17-year-old Akintan battles senior athletes for Commonwealth Games ticket in Abuja

Team Nigeria has arranged two more competitions for track and field athletes in Abuja and Akwa to test their skill ahead the Commonwealth Games in England<br />

Teenage sensation, Sunday Akintan, 17, is among athletes in Abuja from different parts of the country to jostle for inclusion in the country’s squad to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games scheduled for July and August.

The competition in Abuja is the third and final leg of the All Comers competition, which involves the country’s best athletes. The All Comers competition began at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin in March, moved to Yaba College of Technology Sports Ground, Lagos, last month and is now making its final stop in Abuja.

While the competition in Lagos was used as the final window for home-based athletes to secure the qualification standard for the 22nd African Senior Athletics Championships scheduled to hold in Mauritius in June, the Abuja event will serve as the final chance for the athletes to secure places in the AFN Classics scheduled to hold in Benin in a fortnight.

According to AFN Secretary General, Adeniyi Beyioku, the event in Abuja will begin today and end tomorrow. The AFN scribe told The Guardian in a telephone chat yesterday that majority of the athletes have settled down in their various hotels in Abuja.

AFN Technical Director, Samuel Onikeku, said the All Comers competition was designed to give athletes the competition they need to aid their preparations for major athletics championships and games this summer. “The AFN is happy with the performances of some of the athletes as they prepare for the major events ahead, starting with the African championships in Mauritius next month. Our team to the championships will be dominated by