Olympic Qualifiers: Nigerian Judokas Flop In Paris

pmnews-placeholder

Nigeria’s hope of participating in the judo event of London 2012 Olympics was dealt a big blow last week as the nation’s judokas to the qualifying tournament in Paris, France, failed to secure their tickets for the Summer Games.

Though Vice President of Nigeria Judo Federation, NJF, Professor Olakitan De Souza, had expressed confidence in the judokas to pick tickets for the London Games at the qualifiers before their departure for the tourney, they ended up by disappointing the country.

Speaking on Brilafm early today, De Souza attributed the judokas’ poor performance to the superior oppositions they faced in Paris, adding that the judokas still have an opportunity to redeem their image in another qualifier in the Czech Republic in a fortnight.

He said: “Our judokas had it tough in Paris because they came up against tough sides that were superior in all aspects of the sport.

Related News

“Though some of our judokas gathered some points, we could not win any ticket for the Olympics. We are not losing hope yet because another qualifier is coming up in two weeks time in the Czech Republic. This will give us a chance to redeem our image and hopefully we can book our places in the London Games.”

P.M Sports gathered that the Czech Republic tourney will give the Nigerian judokas an opportunity to qualify for the Olympics as tougher nations will not be competing in the qualifiers.

—Bamidele Olowosagba

Load more