CHUKWUMERIJE URGES EARLY PREPARATIONS FOR ALL AFRICA GAMES

…. As Tunisia, Cote D’Ivoire, Egypt Impress at AFTU & Luxor Opens

3-time Olympian and Board Member of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Chika Chukwumerije has urged for early preparations to commence for the All Africa Games, scheduled to hold in Congo Brazzaville from 4 – 20 September, 2015.

National dailysports gathered that Chukwumerije made this call, after observation of the alarming progress being made by African rivals at the just concluded AFTU International Taekwondo Opens and Luxor Opens held in Egypt.

At the G-1 ranked AFTU Opens, Tunisia won three medals - 2 Gold & 1 Silver; Cote D’Ivoire won two medals – 1 Gold, 1 Bronze; Morocco won two medals – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze; Hosts Egypt won 8 medals – 3 Silver 5 Bronze.

Ruth Gbagbi of Cote D’Ivoire claimed the Gold medal in the female -62kg, Ben Ali Rahma of Tunisia took the Gold in the female -53kg, while her male counterpart, Queslati Oussama, won the Gold in the -80kg category, dramatically beating 5-time World Champion and 2-time Olympic Gold Medallist, Steven Lopez of USA in the semi-finals en route to his golden victory.

At the G-2 ranked Luxor Opens, Tunisia won two medals - 1 Gold, 2 Silver; Egypt won two medals – 1 Gold, 1 Bronze; Cote D’Ivoire won two medals – 1 Silver, 1 Bronze.

Chukwumerije was not only impressed by the medals won, but also by how they were won.

“Morocco came with two athletes to the AFTU opens, and won two medals. Cote D’Ivoire came here with three athletes, won two medals at AFTU Opens, and again won two medals at Luxor Opens. En route to a victory, Cote D’Ivoire’s cheick Sallah Cisse beat Steven Lopez of USA, a 5-time World Champion and 2-time Olympic Gold Medallist, and also established veteran Damon Sansum of Great Britain en route to the finals.

“Tunisia also came with a same team and repeated the same feat, destroying top ranked competitors en route to their victories.”

“We are going to meet these people in 6 months at the AAG, and they are competing all over the world, gaining crucial experience and confidence as they conquer the world’s best at these events”

“I am confident Nigeria Taekwondo will meet our formidable opponents half-way on the field of play, but we must start firm preparations now to stand any chance of making history at the AAG”.

Meanwhile, despite the impressive outing of some of the African Nations at the tournaments, National coach of Cote d’Ivoire Taekwondo National Team, Attada Tadjou, was of the opinion that African Nations need to work harder together to bridge the wide tactical gap between Africa and other continents.

“We have a lot of talents that can dominate the world, but these talents need to be invested in. Also we need to have a lot of training workshops and tournaments in Africa to help bridge the knowledge gap”