Some Kickboxing coaches in Lagos have decried the lack of competitions for athletes, blaming the situation on unavailability of sponsors.

The coaches, in separate interviews with Tidesports source in Lagos, said that lack of competitions for the athletes in the first quarter of the year was unsatisfactory.

The coaches said that a situation where the athletes were not tested at national competitions did not prepare them for international events.

According to one of the coaches, Happy John lack of sponsorship and paucity of funds were major challenges affecting the development of the sport.

“The truth is that sponsors are not responding and the money is not there to organise national competitions and I must say it is affecting the athletes,’’ he said.

According to him, Nigerian kick-boxers have great strength but lack the technical ability needed to excel in international tournaments.

John said that regular competition was the only way to test the athletes’ ability and skills in the sport.

“If we can improve on the technical skill of the athletes through competitions, nothing will stop us from performing excellently at the international level,” the coach said.

He applauded the Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria (KFN) for proposing to host the Aguma U-18 National Championships slated for the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, from May 22 to May 25.

“At least, it’s a good step that the second quarter is coming up with a youth programme and I am sure that athletes that are eager for competition will be glad to participate in the event’’ he added.

Another coach, Cletus Okegbe, said that lack of incentives and kits were other drawbacks to the development of the sport.

Okegbe said, “some athletes perform poorly because they are not adequately motivated to make them committed and represent the country well in international events’’.

He said the athletes should be rewarded when they performed well to motivate them to improve their skills.