Olympics: Nigeria can win gold in taekwondo- Korean coach
How were you given the responsibility of training Chika Chukwumerije and Isa Adams Mohammed for the London Olympics? I was invited by the Korea Embassy here in Nigeria to come and train the two athletes. This is with the support of the National Sports Commission. The Korea Embassy is taking care of my stay in […]
How were you given the responsibility of training Chika Chukwumerije and Isa Adams Mohammed for the London Olympics?
I was invited by the Korea Embassy here in Nigeria to come and train the two athletes. This is with the support of the National Sports Commission. The Korea Embassy is taking care of my stay in the country and the Commission too has been most supportive. Presently, we are camping at the Sheraton Hotels Abuja and it’s been wonderful.
How is the taekwondo team preparing for the London Olympics?
Yeah we are undergoing serious training with our focus on the forth coming Olympics. I have a programme that we are following. We have been training here in Nigeria and it’s time for us to travel out for more training.
How is the foreign training going to look like?
We would be in Austria from where we would go to South Korea. From South Korea we would move to Taiwan before coming back to South Korea for the final preparations for the Olympics proper. In Korea, there are many players who would give the athletes the necessary challenge for the games. Taekwondo is well established in Korea because the sport originated there. We hope to round up our training there.
At this stage of preparation, what is the area of concentration?
Chika and Isa are very fit and ready to do the country proud. But what we are doing at the moment is to concentrate more on physical training because in taekwondo physical fitness is more important than techniques. So we are focusing on physical training and mental readiness.
Do you think these two taekwondoists are good enough to win medals for Nigeria at the Olympics?
You know Chika is Beijing Olympics Bronze medalist. Isa is also a Beijing Olympics competitor. They are not new to the Olympics. If they respond well to training, there is nothing stopping them from winning a medal at the games. It’s possible to win even a gold medal.
What do you like about Nigeria?
I like the people of Nigeria. They are friendly people. Everybody I meet shows me love. I like the city. It is beautiful and I like everything about it. I also like the food here. I like Suya and kilishi so much. I eat kilishi everyday because it is very sweet. Moreover, my native food can be found in some of the restaurants here. I can say I am at home here.