Sports
AIU Commends Nigeria On Doping Testing Skills
The insistence of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development on stricter anti-doping measures and the increase in the number of tests carried out by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has earned Nigeria the commendation of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU).
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is the special unit created by the international athletics body, World Athletics to oversee all issues relating to doping control among its members.
Nigeria is placed in Category A which is the lowest ranking of Federations and the athletes from countries in this category must have at least three (3) Out-of-Competition Testings (OCTs), each test three (3) weeks apart within the 10 months leading to a major International event like the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, ten out Nigeria’s twenty three athletes were barred from competing owing to their failure to meet this AIU requirement (Rule 15 of AIU framework) that came into force in January 2019.
However, all 25 Nigerian athletes registered for the ongoing 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, United States of America were cleared to participate having met the requirement.
Also, from a meagre 26 tests conducted on Nigerian athletes in 2021, 157 tests have already been done in 2022.
In commending Nigeria, David Howman, chairman of the AIU board said he was pleased to see significant improvements in the efforts to clean up the sport.
“I particularly commend the Nigerian team. It is amazing what can be achieved when the domestic authorities start taking anti-doping seriously.
“While there have clearly been positive steps across the board, there are still many improvements to be made in the application of the rule and we will continue to work with the Category A Federations to do so,” he added.
Sports Minister Sunday Dare who has been the driving force in the push to improve Nigeria’s anti-doping status and image says the AIU’s commendation is confirmation that the Ministry is doing something right.
“We cannot afford a repeat of the embarrassment we got in Tokyo where ten of our athletes were declared ineligible to compete on technical grounds as a result of the breach of the AIU rule. We had to be proactive and put stricter measures in place, not minding the attacks and snide comments from certain quarters.
“This commendation shows we are doing the right thing. It will spur us on to continue to do all we can to improve our anti-doping status and image,” Dare said.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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