Ghanaian journalist-turned-sports administrator, Barrister Charles Osei Asibey has hailed what he described as Nigeria’s enormous talent in armwrestling, which he revealed is one of the reasons why the country was selected to host this year’s African championship.
Sports247 gathered that Nigeria will host the 2025 African Armwrestling Championship from July 23, ahead of which Asibey was in Abuja during the week to check things himself and he said afterwards he saw that everything was already set for blast off.
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Speaking in his capacity as vice-president of World Armwrestling Federation (WAF), Charles gave thumbs up to Nigeria and disclosed that he was impressed by various projects he saw on ground and the warm hospitality he received made him proud of the country’s potential.
Asibey stated, “The environment and atmosphere are already welcoming for everyone. Every leadership I have met during this visit was expectant. They were expecting us and, in each conversation, they tell me they are ready to host Africa.”
Asibey went on to pinpoint the indices that led to Nigeria being granted hosting rights for the forthcoming competition, tops of which he said was a solid performance at the last African Games in Accra, Ghana.
He expatiated, “We looked at a number of things and gave the bid to Nigeria. Since then, we haven’t been disappointed, and we are now hoping to have a wonderful championship.
“Beyond that, when Nigeria played in the Africa Games, the team won 13 medals.
That shot Nigeria up to finish second in the medals table of the Africa Games. I am sure now it is a popular sport in Nigeria.”
He concluded by enthusing that the new wave of interest people are expressing in the sport leaves room open for armwrestling to keep growing rapidly and get to higher points within a few years.
“Though it’s now becoming a popular sport, a number of young men and young women are asking about armwrestling. They want to know how they can get involved and what we do in the sport day-by-day.
“So, we decided to leverage on Nigeria’s performances at the Africa Games to open up the sport in the country. Nigeria also has enormous talent as far as sports in general, and especially as armwrestling is concerned,” Asibey submitted.
