NSF Day 5: Edo leads, Bayelsa closes in – The fierce medal race continues - video Dailymotion

Watch NSF Day 5: Edo leads, Bayelsa closes in – The fierce medal race continues - Guardian Nigeria on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00the national sport festival tagged gateway games 2025 has kicked off and is in full glare

00:12this which happens to be the biggest gathering of nigerian sports is not just a competition

00:17it's a battleground of dreams discipline and determination the host state which happens to

00:24be ogun state particularly a belkuta is now human with raw and electric energy of over 10 000 athletes

00:32chasing their dreams

00:34from the slam of basketballs to the finesse of table tennis the splash of swimming and the footwork and

00:50fury of boxing this action is unrelenting the athletes have shown up mind body and spirit

01:06but behind the bright lights and roaring crowds lies a quieter struggle one that echoes around

01:12athletes camps one complaint kept resurfacing the distance as you can see some of them are already

01:21tired sleeping because we even live there very early as early as 5 30 6 a.m just for us to meet up our

01:27event because some of them did not even take their breakfast and it's gonna worry them because they

01:32need stamina they need to eat before they start this game it's a heat game it's a very strong game so they

01:38need to eat and they need to be relaxed you can see the distance who traveled from to get to here so

01:45it's really impacting on the athletes so i don't know then there's kickboxing which as of the time

01:50of this report hasn't thrown a single kick slated to begin on the 19th of may the event remains in a

01:57limbo due to medical delays venue mix-ups and confusion around coordination

02:02and for the fighters this is not just a delay it's lost momentum

02:12the hostel is too far it's like about an hour almost two hours drive to here and back again

02:17so before you come here you are tired before you go back you are tired you know fighting is going

02:21to be difficult we are going to be struggling to fight because the distance is too much we need

02:25somewhere closer to the hostel still even with the setbacks the fire hasn't deemed if anything it's

02:31fouled the competition especially with 2.5 million naira on the line and the state bragging right at

02:37stake the hunger is definitely your life you can feel it in every pass every punch and every contest

02:52as the five winds down edo state leads the race with 45 total medals but bayosa follows closely with 40

03:00medals including 22 of that being gold medals these states are not just stacking numbers they're

03:06dominating key events and with kickboxing of combat sports yet to reach full throttle

03:13this leather board could flip overnight

03:22beyond the medals and match-ups the gateway games are revealing something deeper

03:27the beating heart of nigerian sports the resilience of athletes who grind all year and often without

03:33spotlight the determination of coaches holding it all together and the growing belief that our system

03:40can do better

03:44day by day moment by moment the gateway games 2025 is building more than champions it's building stories

03:52some with gold others with great but all with one goal to rise or to win

04:05and this is just the beginning stay with us as we bring you more stories more action

04:09and the raw real energy of the gateway games 2025 we are live we're here and we are not missing any

04:16moments lois uguni reporting bye for now