By Olalekan Okusan
Olympian Chika Chukwumerije has charged those in charge of sports to consciously invest in athletes in order that will put the country on the world map of sports.
Chukwumerije who claimed a Bronze Medal in the taekwondo event at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, listed include, welfare, training support, infrastructure, exposure and recognition as some of the pointers that need to be addressed.
He said There must be robust allowances, sports scholarships, quality kitting, and provision for housing and feeding for athletes, while the athletes must also be exposed to competitions within and outside the country.
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. “Building Champions is so easy, yet so difficult because it requires us to do the simple consistently over many decades,” he said.“We must stop pretending to invest’ in our future and start investing in our future; raising quality athletes takes time, effort and resources; and must not have a price tag to it.
“In whatever age, century and time we see and embrace this, which is when our journey to become a great sporting nation will begin. We must start walking our talk,” added the technical director of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF).
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