…urged AFN to go back to the drawing to redesigns grassroots development programmes
BY ADEYEMI ROBINSON-ADEFIOYE, LAGOS
First Nigeria individual Olympic Gold medalist, CHIOMA AJUNWA says the Covid-19 pandemic really slows down sports all-over the world not just in Nigeria alone but the country is able to make it up to this level based on determination adding she is optimist that Nigeria sports will bounce back.
The former Super falcons winger in an exclusive interview with www.sunrisetimes.com.ng hinted that though the country is yet to open-up sporting facilities but concerning the Olympic Games slated for Japan next year, Team Nigeria may not have everything on ground but optimistic that the country will make up with athletes on ground despite the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus pandemic really slowed down sports in the world not just in Nigeria but we thank God that we are able to make it to this moment and I believe that we are going to bounce back,
“we are yet to open -up but the government has announced that sporting facilities will be opened-up, and despite of what has happened I believed that our athletes are going to bounc back.
“Concerning the Olympic Games, we may not have everything on ground but with the little we have, being that the pandemic did all what it did to everybody in the whole world, I believe that we will make do with what we have.
“ We don’t need to have everything on ground before we will be able to do something . I believed that the journey to London start in a day, our athletes have to do their best and governments have to do their own part”.
AJUNWA a bronze medallist in 4 by 100 relay in 1990 Commonwealth Games, urged the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, to re-strategies it plans in going back into grassroots development to fish out the talents and prepare them for the future .
According to her, Nigeria has a lot of talents, “I believe that by the time we go to nocks and canings of the country, going into the villages to fetch them out, I know we would be able to get those that would be able to represent this country and represent well.
“Right now we have some of them there, but the things that make the nations are the younger ones , we have to go and fetch the younger ones, start training them to take-over from the ones we have right now” said AJUNWA .
