Joe Lasisi
Former African and Commonwealth boxing champion, Joe Lasisi has predicted doom for lone boxer Efe Ajagba that qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games holding in Brazil, from August 5 to 21.
Lasisi lamented that the country would be represented by just one boxer, Efe Ajagba, at the global games, saying it was shameful in spite of the array of talents in the country.
Only Ajagba out of 10 Nigerian boxers was able to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, as the rest failed to pick their spots at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) African Olympic qualifier held in Cameroon earlier this year.
Lasisi has written off Nigeria’s chances of winning a medal in the boxing event at the games.
The retired boxer also blasted administrators for the declining fortunes of the country’s sports sector. He added that if the right people were given positions, Nigeria would become a force to be reckoned with again on the international scene.
Lasisi noted, “What is happening is not just in boxing alone. The same thing happened to football, athletics and the other sports. We are only going to the Olympics to watch other countries. When we are ready and we prepare for the Olympics, we will surprise the world like we used to do in the past.
Ajagba won a gold medal for Team Nigeria at the last Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville in the super heavyweight 91+kg category.
The Rio Olympics will begin on August 5, and Ajagba is currently training at the National Stadium boxing gym in Lagos, as earlier plan by the Nigeria Amateur Boxing Federation to put him in pre-Olympic boxing tournaments in Cuba, England and Germany hit the rock due to non-release of money by the sports ministry.
Lasisi lamented that the country would be represented by just one boxer, Efe Ajagba, at the global games, saying it was shameful in spite of the array of talents in the country.
Only Ajagba out of 10 Nigerian boxers was able to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, as the rest failed to pick their spots at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) African Olympic qualifier held in Cameroon earlier this year.
Lasisi has written off Nigeria’s chances of winning a medal in the boxing event at the games.
The retired boxer also blasted administrators for the declining fortunes of the country’s sports sector. He added that if the right people were given positions, Nigeria would become a force to be reckoned with again on the international scene.
Lasisi noted, “What is happening is not just in boxing alone. The same thing happened to football, athletics and the other sports. We are only going to the Olympics to watch other countries. When we are ready and we prepare for the Olympics, we will surprise the world like we used to do in the past.
Ajagba won a gold medal for Team Nigeria at the last Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville in the super heavyweight 91+kg category.
The Rio Olympics will begin on August 5, and Ajagba is currently training at the National Stadium boxing gym in Lagos, as earlier plan by the Nigeria Amateur Boxing Federation to put him in pre-Olympic boxing tournaments in Cuba, England and Germany hit the rock due to non-release of money by the sports ministry.
Culled from www.naijacombatcorner.wordpress.com
Efe Ajagba
