Nigeria’s men’s hockey team are relishing the bronze medal they won at the ongoing 13th Africa Games in Accra, Ghana as one of the Nigerian team’s goalkeepers, Mustapha Abdullahi, admitted that third place was a huge consolation for them.
Speaking in an interview with Sports 247, Although he admitted that their mind had been on returning home with the Games’ gold medal in men’s hockey, Abdullahi took consolation in the fact that they pulled off a historic fest in the Ghanaian capital.
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This came after the less fancied Nigerian flickers beat Kenya 2-1 to record a shock victory in the competition’s third-place match.
Speaking in the wake of Friday’s achievement, Abdullahi pointed out that it was a heroic day for him and his colleagues because they had limited time to prepare for the competition.
He expatiated that they had to adjust to the playing surface, on which they could not train before the competition began and reckoned that they would do better next time out.
Abdullahi concluded: “I’m so happy for today’s game and winning bronze. We wanted to win gold. But it’s not always that you get what you want. Sometimes, what you plan is not what you get.
The turf is new, and we did not train on it even once before the competition began. We did not have enough time to prepare for the competition.”
“I just have to thank God that we have now won bronze. Next time, we will win the gold medal.”
He reasoned further that Nigeria can be a leader in various sporting events if better preparations and proper planning are done in the county.
