By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
Lagos – The Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) says it is awaiting approval of the management of University of Lagos for a space to erect its High Performance Centre (HPC).
The NTF President, George Ashiru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos that the body approached the university management with the proposal during the 1st Taekwondo Invitational Tournament in 2016.
NAN reports that the centre is a place designed and equipped with modern training equipment like Electronic Scoring System (ESS) and medical personnel including psychologist, doctor and researcher.
It is basically meant for individual taekwondoist, team training activities and comprehensive preparation for international competitions under the supervision of a certified coaching crew.
Ashiru said that the federation reached an agreement with the university management precisely in October 2016, when the Sports Hall of the institution was used for the invitational tournament.
“They actually promised to provide a space within the complex free of charge for us as part of their contribution and support toward improving the standard of taekwondo in Nigeria.
“We are ready to embark on the project as soon as we get a space approved for the centre as promised by the institution,” he said.
Ashiru said that the idea was to create a venue of international standard that befit athletes’ training and preparations for successful outing in major games and world championships.
He said the body would appreciate a prompt response from the university management, adding that fans were eager to see the project in place.
According to him, the centre will enable the athletes to concentrate both physically and psychologically, improved their skills and assist them to attain their desire goals.