NAN-S-20
Athletics
By Olayinka Owolewa
Ilorin, Sept. 5, 2017 (NAN) A former African sprints champion, Mary Onyali, on Tuesday in Ilorin charged upcoming athletes to abstain from drugs and be focused to excel in their career.
Onyali gave the advice while speaking with newsmen at the two-day All-Kwara State Primary Schools Athletics Championships being sponsored by the Chairman of the State Athletics Association, Tunde Abdulkareem.
She said drugs were destructive in the life of an athlete, listing various examples as being instructive for any upcoming athlete.
“Any serious athlete will not go into drugs, because we have so many examples of those who have been destroyed by drugs.’’
The former champion also urged athletes participating at the championships to instead strive to be fair and exhibit their talents.
Onyali, who is the Executive Director, Technical, Nigeria Sports Development Fund (NSDF) in Abuja, commended the championships’ sponsor for his passion for grassroots sports development.
Also speaking on the sidelines of the championships, the Kwara Director of Sports, Tunde Kazeem, praised Onyali for her determination and zeal to tap talents from the grassroots.
On his part Abdulkareem, who is the Vice-President, Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Region 2, pointed out that the tournament was aimed at discovering young athletes from the grassroots.
He said the championships was conceived in line with the policy of government to bring back the lost glory of sports at state and national levels.
Speaking further, Abdulkareem described funds as a major problem facing sports development in the country, urging government at all levels to always support sports with adequate funds.
“Private organisations and well-meaning Nigerians need to have a strong synergy with government to move the sports sector in the country forward,’’ he added.(NAN)
OOH/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)