The coach of Lagos State’s female arm wrestling team, Bekky Ademoh has reeled out a vote of thanks in appreciation of everyone that supported their mission to Ibadan for the recent national open championship and stated that their next target is to represent Nigeria at the continental level.
After placing tops with 19 gold medals during the competion at Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan this past weekend, Coach Bekky believes Lagos State confirmed their leadership status in Nigerian arm wrestling, hence her declaration that they are good enough to carry the nation’s banner at the continental event coming up in July.
She acknowledged all support they received from everyone in Lagos State, led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as the director and executive committee of the sports commission for motivating the team to do well at the competion in Ibadan.
She also praised the efforts of Nigeria Arm Wrestling Federation president, Engineer Samuel Jackson, in ensuring that the competition turned out to be a very worthwhile and exciting contest.
Coach Bekky said further in an exclusive interview with Sports247:
“This competition has been very interesting, and it gave young players, the youths, a good opportunity to prove themselves. They were able to show the government that they can make use of their bodies for better things in arm wrestling.”
Coach Bekky then took a look at the prospects that are lying ahead of arm wrestling in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole, with a view that it will soon become a major source of pride for the country on the global scale.
She added, “This is one of the best sports that has developed in Nigeria. It’s all over the world and has a global championship. So, this is another great opportunity for us to express ourselves in Nigeria. That’s why I want to thank the arm wrestling federation officials and the president for trying to encourage the youths.
“People from other states even came round for this competition. We had like 26 states that took part and, while others could not come, we have to say a big thank you to the federation for making the competition possible.”
The ebullient and highly amiable coach then reeled out the factors that made Lagos State stand out with 19 goald medals and a margin of 15 ahead of the second placed contingent on the final medals table.
Coach Bekky disclosed, “Lagos State was outstanding because we never give up. Before coming for this competition, we took many risks. Indeed, life is all about risks. So, we took risks to sponsor ourselves to this place and participate in this competition because we have a target, which is to represent Nigeria in the forthcoming African Arm Wrestling Championship.
“The African competition is coming up in July, and we have been preparing hard for it. We are highly formidable, with the Lagos State standard and the presence of at least 10 athletes who represented Nigeria at the Africa Games in 2024, winning gold and silver medals for our country.
“We have a good coach, Mr Femi, who has been supporting and encouraging. Same with the president of Nigeria Arm Wrestling Federation. So, we are now pleading and begging the Lagos State Sports Commission and all other directors to support the arm wrestling team and encourage the athletes who decided to take their risks of going to this championship and are now aiming at a higher level to represent Nigeria.”
Coach Bekky concluded by giving thanks to everyone in Lagos State that made their success in Ibadan possible, but stressed that a lot still has to be done to ensure the team gets to the continental level and then goes all the way to the global stage of arm wrestling.
“We need to encourage them and motivate them. So, I use this opportunity to thank the Lagos State Sports Commission for giving great support to the athletes, for the facilities, supply of materials, including t-shirts, and everything they gave us.
“We want to say a big thanks to the director, the DG, the Lagos State chairman, and all the board members, as well as most especially Governor Sanwo-Olu. Thank you very much,” Coach Bekky submitted.
