NSF Gold Medalist Dumped Volleyball For Shooting

Ogun state athlete and gold medalist at the National Sports Festival in Kaduna (KADA 2009), Abimbola Ogunkoya has a thing for marksmanship sports.  In a clime where ball sports are extremely popular, the gold medalist for Ogun state at KADA in shooting dumped two ball sports Volleyball and Handball for Shooting because of her love for precision and mental alertness.
“Before taking up shooting, I used to play volleyball and handball, which I began playing at Mayflower School Ikenne. I played the sport at the state level with the Ogun State Sports Council under the tutelage of late Coach Femi Akindele.
“I later dumped the ball sports for shooting because it has no age barrier and unlike volleyball, is an individual game where you get to prove yourself via your personal performances.
“Shooting as a precision sport has a lot to do with one’s mind thinking and stability. In Nigeria, many people view shooting as something associated with only uniform personnel, however, shooting as a sport is totally different from the live ammunition shooting done by security personnel. It is a sport that demands total concentration, mental thinking, and stability. If I am not shooting, I will surely be engaging myself in the sport of archery”
A graduate of Mass-Communication, Ogunkoya, who went on to win a gold medal at the KADA games, said the country stands to gain more if shooting is encouraged and invested in.
She said: “There is lots of challenges participants face in the sports of Shooting as it’s difficult for individual shooters to get access to air gun ownership, training equipment like cans of pellets and accessories like the shooting Jackets and other things, which are not readily available. This is because they are all imported and the exchange rate is not smiling on any common man now.