Enugu – The Enugu State Boxing Coach, Blaise Ude, on Wednesday commended the National Sports Commission (NSC) for choosing December for the National Sports Festival in Calabar.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Wednesday, Ude said that the choice of Dec. 4 to Dec. 18 was good in as much as the competition held this year.
“Let’s not forget that the festival should have taken place last year but due to some technical reasons, the event was prolonged till date.
“My boxing contingents are 11 males. We have intensified our training as the date for the festival has been fixed.
Although we have been training since last year, when the date was confirmed, the boxers became more serious,” he said.
Ude explained that he hoped to discover female boxers that can learn faster and win laurels for the state at the festival.
“We have been attending state competitions but we do not go to national championships because of financial problems.
“The boxers still wish to maintain our dignity by making the state proud at the coming festival and we are expecting our contingents outside the country to join us by October.
“Owing to the level of training we have had, I think we are not going to lack fitness in Calabar, so we are ever ready for the battle,” he said.
Ude said that his contingents could not attend the All African Games coming up in Congo Brazaville due to their inability to attend the Lagos festival used as the yardstick for the AAG.
Ejimkonye Chinedu and Chukwuebuka Azodo, both boxers, said that they would have been among the AAG contingents if they had attended the festival.
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They claimed to have the capabilities to be part of the contingents, considering the level of fitness and the tactics they acquired through their coaches. (NAN)
