Elizabeth Anyanacho, Nigeria’s Taekwondo Olympic-bound athlete is now ranked 6th in Africa and 62nd in the world, according to the latest ‘world ranking’ for May by the World Taekwondo.
The 22-year-old, who started competing in the sport in 2017, had no ranking at the start of 2019.
I believe! pic.twitter.com/rEL9clxbHv
— Elizabeth Anyanacho (@naija_lizzy) August 8, 2020
By May 2019, she was ranked 163rd in the world and by Dec. 2019, she was ranked 85th in the world.
World ranking records in June 2020 showed that she had climbed up to the 71st position before the global lockdown on sporting activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With the latest ranking Anyanacho is now 6th in Africa behind Ruth Gbagbi of Cote D’Ivoire (3), Egypt’s Hedaya Malak (14), Gabon’s Urgence Mouega (37), Marie Frederique Ekpitini of Cote D’Ivoire (57) and Wafae El Atri of Morocco (57).”
She told NAN that her improved ranking had been through hard work while stressing the need for more exposure before the Tokyo Olympics.
“Seeing the improved ranking is motivating because it shows that I have been working extremely hard in training.
“Certainly, we want to be on the top at some point and the only way to get there is to keep going.
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“Our current target is to be in the top 20 in the world within the next two years, but that requires a lot of resources and exposure,” she said.
NAN reports that the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, recently visited her in camp for the Olympics while pledging more support for her ahead of the Games.
The rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics will now hold July 23 to Aug. 8.
