London 2012: Hopes Not Completely Lost For Nigeria

Although hopes of winning medals of any colour may be fast fading, especially with the failure of Blessing Okagbare in Women’s 100m sprint, but since the ongoing London Olympic Games are not yet over, it will be hard to conclude.

“It is hard to predict accurately in some cases what a pregnant woman can give birth to,” said Tony Ubani, spokesman of ‘Team Nigeria,’ as he summed the situation of the delegation at the Games.

“We can’t give up hope until all our events are concluded.

“We have ended the anxiety of Blessing Okagbare winning a medal from the 100 metres dash as she failed to win after a bad start that left her last in a pack of eight top best at the Games.

“We thank God she made it to the finals. Some countries did not even make the Games’ top events”.

According to Ubani, Nigeria still has hope in Taekwondo, where Chika Chukwumerje, 80 kg class, is now carrying Nigeria’s hopes.

“We still have Egoke in female boxing, as well as the female relay team”.

He also stressed that it was not over yet for Okagbare, who still has the Long Jump event, from where she secured a bronze at the last 2008 Beijing Games in China.

However, it had been a tough one for the officials, who have been under intense pressure to perform in the face of the latest failure by Okagbare and some members of the athletics team.

It will be recalled that the entire Table Tennis team lost and the D’Tigers also, after winning one game.

Added to this has been the crash of the boxing team, save for a female boxer, Edith Egoke, who is still on.

“For me, the Games are over,” said sports analyst Mitchell Obi of Master Sports International.

“It is sad that the nation could put Okagbare under the pressure that subsumed her. How can we pin our hopes only on one athlete?

“I just want to find some other sports like Tennis, to watch good efforts by other countries, to lift my heart to take my mind off the colossal failure evident in the national team.

Group Sports Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Onochie Anibeze, noted that it was saddening that only Okagbare even tried to win the 1,000-dollar prize money that the president of Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) offered.

The prize money offer was for any athlete who could reach the semi-finals in his or her event.

“Something is fundamentally wrong. We need to do something about re-awakening the interest of the youth in athletics.

“Even though we profess a preference for soccer in the country, but athletics is key to the Olympics. If we must be relevant at the Games, we need athletics,” he said.

The importance of the sport is not in doubt because since it started on August 3, it has had more popularity among those attending the Games.

The Olympic Stadium had always been full to capacity.

If optimism were anything to go by, then Nigeria’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, Habu Gumel, and Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, had variously expressed hopes that winning medals were still possible as the Games were not yet over.

“I still believe we can still win medals,” said Gumel.

Abdullahi said: “It has never happened that Nigeria will return from the last five Games or more, without a medal.

“We are still in contention, but the colour is what remains uncertain. Only time and the next couple of days left in the Games can solve the riddle.”

“Only prayers matched with hard work can produce results. Have we matched prayers with hard work,’ asks a Nigerian and an international member of the Triathlon Union at the Games, Lanre Glover.