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IWF to decide 2020 international wrestling calendar, says Igali

By Samuel Ifetoye
04 June 2020   |   4:09 am
While other federations have cancelled or postponed their activities this year due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Wrestling Federation (NWF) are still optimistic...

While other federations have cancelled or postponed their activities this year due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Wrestling Federation (NWF) are still optimistic that they would fulfill some of the events listed in their calendar this year.

NWF President, Daniel Igali, said on Tuesday that the NWF would wait for the outcome of the International Wrestling Federation (IWF) meeting to fit in their programmes for the rest of the year, as the COVID-19 pandemic eases out. 
 
Major international competitions were cancelled due to the scourge of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged sporting activities across the globe. Among them are the Tokyo 2020 Olympics earlier scheduled for August this year and also various leagues globally suspended because of the pandemic.
 


Igali told The Guardian, “The NWF for now doesn’t have any plan yet for the remaining months of this year. At the end of this month, the international federation will make a decision. It’s after their decision that we will then now know how to tailor our plan according to the decision taken. So far, nothing is happening anywhere.
 
“The International body sent us some questionnaires, which we’ve returned. They did the same to every other national federation. I am on a technical commission and we will meet on June 7 to give our recommendation to the executive board to make their final decision.
 
“So, before the end of this month, we will now be able to get a direction on how we can also plan for the rest of the year,” he said, adding that the athletes in the country are undergoing a supervised long physical training.
 
“Our athletes are doing long physical training in supervised conditions and so we haven’t allowed anyone to go on the mat yet. They are doing more free physical conditioning stuff until they get back on the mat.”

It is not all gloom as Igali revealed that the lockdown has helped some of the athletes to recover from injuries.
 
“Athletes hardly get two to three months to fully recover from injuries they sustained. A lot of times athletes compete with injuries all year round and they don’t have enough time to allow the injuries to heal. But the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed total healing to take place.
 
“I have told all of them that this is the time to allow their injuries to heal fully so that when they return for competition, they will return hungry, and straight for the trainings and their eyes set on goals for next year’s events,” he stated.   

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