By Femi Atolagbe

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Sunshine Flickers defeated Oluyole Flickers 1-0 in a penalty shootout to clinch the gold medal at the 2025 Oyo Hockey Easter Fiesta held in Ibadan.

Both teams had played a goalless draw in regulation time before the Ondo State hockey team edged past their hosts in the competition, which took place at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Football Training Pitch, Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State.

The host team, Oluyole Flickers, settled for silver after their loss in the penalty shootout to Sunshine Flickers, while Team Neyo of Ibadan grabbed the bronze medal.

Eight teams participated in the male category of the competition, including: Ondo Flickers, Sunshine Flickers, Oluyole Flickers, Team Epe from Lagos, Team Gateway from Ogun, Team UI Ibadan, Team Neyo from Ibadan, and Rocket Flickers.

Meanwhile, in the female category, Oluyole Babes defeated Dynamic Queens 2-1 to win the gold medal, while Osun Queens took home the bronze.

Five teams competed in the female category, namely: Osun Babes, Oluyole Babes, Dynamic Queens, Rocket Queens, and UI Queens.

In a chat with Sporting Hope, Ondo State Hockey coach, Mark Oloruntola, praised his players for their outstanding performance at the South West hockey competition.

Oloruntola said the team did well to win the coveted prize at the tournament, adding that his players are among the best in the region.

According to him, their inability to be part of the Ondo State contingent to the upcoming National Sports Festival scheduled for Ogun State was due to the unavailability of a training pitch.

“If we had participated in the South West elimination, we would have qualified.

“But thank God, work is progressing speedily at the new hockey pitch in the sports complex.

“We will immediately begin preparations for our league coming up in June this year. We have a very good team.”

“I’m appealing to the state government and private organisations to lend their support to our team,” he said.

Oloruntola also thanked the Ondo State Hockey Association for their support.