Kickboxing Coach Laments Lack Of Competitions

Coach of the Kick-boxing Federation of Nigeria, Cletus Okegbe has lamented the dearth of competitions due to lack of sponsorship.

Okegbe blamed the poor performance of Nigeria’s kick-boxing athletes in international competitions on dearth of competitions, which he described as unhealthy for the development of the sport.

According to him, the athletes always trained without competitions to exhibit their skills and update themselves in the dynamics of the sport.

“ It’s discouraging and will put athletes behind because it is only when they get involved in competitions they develop skills in accordance with what is obtainable out there,’’ he added.

The coach appealed to corporate organisations and individuals, who love martial sports, to support the federation financially to enable it execute its programmes.

Loveth-Patra Ekufu, a kick-boxing judge, also rallied support for the sport which “attracts medals in all weight categories”.

Ekufu said there was need to expose the abundant kick-boxing talents in Nigeria to national and international competitions, to further improve on their skills.

She said: “the talents are all over the country but there are no opportunities and events to further groom them.

“Outside the local events, the international tournaments are there where the athletes are expected to participate and win medals but how can they excel in this type of situation?’’ she asked.