In the wake of the closing ceremony of the 13th Africa Games in Accra, Ghana, a call has been made for longer camping and regular international exposure of Nigerian athletes.
Adding his voice to this debate, the president of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), Abdullahi Saidu-Baba concurred that the preparations were not good enough and reckoned that Team Nigeria would have enacted a better haul of medals with longer periods of camping for the athletes.
Saidu-Baba also advocated for foreign tours, participation in international competitions, and a larger contingent of athletes, among other steps he believes should be taken in order to improve the country’s standing in major events.
“We need to have prepared for at least two to three months. That would have been better. Even though someone would argue that the federation should have been doing something before the ministry stepped in.
“Yes, we have been doing something. But, no matter how good you train your athletes, if you don’t give them adequate exposure, it’s not good enough. That exposure would help them prepare their mindset for what is at stake.
“You can see our athletes. They struggle through the individual fights, but when they come back for the team fights, they do better because their experience then began to flow. They know what is at stake. That is why exposure matters a lot.
“Then, also, apart from the duration of camp, we also need to give our athletes a lot of international exposure. Most of our athletes in taekwondo are home based and training locally. Though they have gone for some domestic competitions that are not good enough. We are competing against tough opponents from other countries that enjoy foreign exposure.”