By Monica Iheakam
Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) President, Engr. Habu Gumel says he is full of positive expectations from Team Nigeria athletes heading for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Eight days to the commencement of the much anticipated sporting fiesta in the UK, Gumel assured that every logistics needed to ensure a hitch free movement and participation of Team Nigeria athletes have been put in place.
“What we are expecting is to go to Birmingham and do our best to make Nigeria proud. We have named all the athletes in various sports that are going to Birmingham.
“We have all the list of the athletes we are taking to the commonwealth games and regarding their visa, everything has been duly sorted out.
Team Nigeria moved into a close camp on Saturday, July 9 in Abuja, Lagos and Yenagoa while the overseas-based athletes will open another camp in the United States of America, from where they will move to Birmingham for the Games.
A total of 94 athletes will represent Nigeria in nine sports namely athletics, wrestling, judo, para-athletics, boxing, table tennis, para-table tennis, para-powerlifting and weightlifting, with athletics producing the largest contingent – 33, followed by wrestling, which has 11.
Nigeria finished in ninth place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, winning nine gold, nine silver and six bronze medals while her best performance ever was in Victoria, Canada in 1994 where she won eleven gold, thirteen silver, and thirteen bronze medals to finish fourth.