NAN
The Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), says its long-term aim is to produce an Olympic medalist for the country.
NWF President, Daniel Igali, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Media Officer of the federation, Emeka Dennar, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
He stated that although seven Nigerian wrestlers featured at the 2016 Games in Brazil, none of them was able to go beyond the first round largely due to inadequate preparation.
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Igali, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia while competing for Canada, assured the federation was firmly focused on producing an Olympic medalist for Team Nigeria in the nearest future.
“We have exposed some of our junior wrestlers: Sunmisola Balogun and Esther Kolawole to the World Cadet Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, and it did show at the African Youth Games.
“All the wrestlers that traveled won gold medals, so, it shows the rapid development that can come about when you expose your athletes internationally.
“The aim of the NWF had always been to win a medal at the Olympics.
“And I think these are the building blocks to achieving that goal. And we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to do that,” he said.