Two Nigerian Taekwondo athletes, Uzoamaka Otuadinma who is the current African champion and Isah Abubakar Adamu, Gold medalist at the 2014 Common Wealth Youth Games have both been awarded Olympic scholarships by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), until the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Their selection was entirely based on each athlete’s current ranking and performance at international events in the past three years.
Speaking to the media after they received the great news, Otuadinma who won Silver at the 2017 Korea International Open said, “It is hard to be competitive because we cannot afford to travel to compete or pay for the training but this scholarship eases that burden and it would help me to defend my African title in 2019 and to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”
Abubakar, excited and hopeful for the days ahead said, “This IOC scholarship has motivated me more than ever and I thank the Nigeria Olympic Committee and Nigeria Taekwondo Federation for working hard to bring this kind of good support for my Olympic dream.”
At the same time, the Technical Director of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), Chika Chukwumerije stated that the body is inclined to keep to the new under-15 age guideline ahead of 2018 National Youth Games (NYG).
The director who remains the only Nigeria Taekwondo Olympic medallist is very ecstatic that a new crop of determined Taekwando youngsters will emerge from these year’s games just like they did in last year’s edition of the NYG, insisting that “discovery of our future champions begins at the grassroots.”
The Olympic Taekwondo qualifier for Africa has been scheduled for January 2020.
Feature image: independent.ng
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