We’ll build up on NSF showing, Oyo wrestling coach says

Sunday Sanni of Oyo State Wrestling Association (OSWA) on Tuesday assured that the association would build upon the skills exhibited by its wrestlers at the just-concluded National Sports Festival (NSF).

Sanni, who is OSWA’s Head Coach, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan they would intensify more efforts to improve the wrestlers’ skills for subsequent local and international competitions.

“We are coming up gradually and we all know that having a crop of talented champions takes time. We will keep working holistically to have a formidable set of champions,” he said.

The coach said the state’s wrestles would need different training techniques and approach to bring out the best in them.

“For some, we will be working on their stamina and endurance, while for some it will be strength and power work, and some just need mind adjustment in order to get the right frame of mind,” he said.

Sanni pointed out that wrestling at the NSF in Benin witnessed a new crop of wrestlers, which he said was a good development.

“Wrestling is rebranding itself with the emergence of new and potential champions. The games showed many old wrestlers retiring from competitive wrestling.

“The standard of wrestling keeps hitting the ceiling in Nigeria and the propensity is still very high and that’s highly commendable. Over time, I believe it will even be better than what we are celebrating today.”

NAN reports that Oyo State was represented by eight wrestlers and they all won medals —- one gold, two silver and five silver.

The gold medalist was Stephen Akintewe (61kg), while the silver medalists were Christianah Ogunsanya (50kg) and Esther Asaolu (55kg).

The bronze medalists were: Tope Adebayo (65kg), Boluwaji Akinniwesi (59kg), Oluwafemi Jackson (79kg), Favour Bankole (59kg) and Ikechukwu Johnson (60kg).