By Ikenna Nwokedi
The Anambra State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo is sending a 249 contingent to the 21st edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF) which will take place in Asaba, Delta State, the Chairman of Anambra State Sports Development Commission (ANSSDC), Hon. Patrick Estate Onyedum says.
Hon. Onyedum stated this during a chat with sports writers on Saturday in Awka, saying the contingent is made up of 204 athletes and 45 officials, including coaches, instructors and medics.
“We will be leaving for Asaba on Tuesday to compete at the 21st edition of the National Sports Festival which coincidentally will be my first outing as the Chairman of the commission and team leader.”,
“We will compete in 24 events at the festival. At the moment, most of our athletes have been on individual training with their coaches fine tuning preparations for the games proper. We will assemble the team together on Monday before our onward departure to Asaba on Tuesday,” Onyedum said.
Hon. Onyedum, who is also the Chairman, Anambra State Athletics Association and a board member representing South East zone in Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), also said that Anambra State, being the zonal champions, would represent South East in five of the eight team events which include Basketball (male), Cricket (male), Football (female), Handball (male) and Volleyball (female)
The November 28th to December 10th, 2022, biggest sporting event in the country will see Team Anambra compete for honours in Kung Fu (male and female), Karate (male and female), Kickboxing (male and female), Taekwondo (male and female), Judo (male and female), Wrestling (male and female), Boxing (male and female), Weightlifting (male and female).
They will also compete in Powerlifting (male and female), Para-Athletics (male and female), Basketball (male), Badminton (male and female), Scrabble (male and female), Chess (male and female), Tennis (male and female), Table Tennis (male and female), Volleyball (female), Swimming (male and female), Cricket (male), Football (female), Handball (male), Deaf table tennis (male and female) and Beach Volleyball (female).
At the 20th edition of the festival held from the 4th to 16th April, 2021 in Benin, the Capital of Edo State, Anambra finished 17th on the medal’s table with 37 medals, made up of six gold, nine silver, and 22 bronze.
Also as part of the delegation from Anambra to Asaba for the NSF is the Director of Sports, Madam Faith Okwonna; Director (Technical), Mr. Emeka Obidimma; Mr. Jude Nwafor as the Chief Coach while Mr. Chika Aka will serve as the Camp Commandant.
