Despite being listed among the top athletes in the world who will compete for honours at the next World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Grand Prix in Manchester, London, between October 25 and 26, Nigeria’s Chika Chukwumerije has acknowledged that he needs to step up his trainings to make an impact at the event.
Chika Chukwumerije
The martial art maestro, who was in danger of losing out on the prestigious Grand Prix, after missing out on the last edition in Suzhou, China, ensured that he competed at the second Grand Prix of the year in Astana, Kazakhstan, from August 29 to September 2, to gain enough momentum to make it to Manchester.
He beat the inaugural Grand Prix finalist, and 2014 Dutch Open Gold medallist, Guilherme Cezario Felix of Brazil, 8-1 in the opening round, before narrowly succumbing to world number three, England’s Mahama Cho, 3-5 in the round of 16.
Commenting on his performance, Chukwumerije acknowledged he would need to step up his training to make better impact at the next Grand Prix.
He said: “I was not quite fit for the Astana Grand Prix, though I put in a solid defensive performance.
“I lost a bit of concentration right in the last few seconds of my bout with Cho, and it cost me the match. However, it was critical I got enough momentum to make it to the next Grand Prix in Manchester.
“Now, I have less than two months to get myself back into the kind of shape I should be, and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
The WTF Grand Prix is currently the most interesting and competitive series on the WTF calendar, and has had the Taekwondo global world buzzing since the inaugural edition in December 2013.
Only the world’s top 31 athletes in each weight category, based on their recent 2014 WTF Olympic rankings, are eligible for the tournament, and the Grand Prix series have a direct impact on qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics, as a massive 40 Olympic ranking points are at stake.
Chukwumerije used the opportunity to weigh in on the Ebola saga that has seen Nigeria miss the 2014 Youth Olympics in China and the Wrestling World Championships in Uzbekistan.
“I fought in Kazakhstan penultimate week at the Astana Grand Prix, and checks were carried out at the airports – here in Nigeria and at Kazakhstan.
“Why neighbours, Uzbekistan, would deny the wrestlers potential World Championships fame is unfair.”
Chukwumerije encouraged world sporting regulatory bodies to take a cue from the WTF.
“The nature of sports is to break down barriers, not enforce them. Perhaps, other sports need to take a cue from the WTF in the lesson of inclusion, rather than marginalising a country of 180 million people, because of very few Ebola cases.
“The message is simple: stop marginalising our national teams. Ebola is a serious threat in the West Africa region. That is a genuine challenge that the global community is understandably worried about.
“However, the perception that the world of sports is shutting its doors on Africa when countless other reasonable routes are available is just not acceptable.
“Proper screening can be carried out before cutting off the expectations of athletes that had put in a lot of hard work. Medical tests can be done to ensure they are Ebola-free, but it should stop there,” he added.