Delta athletes hit camp for 2020 Olympics, sports festival

We want the best for Nigeria, says Ogba

Not ready to take chances ahead of the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, as well as the National Sports Festival in Edo State, a total of 25 track and field athletes from Delta State will arrive at the High Performance Center at the University of Port Harcourt today to commence camping.

Since the nation returned to democracy in 1999, Team Delta had maintained its position as the commander-in-chief in athletics, producing top male and female track and field stars that fly the country’s flag in local and international events.

Delta has won the National Sports festival title six times since emerging champion at the Bauchi 2000 edition, and according to the chairman of Delta State Athletics Association, former sports commissioner, Chief Solomon Ogba, the state is blazing the trail by opening the gate of preparation for the nation’s athletes ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the National Sports festival holding in Edo State.

Ogba, who is the immediate past president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), told The Guardian yesterday that 12 male and 13 female athletes from Delta State have been selected for the camping at the High Performance Centre in Port Harcourt.

“Our athletes will start arriving at the High Performance Centre at Uniport from tomorrow (today),” he said. “I have instructed those running the camp that any athlete, who failed to arrive at Uniport before Saturday must not be allowed to enter the camp. Apart from the local athletes, we are also keeping close contact with our foreign-based athletes.”

Ogba listed some of the local athletes expected in the camp to include Usheoritse Itsekiri, who won the men’s 100m gold medal at the last National sports festival in Abuja.

“Itsekiri is our athlete, though he represented Team Rivers at the last National Sports Festival in Abuja. He is back in Team Delta. I just spoke with Ogho-Oghene Egwero, and he promised to hit the camp tomorrow (today). We want to give our athletes the best of preparations for the challenges in 2020. We want to maintain our number one position at the National Sports Festival, and among these athletes, we want to see that some of them contest for tickets to be in Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” Ogba stated.