Team Nigeria lost their opening match at the ongoing World Beach Volleyball Championship in Hamburg, Germany. Brazil duo, Maria Antonelli and Carolina Solberg beat 39th-seeded Francisca Ikhiede and Tochukwu Nnoruga of Nigeria 2-0 (21-11, 21-17) in 23 minutes.
Ikhiede said they are proud they faced one of the best teams in the World.
“We felt so proud and delighted just to be playing against them. We are very excited to be here because it was a challenge for us. We hope that this level of competition and this experience will push us further.”
She praised the Volleyball Federation for giving them the opportunity to represent Nigeria at their maiden Beach Volleyball World Championship.
“We are very thankful that our country allowed us to be here, but it cannot be a one-time thing. We need to be exposed to different weathers, to different opponents and to different environments and that’s the only way we’ll get better.”
Ikhiede and Nnoruga gave Nigeria a significant step forward this year when it qualified for the first time to compete at the World Championship.
The players booked its place in Hamburg with a fourth-place finish at the African Nations Beach Volleyball Cup in Abuja.
