Putting lives on the line for country

India’s Babita Kumari (red) challenges Nigeria’s Christi Nwoye during their 51kg women’s freestyle wrestling match at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi
by Ifeanyi Ibeh


October 16, 2010




Not many Nigerians know Helen Okus, Ifeoma Iheanacho and Daniel Amas. Even among their countrymen hooked on sports, their names do not ring a bell. Yet they are patriotic Nigerians; athletes who put their lives on the line for their country.


Okus, Iheanacho and Amas were part of Nigeria's wrestling team to the Commonwealth Games, which ended in India on Thursday.

For the trio it was better they suffered some physical discomfort rather than see their country miss a shot at glory. As the Nigerian contingent got set to leave Delhi on Thursday, arrangement was made for Amas and Okus to remain behind to undergo surgery before coming back to Nigeria.

Giving their all

Daniel Igali, Technical Adviser of the Nigerian wrestling team explained why they did not return with their colleagues.

"Right now Daniel Amas lost two of his teeth in one of the matches and is staying behind in India for surgery. The same goes for Helen Okus who wrestled all through the tournament with a slipped disc which is a very serious injury.

"Her right arm was almost numb but she is staying behind for surgery while Ifeoma Iheanacho could barely walk a day before the competition because of fever, and I didn't even think she was going to compete but she still went ahead to get a bronze.

"They believe they can give their all for the country and if anything happens to them the country will take care of them and that is what I have learnt about them," added Igali, who won an Olympic gold.

"The one thing that I have learnt from our athletes is that they give you everything," Igali said on Thursdayin Lagos. "The one thing that I know about our athletes is that if you tell them to give you 100 push-ups they give you 120. They are willing to give everything in a match."

Tactics

Prior to the Commonwealth Games, not many people expected the country's wrestlers to put up such a remarkable showing at the Games especially as the team never had the needed international exposure leading up to the event in India.

Besides the African Championships in June and the World Championships, which came up in September in Russia, our wrestlers never had any other opportunity to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, which makes their feat in India all the more remarkable as only the 14 medals achieved through the combined efforts of the country's weightlifting and power lifting teams was able to surpass the feat of the wrestling team.

But this wouldn't have been possible but for some behind the scene moves by Igali, a former Olympian who was one of 50 Nigerians honoured by the federal government during the country's 50th Independence celebrations.

These included confiscating cell phones and setting curfews for the athletes, as well as staying up long into the night to gather vital information on opponents.

"When I see the draws, I go on Google and You Tube to scout on the athletes they are going to wrestle," he said. "I don't sleep until I get all the details about their opponents which is usually after 3am."

And since protests have become a part of the sport, it became common sight to see Igali halting matches on a number of occasions most prominently in the 96kg Men's Freestyle final between Sinvie Boltic and Canada's Kory Jarvis where he launched one of his trademark protests with just under half a second to the end of the bout.

"You have to be ready to take that option so that your athlete can sometimes take a much needed break like the case of Sinvie who was already gassed out in that fight," Igali said. "After the protest he had 20 seconds to hang in there and he got through and got us a gold.

"That can sometimes be the difference between winning and losing."

Teenage sensation

There was also the case of 17-year-old sensation Odunayo Adekuroye who prior to her bout against Canada's Carol Huynh, had no idea she was about to come up against the reigning world and Olympic champion.

"She wrestled a Canadian (Carol Huynh) in the first round and she was so confident of beating her but narrowly lost the bout," said Igali.

"She was inconsolable afterwards until I informed her that the person she had lost to was the world and Olympic champion."

The effect of this revelation was clear to see as Adekuroye went on to claim a bronze medal after back-to-back flawless 7-0 wins over Scotland's Fiona Robertson in the semi finals, and South Africa's Brumilda Leeuw in the bronze medal match.

All down to teamwork

But Igali, who before the Games was expecting the team to return home with 10 medals, insists credit for the team's success isn't solely his but the combined efforts of every member of the wrestling team, including his coaching assistants.

"I will have to give the credit to the athletes because they are the ones that actually competed," he said. "It's the person who's in the arena that the credit should go to, then the coaches: David Onoapo, Okporu Enekpedekumo, Tiebiri Godswill and Tony Ubaka who were with us in camp and carried out all the programmes we had put in place for the athletes.

"I have been working with these coaches since 2007 and what we have been trying to do is to encourage total wrestling.

"The results from this competition are what we have been imparting in the athletes for the past three years. By the time we have more regular competitions I think we can expect better results."

Poor wrestling background

Only India and Canada finished above Nigeria in the wrestling event of the Commonwealth Games which is all the more remarkable considering that the only wrestling championship in the 2010 calendar in Nigeria is the championship bankrolled by the Bayelsa State government which doesn't come up until next month.

Such is the pitiable state of wrestling in Nigeria. But Igali is quick to admit that the Delhi feat would had been much more difficult to accomplish but for the support of the National Sports Commission (NSC).

"The NSC has done well," Igali said. "We went to the African Championships in June and four of our wrestlers that won gold went to the world championships in September.

"We have a very good relationship with the NSC, particularly with (its director-general) Patrick Ekeji. He is someone who has been very responsive to our needs and doesn't mind me calling him up very late at night.

I can call him up at two in the morning and see him at anytime of the day.

"He made it possible for us to get the programmes that we may not had been able to get in the past. As an example, at the 2007 All Africa Games in Algiers we were able to go with about six coaches, but in the past we only went with two. While in India we went with four coaches, so we are beginning to get more recognition from the NSC."

Besides the NSC, the Bayelsa State government, particularly the governor, Timipre Sylva, who has never hidden his love for the sport, had been most helpful especially in the area of training for the athletes.

"He (Sylva) has been very supportive of wrestling and has even promised to get a 32-seater bus for the national team," said is Igali, who is from Bayelsa State.

"He even came around to see the team in training a number of times in the company of (wrestling federation boss) Austin Edeze and urged the athletes to bring glory to the country with a promise to reward them for every medal they get to win in India."

Target

The topmost priority for Igali at the moment are next year's All-Africa Games in Mozambique and the World Championships in Turkey which serves as qualifying tournaments for the London 2012 Olympics where he hopes one of his wrestlers will finally be able to secure a medal.

But if that doesn't come to pass, don't expect Igali to leave the stage for one of his assistants to take charge as he insists he is going nowhere until a Nigerian wrestler, wearing the country's colours, wins an Olympic medal.

"We have quite a number of coaches in the coaching crew but I don't see myself leaving the scene until we win an Olympic gold medal," he added.