Sports
Boxing Coaches Assure Olympic Tickets
Coaches training the country’s boxers for the London Olympic Africa qualifiers have assured boxing fans that the team would secure tickets to the Games.
They said that the combined team of coaches were putting finishing touches to their preparations with the few weeks left before the competition in Morocco later this month.
Anthony Konyegwachie who disclosed this to newsmen said many of the boxers in camp now had won several medals in previous national competitions.
He added that with the rate at which they were preparing for the Africa qualifiers, Nigeria’s victory was sure.
“With just a few weeks left to prepare for the qualifiers in Casablanca, the combined team of coaches will present Nigeria with a team that will stand out in Morocco.
“We have been in camp for the past one and half month with no break, this shows how determined we are in pursuit of the qualification.
“The boxers are very determined and they are in good form in their different weight categories.
“With the current performance of the team, we are very sure and with God on our side the team will qualify for the London Games beginning on July 27,’’ Konyegwachie said.
A female coach, Ijeoma Azubike, lamented the lack of international exposure for many of the boxers, adding that international exposure would have enhanced their performance.
She said that she would have suggested a training tour for the boxers but the time was short.
Azubike said though it did not happen, she was still hopeful of a good performance by the boxers.
She disclosed that 10 boxers, comprising five girls and five boys had been selected for the championships.
The sudden departure of Nwachukwu, a multiple gold medallist, from Team Delta to the Coal City, Enugu , sparked controversy within the sports family, with officials of Delta State Sports Commission accusing the president of the Paralympic Committee of Nigeria, Sunday Odebode, of manipulating the system for the athlete to dump the state.
But Nwachukwu, who broke the World Record to win a gold medal for Team Nigeria in the Women’s Discus F42 event at the just-concluded Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has cleared the air on the circumstances that led to her movement to Enugu State.
Speaking with The Tidesports source report, shortly after winning the gold medal, Nwachukwu said: “It is not true that anybody aided my movement from Delta State to Enugu. Rather, it was Delta State that forced me to leave because of poor remuneration.