Mali, Nigeria arrive for Chukwumerije tourney

Chika Chukwumerije

Mali and Niger Republic on Tuesday arrived in Nigeria for the 2013 Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation International Taekwondo Open  scheduled for October 19 and 20 in Abuja.

 Gold medalists will take home N150, 000 while silver and bronze medalists get N100, 000 and N50, 000 respectively.

Apart from the cash reward, 200 athletes that registered for the competition will get equipment like uniform, kicking pads and skipping ropes valued at N1.7m.

Thirty-six competitors from seven African countries will take part in the competition. Also, 24 states, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Customs, Nigerian Immigration, six clubs and 23 individual entries have been listed for the international tournament.

 According to Beijing 2008 Olympic Games bronze medallist and founder of CCSF, Chika Chukwumerije, plans to extend invitations to athletes from Europe in subsequent editions are on the way.

  He said, “The goal is to get endorsed by the World Taekwondo Federation in 2015. The first phase targeted the entire taekwondo community in Nigeria – from the states to the clubs, paramilitary, military and other interested individuals. We succeeded in doing this effectively last year, so we moved to stage two, which was to extend our reach to West Africa.