The Minister of Youth and Sports
Development, Solomon Dalung, says sports is the best performing ministry in the
country under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Dalung said this on Tuesday in
his office in Abuja, while receiving athletes and officials of the Nigeria
Wrestling Federation (NWF), and the Nigeria Rowing, Canoeing and Sailing
Federation, who did the country proud at various international competitions.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the NWF participated in an African Championship in Tunisia, winning
six gold, two silver and five bronze medals, while the canoeing athletes won
one gold and three bronze medals at the Canoe Sprint Championship held in
India.
Dalung said that the level of
achievements and laurels won by the country’s athletes in the last three years
were indications that funds allocated to sports were prudently utilised.
The minister noted that President
Buhari had at different occasions personally expressed his satisfaction with
the ministry.
“Wrestling is proving to be one
of Nigeria’s strongest sports both at the continental and global levels.
“Whether it is at the continental
or global level, Nigerian wrestlers have distinguished themselves as a force to
reckon with, thus giving the sport an enviable place of pride and elevating the
country’s image as a top wrestling nation.
“At the continental level, the
Nigeria wrestling team placed first in Africa on the overall medals table
during the 2015 Africa Games held in Congo Brazzaville.
“Similarly, the Federation
dominated other African countries, particularly in women wrestling, where they
won the title as African Champion at the 2018 Africa Championships which
Nigeria hosted for the first time.
“Furthermore, when our female
wrestlers participated at the two-ranking series events, in Germany and
Bulgaria in February and March 2019, their performances created avenue for our
star athlete, Adekuoroye Odunayo to be ranked fourth in the World and first ‘in
Africa.
“This success, apart from writing
a chapter in the annals of Nigeria Wrestling Federation history, is more
importantly an indicator of the possibility of an Olympic medal in Tokyo 2020,”
Dalung said.
Daniel Igali, President, NWF, who
presented the wrestlers to the minister assured that the athletes would do the
country proud at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Igali said all hands were on deck
to ensure the country occupy the top spot in world wrestling rankings.
Rear Admiral Festus Porbeni
(rtd), President, Nigeria Rowing, Canoeing and Sailing Federation also
presented his athletes as well as the medals won and said that Nigeria would
soon dominate other African countries in the sport.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com