Can Nigerian Wrestlers Excel at London Olympics?

 Nigerian female wrestlers in action at the All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique

Ahead of the London Olympics which starts on July 27, four Nigerian wrestlers are already in contention for medals at the Games.

From the initial lone hope of Boltic Sinivie, (96kg), three others have now joined the list.

Sinivie, a freestyle wrestler, qualified for the Games in September, last year in Istanbul, Turkey, during the Senior World Wrestling Championships.

Soon after that lone qualification, Austin Edeze, the President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), vowed that the federation would do all within its powers to ensure that the federation secured more slots for the Games.

“The Games take place every four years. There is the need to ensure adequate representation of the country at the event,” he had said.

True to his pledge, three more wrestlers have since secured tickets to be at the global showpiece in London.

The latest qualifiers are Adebo Dicks, 84 kg; Blessing Oborodudu, 63kg and Amarachi Obiajunwa, 72 kg, all of whom fight in the free style zone -- the country’s current area of specialty.

The trio emerged from the Africa/Oceania Olympic Qualification Championship, which held in Marrakech, Morocco from March 13 to 20.

For Obiajunwa, it will be her second time to the Olympic Games as she had made the Team Nigeria list to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

As a first timer then, she made impressive showing, especially at the early stages, before crashing out at the quarter finals to the American, Ali Bernard.

Preparatory to the Marrakech qualifier, the federation had assembled 41 wrestlers in Yenagoa, the home state of the Technical Adviser to the NWF, Daniel Igali, who is also a legislator in the Bayelsa House of Assembly.

Officials recall that the choice of Yenagoa was with the intent to effectively monitor the progress of the wrestlers in camp.

With benefit of hindsight, Segun Akinlatan, a former Secretary-General of the NWF, noted that the camping, which lasted for over four months, helped the wrestlers to secure the slots.

“That camping had a positive impact on the outing of the team at the Marrakesh Olympic qualification tournament,” he said, while applauding the National Sports Commission (NSC) for bankrolling the camping.

Akinlatan said that there was a very high optimism that something positive will come out of the wrestlers’ participation at the World’s greatest elite sporting spectacle.

“Their qualification will no doubt provide opportunities for the country to have good representation,” he added.

Against the backdrop that the country was represented by just two wrestlers during the Beijing Olympics, the recent qualification by the four wrestlers are quite salutary, sports enthusiasts say.

The London Games will, no doubt, be significant for a number of reasons, one being that the city had hosted the games twice -- in 1908 and 1948, two crucial periods of the world’s political history.

The 1948 London Games was historic as it came just three years after a bitter World War 11. Though Germany was banned from that game, it, however, served the purpose of fence-mending among nations.

Ironically, too, the 1908 Games was the last before the outbreak of World War 1.

As had always been, the games have helped to foster universal peace via sports, while enhancing mutual cooperation between nations in several other spheres.

By the pronouncements of the Local Organising Committee of the London Olympics, it will promote the best values that the Olympic Games can offer the world.

The choice of the city of London for the games was not by accident as it is one the world’s major commercial capitals that can be accessed through various sea, undersea and air links. There are three major airports – Gatwick, Heathrow and Stanstead as well as viable sea ports.

To many Nigerian athletes, as it is with those from other Commonwealth nations, the London Games is a long-cherished dream.

Chief Ajibade Fashina-Thomas, a veteran sports administrator, said that going to the London Games could be a dream of a life time.

For Igali, the dream is beyond mere qualification for the Games but to wrest medals.

He said that much needed to be done if the nation hoped to win medals, pointing out that current preparations were far from being enough.

“The training and preparation for the Games are inadequate for them to win medals. Their current state of preparations is not adequate to make them medal-hopefuls.’’

Igali, however, was optimistic that more could still be done within the next four months to make a remarkable difference.

“A lot can happen in four months if we intensify our preparations. If we can prepare well, if we can expose these athletes to more tournaments before the Olympics, anything can happen for good”.

The technical adviser bemoaned the dearth of competitions for wrestlers before high profile events such as the Olympics.

“Right now, we have a dearth of competitions for the boys who have qualified. But I believe that we should not waste any time in getting them back to camp.

Nevertheless, Edeze said he planned to send three more wrestlers to two other qualifying championships in China and Finland, planned for between April 23 and May 2.

He, however, lamented the poor funding faced by the federation, which he said, limited its objectives.

“We hope that with the spotlight on us now, corporate bodies can show some interest in us and assist to sponsor some of our programmes’’

He added that on a long-term basis, his federation would strive to harness talents from among the youth. He also urged Nigerians to pray for the athletes that have qualified to go to the Olympics.

Sports analysts, however, are of the view that if promises made by Bolaji Abdulahi, the Minister of Sports, are anything to go by, the wrestling team will have less to worry about, ahead of the London Games.

They are optimistic that the minister will match words with action to ensure adequate preparation for the games.

No doubt, a medals’ haul by the qualifiers will be a pride to the nation as well as a personal honour to Igali, who had himself won gold medals at the 2000Sydney Games and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. (NAN)

*Nezianya is an Assistant Editor-In-Chief/Head of Sports of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN