Nigeria won four medals to finish third position at the just concluded 2024 African Open Judo Championship in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Cameroon placed first with 4 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medals while Argentina finished second position with 2 gold and 1 bronze.
Kehinde Aremu won Nigeria’s only gold medal in the men’s -66kg category, Amarachi Udeze won silver in the women’s -57kg while Michael Agbo (-66kg) and Ejiro Eghrudje (-78kg) won bronze medals at the Open Championship which ended on 9th June, 2024.
Coach of Nigeria judo team, Suleman Musa attributed the successes recorded to the doggedness of the Judokas as well as support enjoyed from the leadership of the Nigeria Judo Federation (NJF) and well-wishers.
Musa also said the NJF deserves a pat on the back for ensuring the athletes attend their first international tournament after the African Games in Ghana two months ago.
The Former African Champion told www.aclsports.com that investment of coaches across the country are yielding fruits.
He said, “I want to dedicate the outcome of the African Championship to the team, NJF and Nigerians because they knew what was at stake. The Judokas showed total commitment during their bouts and you could see that they were hungry for glory. It was a tough one for the judokas because Kehinde Aremu won his bout in the -66kg men’s event but Amarachi Udeze lost to experienced Telma Monteiro (Portugal).
“The Nigeria Judo Federation led by Dr Musa Oshodi has done well by ensuring Nigeria participated at the 2024 African Open Judo Championship in Abidjan; it has shown that Nigeria possesses athletes who can win medals. I am optimistic that if we can succeed in getting sponsors, our athletes will definitely make the country proud”.
Meanwhile, the President of Nigeria Judo Federation, Dr Musa Oshodi praised the players for making the country proud at the championship.
Oshodi assured the Judokas of the continuous support by the NJF, promising to create an enabling environment for the athletes to thrive through attendance of International Championships.
