Captain of teamNigeriaand 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist Chika Chukwumerije, was yesterday pitched againstCuba’s Robelis Despaigne in the men’s 80kg Tackwondo event of theLondonOlympic games.
Another Nigerian, Issah Adam, will confrontJordan’s Mohammed Abdulibdeh in the first round of the men’s 68kg category.
Report says that the draws released on Monday shows that unseeded Chukwumerije will this weekend at 10.45 am begin his campaign against the fourth seeded Cuban, who is the 2011 world University championship champions, while Adam on the other hand will have his hand full against the Jordanian on Thursday.
The situation in team Nigeria’s camp has not been a good one as almost all medal hopes have failed the pick any medal living the nations hope in few of the remaining events that Nigeria are still participating like, Women’s long jump (started on Tuesday), four by 200m race, four by 400m race and Tackwando.
All the same, the president of Nigeria Tackwando Black Belt Collage (NTBBC), George Ashiru, is optimistic that the Nigerian duo has equal chance of claiming medals inLondon.
“The team has a pedigree that increases its chances from potential medalists to possible winner.”
It would be recalled thatNigeriahas not won any medal since the inception of the Olympic games inLondonas critics have strongly condemned the ill and late preparation of theNigeriaathlete before the commencement of the game citing as the reason behind the teams poor performance so far.
