Nigeria’s Olympics silver medalist, Blessing Oborududu, is setting her sights on more laurels at the Commonwealth Games holding next year in Birmingham, England.
The 32-year-old who won the women’s 68 kilograms freestyle wrestling silver at the concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics –Nigeria’s first-ever wrestling medal –however maintains that while the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games is up next on her agenda, recovering from an injury copped at the Tokyo Olympics is the first major task to see through.
“If not for the injury I would have just taken a few weeks to rest before returning to training, but now I have to dedicate my time to treatment in order to recover and get back to fitness. It is disappointing to miss some upcoming competitions but the injury will surely go away and I will be ready to start my program towards the Commonwealth games”
Speaking an interview with reporters in Lagos, the Bayelsa State-born wrestler revealed that the entire Nigerian camp in Tokyo was as shocked as citizens back home and around the world when highly rated Odunayo Adekuoroye lost her contest and dropped out of the race for medals.
“After winning silver I looked forward to Odunayo winning gold because she’s that good only for us to witness that shocking outcome which left us in tears.
To the question of why I think it happened or what I think she did wrong I can only say that in sports sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Odunayo has been the one rescuing us with victories in many competitions in the past and I am confident to say that she will definitely bounce back and continue in her winning ways to put smiles on Nigerians’ faces again”
Also commenting on the widely reported negative events around Nigeria’s athletes and their welfare during the Olympics, the multiple African freestyle champion says the wrestlers had little or nothing to complain about.
“By orientation as wrestlers, we are a physically and mentally tough set of athletes, meaning we handle challenges of any kind and focus first on the task at hand to deliver.
“We always know that what’s due to us even if delayed, eventually gets to us. In Tokyo, we got our dues and have no reason now to complain”
Submits the first African woman Olympics wrestling medalist whose silver along with Ese Brume’s Long Jump bronze ensured Nigeria’s entry on the medals table at the concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan.
