Niger Ready For 2017 National Youth Sports Festival

The Niger Ministry of Youth and Sports Development  said the state’s contingent for this year’s National Youth Sports Festival (NYSF) from Sept. 7 to Sept. 17 in Ilorin was ready.
The ministry’s Director of Sports, Alhaji Baba Sheshi, made the disclosure in an interview with  newsmen  in Minna.
“We put our athletes together to train before now and we have been monitoring them.
“We have done online registration of all our athletes, and from the results we are getting, I have no doubt that Niger is ready for the 2017 NYSF,’’ he said.
Sheshi said that the state government had approved undisclosed funds for the youth competition, adding that the contingent was made up of 80 athletes and 30 officials.
He said that the athletes were working hard toward the zonal elimination in the team sports scheduled for July 19 to July 22 in Jos.
“The tempo in the training of our athletes is increasing by the day as the festival draws near,’’ he said.
The director said the state would participate in athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, handball, judo, Karate, scrabble, special sports, tennis, table tennis, taekwondo volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.
Tidesports source gathered  that the state finished 6th in the 2016 edition with two gold and five bronze medals in the NYSF held in the same Ilorin.