Date: 2019-09-23

The Chairman of Kwara Handball Association, Mr Emmanuel Olubiyo, has awarded scholarship to winners of the female U15 team at the recently-concluded National Youth Games in Ilorin.

Olubiyo announced the scholarship at a reception held in honour of the victorious handball team on Sunday at Oyun Baptist High School, Offa.

He urged the students to focus on their education which, he said, was their primary assignment, adding that sportsmen and women were intelligent people and not pushovers.

"I want to inform the parents of these girls, who won gold medal for Kwara in the female handball at the U15 level, that my foundation has decided to give scholarship to them all for one year.

"This is a way of encouraging them to do more.

"I have always told people that sportsmen and women are super-intelligent because it takes calculations to play the game of handball.

"A dull student or those who are not taking their academic pursuit seriously cannot excel in the game", Olubiyo said.

He lauded the authorities of Oyun Baptist High School for providing space to train the players, and the parents for releasing their wards.

"I must appreciate the parents of these girls for releasing their children to train for more than a year, and for the authorities of Oyun Baptist High School, Offa for providing facilities and equipment for them.

"The association wouldn't have achieved this feat without your cooperation", he added.

Olubiyo called on the state government to support handball so that the sport could be taken to greater heights.

"I am calling on the state government to assist the association. It is a known fact that the current deputy governor, Kayode Alabi, was once a handball player and won a trophy for the state.

"We hope he will be able to support the association so that Kwara can continue to dominate the sport in Nigeria", Olubiyo said.

In his response, the Principal of Oyun Baptist High School, Mr Sunday Lambe, pledged to continue to support the association whenever it came knocking.

Lambe said that he was excited that the students of the school brought glory to the state at the recently-concluded National Youth Games in Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that each of the 16 members of the team, comprising players from various schools across the state, will enjoy payment of their tuition fees for a session by Olubiyo. (NAN)