By Kuti Dare

2019 African Games Taekwondo Champion, Chinazum Nwosu said she must attend Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The NSCDC officer told that paucity of funds disrupted her plans of attending international tournaments.

She said, “My target in 2020 is to stay focus on qualifying for the Olympics in February and also wining the Olympics. It is a must for me to be in Japan because the country was missing at Rio 2016 Olympics (in Taekwondo) and I have worked my way to the top of my weight class in Africa.

“The major challenges we usually face is lack of funding. If the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation had funds and support from sponsors, I would have probably qualified automatically.

“If there had been enough funds, I would have competed more in the international tournaments more than I did before the 2019 African Games and also attended various tours to get more experience and exposure.

“I want to say Kudos to my Coach John Victor for his supports so far and thank the Nigeria Taekwondo federation for the support in securing the IOC scholarship for me. This time I am going to make it right.

She attributed her current world ranking to hard work and constant training.

Nwosu said, “Ranked 16th in the world means that all my hard work and efforts in training in the past few years is not in vain, I put in so much effort to get to this point.

“This does not end here because I will stay determined, keep pushing, strive harder, and stay positive. I also will not forget to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of coach John Victor for believing in me and to Chika Chukwumerije, (The Technical Director of Nigeria Taekwondo) for his consistent support to make sure I get things right”.