Nigeria’s para powerlifters have vowed to win more gold medals for the country at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.
The para powerlifters won seven gold medals at the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Folashade Oluwafemi, the team’s captain, made the pledge in an interview on Tuesday in Lagos after arriving from Egypt.
Oluwafemi, a gold medalist who competed in the 86kg women’s event at the tourney, said the team was ready to make Nigerians proud at the Paris Olympics.
“Though we still have a final competition in Georgia before the Olympics, we are sure that our team will come out in flying colours and make the country proud again,” she said.
She appealed for more sponsorship from private and corporate organisations to enable the athletes to compete at local and international competitions.
“We want the government to camp us early for training before competitions because most competitors spend months in camp prior to major tournaments. Early camping will give us the upper hand at tournaments over our competitors,” she said.
Esther Nworgu, also a gold medalist, said she is adequately prepared physically and mentally to make positive impact at the Olympics. My target is to win medals at the tournament, because Nigeria has good records when it comes to Para Powerlifting globally and our target is to maintain that record.
“The secret of our success is God, perseverance and determination because we have other 63 countries competing,” she said.
Nworgu called for the support of organisations and governments to enable the team to prepare adequately for competitions.
“We are facing serious financial challenges; government cannot do it alone that’s why we are appealing to well-meaning Nigerians, private and corporate organisations to come to our aid,“ she said.
Charles Ezenwanne, the president of the Para Powerlifting Federation, applauded the athletes’ excellent performances at the tournament.
He said their performance was the best, with seven gold and two silver medals from 10 athletes.
Ezenwanne said the team would also prepare for the Georgia final competition before proceeding to the Olympics in France.
(NAN)