Nigeria’s sports minister, Sunday Akinlabi Dare has disclosed that he been left impressed and highly optimistic by efforts being put up in the camp of the country’s wrestlers and athletes ahead of the Olympic Games, megasportsarena.com reports.
With the delayed Games now eventually set to roll off at the end of this month in Tokyo, Japan, Dare admitted only the best form of preparations can guarantee Team Nigeria returning home with medals, but enthused that what he saw during recent visits to the training camps was encouraging.
While adding that more glory will come for the nation once his proposed Sports Industry Policy becomes operational and stakeholders key into it, added that the build-up he saw in Bayelsa State and other sites further encouraged him to believe that the sector will grow in geometrical propositions by the time his plans gain roots.
Dare disclosed: “Last week I was in Bayelsa to watch our Olympic-bound wrestlers in their preparations for the Games. I was delighted not only with the commitment of the wrestlers but also that of the government of Bayelsa state who is turning the state into the wrestling capital of Nigeria.
”I saw the wrestling gym under construction and this falls in line with one of the critical components of the Sports Industry Policy which is the provision and development of infrastructures for sports.
”Our adopt an athlete initiative has greatly helped in bridging the funding gap for the athletes and their preparations and the results we are seeing are testimonies of that. For the first time two home based track and field athletes on our adoption list achieved feats not witnessed on Nigerian soil in over two decades.
”Enoch Adegoke ran 10.00 seconds to win the 100m title at the Olympic trials in Lagos. That is the fastest time ever achieved by a home based athlete on Nigerian soil. Grace Nwokocha also ran 11.09 seconds in the women’s 100m. It is also the fastest time ran by a home based athlete here in Nigeria in over 20 years.”
