Commonwealth Games medallist gets N1.5million

Team Edo has won the Fifth Ekus Judo South-South U15-19 championship, grabbing four gold medals and a bronze to push Team Delta to the second position. Team Delta won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals, while Loveth Judo Club placed third with one silver and two bronze medals.
 
The two-day event, which had 18 teams from the South-South region in attendance, saw Team Josephine Judo Club in fourth with a silver and a bronze medal. The duo of Team Dennis Security Judo Club and Akwa Ibom picked a silver medal apiece to finish joint fifth, while Team Bayelsa, with two bronze medals, finished in seventh place.
 
Teams EKUS Judo and Team Lucky Judo Club ended joint eighth with a bronze medal apiece.
 
Speaking at the event, Head of Ekus Judo, a coach with Team Delta, Eke Osahon, said that the championship has led to the discovery of new judo talents in the region, which, according to him, has helped the region maintain its stranglehold at the national stage.
 
Osahon said he is hopeful that new champions will emerge from the zone and compete favourably on the international circuit soon.
 
Osahon praised the exploits of Miss Enku Ekuta, who broke a 24-year national jinx on the international stage by claiming a bronze medal at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
 
He called on the private sector and schools to invest in judo, saying that the sport has the capacity to take kids away from the streets, as well as giving them the platform to become better citizens.
 
The Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist, Enku Ekuta, who was honoured at the championship, said the nation’s prospect of returning to the podium on the international stage was brighter, especially with the quality of performance put up by the athletes.    
 
The highlight of the event was the presentation of N1.5 million to Ekuta by the organisers of the championship, Big Judo, led by former Judo athlete, Lanky Osagie-Omoregbe. There was also a presentation of medals and cash awards to winners.