•As Delta congratulates team

The Minister of Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has announced that only athletes below 15 years of age will henceforth be allowed to take part in the National Youth Games.

Dalung made this known at the closing ceremony of the weeklong games on Saturday in Ilorin, Kwara state.

The Minister said the new rule is to ensure that the objectives of the youth games are achieved and reduce age cheats.

“I wish to reiterate that from the 4th edition of the Games, the maximum age of athletes will be pegged at 15 years to enable us to fight age falsification and achieve the long-term objectives of the National Youth Games.

“One of the objectives of the Youth games is to create the right platform for new talents to be discovered and nurtured for future competitions. The purpose will be defeated if at the end of the games we still come out with the same old athletes.

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“We will continue to put machinery in place to ensure that a sustainable program is put place for grassroots sports development .

“The Games provides an avenue to bring the youths together under an atmosphere of friendly competition designed to enhance their potentials and all-round development”.

Meanwhile, Delta State Government has congratulated members of Team Delta that won the third edition of the National Youth Games.

Delta State athletes came out tops with 21 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals, to leave the second position to Akwa-Ibom State with 16 gold, 15 silver and 15 bronze medals, while Ondo State finished in the third position with 12 gold, 12 silver and 12.

Team Delta, as it is called, won the first and second editions of the youth tournament, and have successfully defended the title.

Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, in a statement in Asaba on Sunday described the latest victory as further manifestation of the determination of Deltans to make the state proud in all spheres of human endeavours.