By: Kelvin Omachonu

The 26th edition of the Nigerian University Games(NUGA) started on Sunday, 20th of March with the opening ceremony. Ever since, wins, losses, and, of course, an outpour of medals have been recorded.

For the University of Ibadan, it has been a mixed tale. It started as a disastrous campaign for the ‘first and best’ on day one. As the chants of ‘greatest gba gba’ and ‘greatest gbo gbo’ from supporters receded after the poor results recorded on day one. Football, Basketball, and Volleyball all recorded shock losses.However, the UI contingent has responded to the disappointments of day one to record decent results in some competitions.

In the male football category, the UI pioneers bounced back from a day one loss to FUDMA to secure a place in the next round after beating IAEU and OAU. The ladies also followed suit, as they picked up the pieces of their 4-0 loss to UNILAG claim a quarter-final spot after they beat FUTMINNA and BUK.
Although the male Basketball team has been knocked out, UI has derived some joy from other centres.

The University of Ibadan is currently in the finals for the 800metre race event. Also, the swimming team(female) have a silver medal to their name after they emerged second in the relays.
Also, the UI squash team(male) clinched Silver. Elsewhere, the female Taekwondo team secured a bronze medal.

As of the time of this report, the University of Port Harcourt sits comfortably on top of the medal table with 14 gold, five silver and nine bronze.While a first-place finish for the pioneer University is not likely, the UI contingent would look to rake in more medals as the games, continue.