Natania Emusan excels at 2020 Junior Fencing Championship

Competitive fencing is not very popular in Nigeria and for the most part, has always been a male-dominated sport with very few women interested or participating even for the fun of it.

However, Natania Emusan of Rainbow College aims to change all this. She has already started breaking the status quo by winning a bronze medal at the recent international fencing competition held in Ghana.

Present at the five-day tournament, which featured 18 African countries, was president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Ben Nunoo Mensah and president of Women in Sports Ghana, Joyce Mahama. They appreciated and encouraged the participants for their tenacity in a sport, which is paid very little attention, especially in this part of the world.

Barely six months into fencing, Emusan said she chose the sport initially for the purpose of recreation because her college encourages them to try different extracurricular activities. “But I got more interested in the complexity of the sport and found its ability to help activate critical thinking skills very useful in my day-to-day life.

“Fencing is more than just a recreational activity for me now; my goal is to fence for Nigeria at the Olympics.”

Speaking on her other passions, Emusan said, “ After high school, I would like to own software, I want to study software programming because other than fencing, I have a passion for technology and thankfully my school equips me for both.”

Elated by Emusan’s feat, Rainbow College says they are proud that one of their students is making inroads into the sport with her skill set and passion.