Weightlifting
By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
Lagos, May 10, 2018 (NAN) The road map to improve our record in the 3rd African Youth Games (AYG) has started, says Christopher Nwadei, Technical Director, Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF).
Nwadei told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos that the programme was to stimulate preparations for the Games holding in Algeria from July 7 to July 17.
He said that it was necessary for the lifters to have a pre-knowledge of the type of training they would be exposed to, to give them ample time to be psychologically prepared for the task.
“The idea behind this arrangement is to improve on our previous performances, increase our medal hauls in this year’s Games which is coming up in July.
“While waiting for the national camp, we are using this measure to touch the basics ahead of the major so that the workload will not be too much on the lifters.
“In addition to our regular training, it is very important to build the psyche of the young lifters so that nothing will appear strange or new to them in the national camp,’’ Nwadei said.
The NWF director added that the Games was fundamental as it would serve as qualifiers for the Youth Olympic Games coming up later in the year.
He told NAN that 12 lifters were expected to be shortlisted for the national camp based on their individual performances and NWF records of the 2018 National Youth Games which held in Ilorin.
“We are doing everything possible to pick up our qualification ticket for the Youth Olympics, this has made the forthcoming Game a compulsory participation for us,’’ he added.
According to him, the camp will serve as a determining ground to confirm capable lifters that would fly the country’s colours at the quadrennial games,
Nwadei, who doubles as an international referee, appealed to the authorities to make athletes welfare a priority, especially during camping, adding that it would get athletes committed and inspired.
NAN reports that Nigeria finished in the third position with 36 medals in 23 sports in the second edition which held in Gaborone, Botswana, and was attended by 51 countries. (NAN)
MIL/ERO/PDE
===========
(Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Peter Ejiofor)