldee took to the stage to close the show.

Ozone Step was extremely entertaining and his skills as a dancer show why he decided to name himself after the popular dance. Rap star, Naeto C who had been scheduled to perform at the show was absent, but the man just got married and was presumably enjoying his honeymoon with his new bride; Omawunmi was also a no-show.

Nevertheless, Ozone Step, Kas, and Eldee gave such entertaining performances that most people hardly noticed that the lineup of artistes was not complete.

President of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, Engr. Sani Ndanusa ended the event with a rousing speech about supporting Nigeria’s athletes, especially now that Nigeria’s basketball team are about to take on the heavily-favored USA team, which is also loaded with superstars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

Nigeria has set the pace for entertainment at the Africa Village and other African countries are on a mission not to be outdone.

Egypt Day is Saturday August 4^th and the North African nation is inviting the world to celebrate and experience Egypt when they highlight their cultural diversity with a performance of belly dancers, musicians and a rich variety of Egyptian cuisine. Art lovers are being promised variations of henna tattoos from a team of traditional artists.

The African Olympic Village officially threw its doors open Saturday and if the other countries step up like Nigeria did last night, this gem of an idea could become a huge hit.

It’s expected to run until August 13^th, a day after the Olympic Games closing ceremony.

Hey, it’s not every day you run into an entire continent tucked away in a corner of London’s most prestigious royal parks, but thanks to the Africa Village organizers, you can stroll right into one over the next two weeks.

Of course, Pana TV will be right there with you. Stay logged on to www.panatelevison.com and visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/panatv for a complete rundown of all the Days planned for different countries.”

Historic Day 4 For Africa at the London 2012 Olympics

Fencing Silver medallist Alaaeldin Abouuelkasseem

Historic Day 4 For Africa at the London 2012 Olympics

For the first time in the history of the Olympics, Africa won a medal in the Fencing Tournament. Alaaeldin Abouuelkasseem of Egypt, who is also ranked 8^th in the world, won a silver medal in the Men’s Individual Foil event of the Fencing Tournament.

Another victory was recorded in the Men’s 200m Butterfly, where Chad Le Clos of South Africa beat top American athlete, Michael Phelps to win the gold medal, and set a new African record of 1:52.96.

In other events, the Nigerian Men’s Basketball team lost to Lithuania, 53:72.

Of the ten African boxers that competed in yesterday’s Men’s Light Fly and Men’s Light Welter, only Richarno Colin of Mauritius made it through the Round of 32 in the Men’s Light Welter.

Cameroon and South Africa could not make it through to the quarterfinals of the Women’s Football Tournament, however South Africa’s Banyana Banyana where able to leave with a goalless draw against Japan.

The Women’s Hockey team couldn’t do any better, as they lost to New Zealand, 1:4 placing them at the bottom of Group B with no points.

Chad Le Clos, Gold medallist, Men's 200m Butterfly

In the Men’s Handball Tournament, Tunisia lost to Iceland, 22:32 in the preliminaries of Group A. They are currently ranked 4^th in their group.

The Tunisian Men’s Volleyball team lost their preliminary group B match against Serbia 1:3, placing them in the 5^th position in their group with no points.

Safouane Attaf was eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Men’s Judo 81kg category. He lost to Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil. In the women’s 63kg Cateogory, Hilde Drexler of Austria defeated Rizien Zouak of Morocco in the round of 32, while Severine Nebie made it to the Round of 16 before she lost to Elisabeth Willeboordse of Netherlands.

With the Athletics events scheduled to start in two days, Africa’s medal count should increase considerably.

Visit www.facebook.com/panatv for more pictorial updates on Africa at the London 2012 Olympics.