In the wake of the closing ceremony of the 13th Africa Games in Accra, Ghana, a call has been made for longer camping and regular international exposure of Nigerian athletes.
With Nigeria finishing behind Egypt in a distant second position on the final medals table on Saturday, many observers were unanimous in concluding that it was all down to the quality of preparations the various athletes had.
Nigeria’s total haul of 47 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze was the best from sub-Saharan Africa, while South Africa, Algeria, Tunisia and Ghana took the other top six positions in that order, but many observers insist it could have been a better outing for the contingent from Abuja.
Adding his voice to this debate, the president of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), Abdullahi Saidu-Baba concurred that the preparations were not good enough and reckoned that Team Nigeria would have enacted a better haul of medals with longer periods of camping for the athletes.
Saidu-Baba also advocated for foreign tours, participation in international competitions, and a larger contingent of athletes, among other steps he believes should be taken in order to improve the country’s standing in major events.
The taekwondo buff propounded further: “Two weeks’ camping organised by the ministry is not good enough. To be honest, it is not just good enough if we want to win more medals.
“When you know that the opponents that you are going to battle have been training for several months before you, then you know your chances are less than theirs.
“They’ve been camping and training long before us. For months, they have been training, even going for a foreign tour, while we are at home doing nothing. It is not good enough.
“We need to have prepared for at least two to three months. That would have been better. Even though someone would argue that the federation should have been doing something before the ministry stepped in.
“Yes, we have been doing something. But, no matter how good you train your athletes, if you don’t give them adequate exposure, it’s not good enough. That exposure would help them prepare their mindset for what is at stake.
“You can see our athletes. They struggle through the individual fights, but when they come back for the team fights, they do better because their experience then began to flow. They know what is at stake. That is why exposure matters a lot.
“Then, also, apart from the duration of camp, we also need to give our athletes a lot of international exposure. Most of our athletes in taekwondo are home based and training locally. Though they have gone for some domestic competitions, that is not good enough. We are competing against tough opponents from other countries that enjoy foreign exposure.
“That is the difference seen with Elizabeth Ihenacho because she has been attending competitions in Europe … Germany, and other countries. She’s been consistent, and she’s been regular; compared to most of her colleagues who have been dormant in Nigeria.
“You need to test your skills with your peers and your colleagues for you to know your quality; but we also have to look at the number of athletes that we take to major competitions.
“The number of athletes we were supposed to go with was reduced, and we were left with limited choices. We had to manage with the little number of athletes that we had, but we need more competitors.
“Taekwondo has a variety of events, and we need to maximise our chances. If we go with 16 athletes for kyurugi and another eight for poomsae, we will have a better and wider chance of winning more medals.”
