Sports
Doping: Okagbare’s Career Possibly Over – Ajunwa
Nigeria’s first female gold medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Chioma Ajunwa-Opara, has called on athletes to stop cutting corners, but rather face the reality of intense competition for world titles.
Ajunwa-Opara gave this advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
She was speaking on the heels of the recent 10-year ban of Nigeria’s queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare, by World Athletics.
Tidesports source reports that the Athletics Integrity Unit handed a 10-year ban for doping violations by Nigeria’s 2008 long jump silver medallist, Blessing Okagbare.
Okagbare, was initially expelled from the women’s 100m semi-finals after testing positive for human growth hormone at an out-of-competition test in Slovakia on July 19, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Ajunwa-Opara, the first black African woman to win an Olympic gold medal in a field event, who had suffered a similar fate, urged for more sensitisation and support from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.
“The ban will definitely affect her career, maybe her career in athletics is over. I believe AFN can give her the support she needed.
“For Okagbare, who lives in the U.S., she should not be caught in this web, because it is believed that she has all the information she needed, and was more exposed.
“Okagbare should have a better knowledge than those living in Nigeria; besides this, we have something to do here at home and not pass the whole blame,” she said.
Ajunwa-Opara said since her own experience on doping, she had established a foundation that gives advice and sensitisation on doping.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.