Team Nigeria takes home 3 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals at the Niger Taekwondo Open Championship

Team Nigeria had a successful outing at the Niger Taekwondo Open Championship.

The Niger Taekwondo Open Championship is a World Taekwondo G2 Tournament that took place in the Niger Republic.

The tournament was held from Tuesday, February 1st to Thursday, 3rd 2022.

Team Nigeria did well by winning a total of six medals across several categories.

The team were camped in Kebbi State North Nigeria for their preparations. They then traveled by road to the Niger Republic to represent the country.

Benjamin Okuomose who was discovered at the University of Benin in Edo State won Gold for Team Nigeria in the male +87kg heavyweight category.

Oyebanji Olapeju who hails from Lagos is another Gold medal winner in the female +73kg heavyweight category.

Chinazum Nwosu who is the team captain took home the final gold medal in the -53kg Bantamweight female category.

Henry Chukwudi Nzelu from Team Oyo took home a Silver in the -87kg male Middleweight category.

Arinola Olawale from Lagos took home a Bronze medal in the -54kg male category.

Samson Saaondo Ukpera is another bronze medal winner in the Para-Taekwondo category.

Thursdaline Peters a Nigerian Referee at the tournament was also voted best official at the event.

Okuomose has huge potential, Olapeju took part in her second-ever international competition while Nwosu missed out on the last Olympics.

Nwosu who is the athlete's representative praised the Nigerian Taekwondo Federation for their support.

She said, "I'm proud to have led this group. I appreciate the NTF, and everyone else who made this a reality, the plan is to apply pressure, compete more and put Nigeria back on the map with our eyes on the world championships this year."

Nzelu was also confident that the tournament will serve as a step in the right direction for the team.

He added, "We are happy with the results but want to only use this as a launch pad, there are way more events coming this year and we need to keep racking points to improve our rankings and chances of making the Olympics.

"We need more events like this and exposure as you can already tell that Nigerian athletes have the potential. I'm happy to win this on my first try, I have more to offer, we just need better treatment and support from the government and indeed private bodies."

The NTF led by president Saidu Abdullahi has congratulated the athletes on making the country proud as they continue preparations for subsequent tournaments.