Nigeria set to debut at 2024 World Sambo Championships
06 November 2024 |
3:15 am
History beckons on NIgeria at the 2024 World Sambo Championships, where the country will become the first African nation to present a blind athlete at the event scheduled for Astana, Kazakhstan, from November 8 to 10, at the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace.
History beckons on NIgeria at the 2024 World Sambo Championships, where the country will become the first African nation to present a blind athlete at the event scheduled for Astana, Kazakhstan, from November 8 to 10, at the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace.
The three-day championship will feature athletes from 80 countries competing for 31 medals. Supported by the Chairman of the Lagos State Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Samsideen Ajala, the Nigerian contingent departed for Astana, yesterday, aboard a Turkish Airlines flight.
An excited Kekere described his participation in the championship as a lifelong dream, expressing confidence in his chances of winning Nigeria’s first medal at the games.
Jatau, the World Beach Sambo Champion, hopes to replicate the success, which she recorded in Morocco earlier this year. “We are going there to make our country and families proud. We know it won’t be easy, but we are ready for the challenge,” Jatau said confidently.
The Astana championship is the frst time the organisers will include Blind Sambo in the programme, and Nigeria will be represented by Samuel Oladele Kekere, the only blind athlete from Africa expected to compete.
Kekere, an orange belt Judoka from Lagos State, who began his journey in combat sports four years ago, will compete in the men’s SVI-1 class (totally blind athletes), joining his counterparts from around the world.
Kekere’s participation has been confirmed by Roman Novikov, Chairman of the FIAS Commission for Athletes with Disabilities, and Sheriff Hammed, the Vice President and General Secretary of the Sambo Association of Nigeria, who sees this as a groundbreaking opportunity.
Kekere will compete in the men’s 64kg category, while James Chegwam, and Chairy Jatau will also represent Nigeria in the main event.
The inclusion of “SAMBO for the Blind” in the World Championships highlights the growing recognition of blind athletes in combat sports. As Vasily Shestakov, President of FIAS, stated, “Sambists with health limitations show a great desire to compete on an equal basis with other athletes, demonstrating their steely will and fortitude.”
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