No fewer than 120 armwrestlers from different parts of the country on Saturday – yesterday, March 8 – took part in the Nigeria Armwrestling Open Championships at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that armwrestlers from six states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and four clubs participated in the one-day competition.
The armwrestlers were from states like Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo, and clubs such as Nigeria Police Force, Femi Club, Energy Club of Imo and NYSC Club.
Samuel Jackson, President of Nigeria Armwrestling Federation, said the competition witnessed many upsets, with many champions beaten by debutants in the game, describing the development as highly commendable.
“I have personally been looking forward to a competition where we will see new armwrestlers coming on board and beating our current champions.
“Funke Afeniforo from Oyo state and a debutant beat current champion Chika Blessing. She wasn’t the only person she beat.
“Right now, Oyo and Bauchi states are the new evolution, because they surprised us in this competition as they clinched many medals,” he said.
Jackson pointed out that the championships were significant as they were also for selection of armwrestlers for the Team Nigeria to the African Championships coming up in Abuja.
“That is the 14th African Armwrestling Championships in Abuja, and we will be focusing on our strengths at the Championships, which are the female categories.
“No fewer than 40 armwrestlers will be invited to camp for the championships. These will include the para-armwrestlers,” he said.
The Federation President also noted that it was the first time they were having over 100 athletes in an open championship.
“This is fantastic. The championships are fantastic and we have been able to discover at least an athlete from Oyo State, Funke Afeniforo. Nobody knew she was going to defeat the African champion, Chika Blessing.
“She had never done armwrestling before and most of the African champions that are representing Nigeria have been dethroned.
“They believed they had arrived. But we’ve seen new people taking their places, which is good for the Federation and the country, and which is good for the evolution of the sport in the country,” he said.
Jackson, however, encouraged the winners in the Championships to work even harder, even as they are going into closed camping ahead of the African Championships in July.
While giving a word of advice to the athletes, the sponsor of the championships, Folasade Karheem, the Managing Director of Afia Homes and Properties, urged them not to lose hope.
“You should rather strive for success in your career.”
Winners at the championships included Happiness Ubah (90kg female), Nneka Samuel (90kg male), Zainab Quadri (55kg female), Samuel Adou (55kg male) and Ojo Adekonye (60kg male).
The competition was graced by the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Tunde Popoola.
