Ikpo Igbinoba
As karate exponents across the world look forward to Tokyo 2020 Olympics with great excitement, a Nigerian karateka is dreaming big for the country.
Karatekas are excited about the Tokyo 2020 Olympics because their discipline is making a debut at the quadrennial sports summit as a demonstration event.
Yaya Glen Adamu, who has represented Nigeria on the international scene boasted in an exclusive interview with PM EXPRESS in Lagos that Nigeria has what it takes to make an impact in Tokyo.
According to him “Karate would be very explosive in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics though it will be a demonstration event”
Adamu further explained that the karate community had been waiting for the moment to have their sport join the prestigious club of Olympic sports.
“For decades, karatekas have been dreaming of having their sport join the Olympics and Tokyo 2020 has provided the platform ” he said adding that “practitioners who make it to the Games won’t disappoint”
Tracing the origin of the sport to Okinawa, a province in Japan, Adamu stressed that Tokyo was a perfect setting to usher karate into the Olympics.
On the chances of Nigerian karatekas at the Games, Adamu said the country was blessed with an army of talents who can hold their own in the face of any challenge.
He enthused “We have a lot of talents who are very fortunate to be trained by some great masters. Without mincing words our karatekas can face any challenge anywhere in the world.”
However, Adamu dropped a word of advice for the Karate Federation of Nigeria if the country must make an impact at the Games.
According to him “In spite of the talents that abound in the country, the federation must start early preparation for the Games, otherwise there is little the talents can achieve”
“And the time to start preparations is now because Tokyo 2020 is just around the corner”, he added.