Athletes’ Performance At AYG Excites Coaches

Coaches and officials of
various sports federations whose athletes participated in the just-concluded African Youth Games (AYG) recently in Abuja commended the athletes for their performances at the Games.
A cross-section of the coaches and officials, who spoke to newsmen after the team arrived at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, said their performances were good for sports in the country.
Danladi Nasidi, coach of the under-15 football team, said he was impressed with the players’ performance and believed they could go places if the team was kept together.
“Determination and hardwork made us win the gold medal and I believe the players can go places if their programme is sustained.
“Although, it took us time to adjust to the weather there, but we thank God that we came out victorious,’’ he said.
Olumide Bamiduro, Secretary-General of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), said the federation was proud of the athletes who represented it.
“Looking back at the events we put in for, we won four gold and four silver medals and it was not even in all the athletics events that we participated in, based on the quota given to us by the organisers.
“And, in spite of this, we still put up a good performance. So, to us at the federation, it was a laudable performance,’’ he said.
Coach of the tennis team, Ubale Mohammed, said while they could not win any medal, he was still satisfied with his players’ performance, because one of them defeated a highly-ranked opponent.
“I am very much satisfied, because Sylvester Emmanuel defeated a player who is ranked 260 in the world and he even plays Davis Cup for his country.
“And, for Elizabeth Pam, her performance too was not discouraging, even though we placed our hopes on her and she did not live up to that.
“I believe she can do better with time, because she is still young, just 15 years old,’’ he said.
Weightlifting coach, Andrew Ekanem, said one of his athletes’ performance of winning three gold medals and breaking three African records was commendable.
“The athletes put up a very good performance at Gaborone, most especially Joy Amalaha who won three gold medals and also broke three African records.
“And all these can be attributed to their dedication to training and determination to make names for themselves and the country,’’ he said.
Our correspondent reports that the second edition of the AYG was held in Gaborone, Botswana from May 22 to  31.