Four top male players have arrived Indonesia for a two month training tour as the Badminton Federation of Nigeria steps up effort towards qualification for the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo.
The four male players who departed the country via the Muritala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos over the weekend are Anuoluwapo Opeyori, Godwin Olufua, Daniel Philips and Daniel Christopher.
The tour comes less than 2 weeks after Nigeria had a decent outing in Algeria. Team Nigeria played in the finals of both men and women team events in the Thomas and Uber Cup African qualifiers and in three finals in the All Africa senior individual championships returning home with 7 gold , 5 silver and 2 bronze medals. The Federation during its board meeting admitted that with constant exposure, Nigeria will dominate the sport again on the continent .
Meanwhile, President Badminton Federation of Nigeria Francis Orbih says the board will not achieve its desired result if it fails to develop it’s athletes.
”A leader must be able to get the best from his people and the board of the Badminton Federation is willing to sacrifice everything to see the sport grow again not just in Nigeria but at least dominate Africa for now and qualify for the Japan 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,” he said
Orbih also revealed that plans are already underway for Nigeria’s number one female player, Dorcas Adesokan to also attend a two month training camp in Europe in April and May while ensuring that top players like Clement Krobapor, Enejoh Abah, Habeeb Bello, Deborah Ukeh, Peace Orji and others are engaged with International competitions.
Nigeria will next attend championships in Cote’d Ivore, Benin Republic and Ghana.
