It was a shower of praise galore for a contingent of Nigeria’s delegation to the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, as they returned home into the splash of accolades from sports minister, Sunday Akinlabi Dare, megasportsarena.com reports.
The return of Nigeria’s first batch of athletes coincided with torrential rainfall in Nigeria, but the minister braved the inclement weather and turned it into a shower of blessings for the Paralympians, who he hailed for braving the odds of their disabilities to make Nigerians proud.
Although many critics would conclude that placing 32nd on the medals table of this year’s Paralympics was not the best expected from Team Nigeria, Dare was all delight as he welcomed them back home on Thursday.
Rather than sulk over the number of medal-winning hcances some of the team members had in Tokyo, the minister stressed that he was excited with their overall performances and delcared how proud them had made the country feel.
While downplaying the fact that many of them could not win meals in Tokyo, Dare also commended the Paralympians for competing fairly and holding their own against some of the best special sports athletes from across the world.
Dare eulogized: “You have done us proud. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is happy with you. Nigerians are happy with you and all we can say now to all of you is thank you.
“It is not just about the colour of medals around your necks; whether you have a medal round your necks or not.
”You have demonstrated that you have great abilities, in spite of your challenges. You should also be happy and proud of yourselves.
“You broke records, set some new world records, received standing ovations many times and held your own against the best and kept your heads up.”
