No fewer than 50 young and aspiring Taekwondo talents in Lagos State, aged from four to 14, are currently battling for a spot in the forthcoming National Youth Games in Ilorin.
The open trials are ongoing at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
The athletes from the five districts of Lagos code-named “IBILE”- Ikorodu, Badagry, Lagos Island, and Epe, are battling for qualifications in six categories:- Female: -33Kg, -45Kg, -59Kg, and Male -33Kg, -53Kg and +53Kg.
The Chairman of Lagos State Taekwondo Association (LSTA), Jimmy Ogunnowo, told NAN that the open trials were staged to also discover budding talents who may not necessarily qualify for the Youth Game.
“We are hoping to pick the best out of the pool of young athletes; its fair trials that have sound technical support to help identify the best and the prospective ones.
“It has been fantastic so far because it serves as an opportunity for us to increase our capacity as far as talent hunt is concerned. We have reached out to every part of Lagos.
“We have good synergy with our coaches to interpret the technicalities of the games to the students,” he said.
Ogunnowo said that taekwondo, as a sport, needs an early introduction to enable the younger ones to grow with the game.
“The first Olympic Bronze medalist that we have in Nigeria started at the age of four years, in respect of Chuka Chukwumerije.
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“He grew within the ranks to become an icon in the game. So, we do encourage parents to support their children who are interested in the sport as early as possible.
“One good thing about the game is that they are well protected in spite of the fact that they are also trained to defend themselves. We are conscious of the fact that they must be well protected.
“We provide all the necessary protective gears from the head to the toe so that they will be totally guarded. Taekwondo is one of the fastest-growing sport in Nigeria today,” he said.
The 6th National Youths Games will hold in Ilorin, Kwara, from Oct. 10 to Oct. 20, 2021.
