Rowing, Sailing To Debut At National Youth Games

Two sportsrowing and sailingare set to make their debut at the National Youth Games which is set to begin later this year, according to the president of the Nigeria Rowing Canoe and Sailing Federation, Admiral Festus Porbeni (Rtd.). The games has been slated to hold in Ilorin, Kwara, from September 24 to 30, 2016. Buoyed by the recent qualification of Jonathan Akinyemi for the Olympics and the recent performance of Chierika Ukogu at the Rio 2016 Olympic games, the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports Development, in conjunction with the sport federation, has decided to go to the grassroots to unearth raw talents to represent Nigeria in future. This will mark a new dawn for the federation and the country at large, as we count down to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. With the abundant aquatic presence in Nigeria, the country cannot afford not to harness the talents and turn them into future stars that can compete favourably with their counterparts at the international stage. Porbeni further explained that the NYG is timely, as it would be another avenue to select and prepare youngsters for the forthcoming Africa Youth Games in Algeria next year. About 14 states have already registered their interest to be represented at the games, alongside some U-17 athletes and 11 new athletes already undergoing a 2-week intensive training at the Nigeria Navy Sailing Club Ojo, Lagos under the watch of canoe and kayak coaches from Ogun, Plateau and Delta as help hand for the training.
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