ALL AFRICA GAMES: IGALI BLASTS ORGANISERS OVER EXCLUSION OF ...

All Africa Games: Igali blasts organisers over exclusion of wrestling
On August 20, 2011
By Ime Bassey

?

Member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and wrestling coach, Daniel Igali has lambasted the organizers of the upcoming All Africa Games in Maputo for excluding wrestling from the Games which begin on September 3.

Igali who spoke to Sunday Vanguard Sports from his base in Yanagoa said that the action was despicable, stressing that the federation?s groundwork for the World Championship in Istanbul next month is on already with seven wrestlers in camp in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital.

?It doesn?t sound well in the ears of all who know wrestling to be a traditional sport in the whole of Africa. So, if Africa as a continent wants to present a good team in wrestling at a major championship, it has to start from its shores which the All Africa Games serves but, removing a premier sports like it from the Games all because of politics, I think, it is despicable.

?In my entire adult live, I have never seen wrestling being excluded from a major sporting competition such as the All Africa Games. I am really upset about it, because I cannot imagine why the people of Mozambique would say they cannot host wrestling because it is not their traditional sports.

?We, as a federation and others in Africa, galvanised a population to protest vehemently to see that the sport is included in the Games, but it never happened. So, we are taking our loss in equanimity turning sight to Istanbul for the World championship with intense preparation.

?If wrestling was part of the Games, we would have won lots of medals just as we did at the last Games in Algiers. We went with 21 athletes and came back with 21 medals. At the last Commonwealth Games in India, we topped Nigeria?s medals table. We won three gold, three silver and seven bronze medals. This is the capacity of wrestling in Nigeria,? he said.

Source: http://www.nigerianbestforum.com/generaltopics/?p=103967

ridley scott ridley scott webos vevo fried chicken post offices pet stores