From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Alhaji Abdullahi Saidu-Baba, has lauded the Successful completion of the 2023 National President’s Cup Open Championship which was staged in Abuja.
Baba also expressed his satisfaction with the current board of the NTF for ensuring the tournament sees the light of day ahead of the Olympics.
Baba stated this while speaking with newsmen at the end of the 3days open championship in Abuja.
According to him, “The federation intentionally organised the championship as a way of giving her athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills, which will in turn, prepare them for bigger and better future championships.
“This is great, this is what the current administration of the NTF has been trying to do. You remember when we came here we started with capacity building, educating the athletes on the current rules and regulations”
“We also try to empower our athletes on the skills required to become champions, also empowering our officials on other technics of officiating and coaching and what you are seeing now is giving them the opportunity to test their skills and to also prepare them for better & future championships”
“Don’t forget we have the all-African games coming & we have the Olympic qualification, this is a tournament for Olympic weight classification, so we’re trying to look at our athletes and look at their prospects”
The President further stressed that their set objective is to perform well in their lineup of events which includes the Kebbi Open, the Korean Ambassador’s Cup, the all-African games and the world championship which will be taking place this year in Baku, Azerbaijan.