Abuja -No fewer than 28 taekwondo athletes have moved into closed camping in preparation for the 2015 All-Africa Games scheduled for Sept. 4 to Sept. 19 in Congo-Brazzaville.
George Ashiru, President of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday the athletes were carefully chosen to ensure a successful outing for the country.
“We are already in closed camping. The athletes are training at the Korean Cultural Centre and that is where we normally use for the training of our athletes, because it is fully equipped,’’ he said.
Ashiru lamented the Federation’s inability to embark on a foreign training tour.
He however assured that the athletes would do the country proud at the Games just like they did at the 2014 Commonwealth Championship.
The NTF President disclosed that 16 of the athletes would be selected to represent the country at the Games, after the final trials scheduled to hold next week in Abuja.
He said the 16 athletes would comprise of eight male and eight female taekwondoists.
Ashiru further said that the final list of 16 athletes for the games would be sent to the National Sports Commission (NSC) for approval before departure.
“We will be ready for the final trials in a week’s time, which is two weeks before the Games.
“It is usually the best time to do trials, for you to have the final list of athletes who will be going for the Games,’’ he said.
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The Federation president also said the NTF was not among the sports federations affected by the dumping of cooking stoves at the Abuja National Stadium velodrome.
The stoves, numbering over 132,000, were kept at the velodrome ahead of distribution to some Nigerians by the PDP-led administration before the 2015 general elections.(NAN)
