The performance of the over 650 athletes at the One Service One Medal (OSOM) Games have indicated that Nigeria will win array of medals through service men at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan, President of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Engr Sani Ndanusa has said.
Addressing sport writers during the closing ceremony of the games at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna at the weekend, Ndanusa, who is also Chairman of the Nigerian Tennis Federation, said the high performances of the athletes from the 14 Nigerian services show that each of the services would win medals at the next two Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
He added that the OSOM athletes discovered at the game would be nurtured through competition to improve their performances and further polish the green horns among them.
“We are satisfied with the performances of the athletes because it is the first OSOM Games to pick the talents capable of achieving a medal at the Olympic Games. We have high performance centre where they would be trained for international competitions because they need to be monitored and given the necessary competition.”
Civil Defence won the games claiming the male and female blue riband 100m race and the 4x100m female event, however, Nigerian Police snatched victory in the men 4x100m race. New sensation Nicholas Uwagbaremen won the men 100m beating former national champion, Obinna Metu of Prisons and Harry Chukwudike also of Civil Defence.
Former youth champion, Agnes Osazuwa won the female 100m for Civil Defence beating emerging youth sensation Praise Idamadudu of the Air Force and teammate Isoke Igbinosun.
Praise, who shares the same structure and running posture with Nigerian and African sprint champion, Blessing Okagbare thus promising a bright future, told reporters that she is ready to follow her coach’s guidelines to reach the top of her career and win an Olympics medal.
