BY PAUL EREWUBA
NIGERIA’S only boxing entrant to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Efe Ajagba will not go anywhere for a foreign tour to prepare him for the Games.
A source close to the Nigeria Boxing Federation confirmed to Daily Sunspot that Ajagba who is currently training at the National Stadium boxing gym will fly out with the rest of the Nigerian contingent to the games next month.
According to the source who pleaded for anonymity, the boxing body had planned to put boxers in tournament shape ahead of the Games by touring Cuba, England and Germany for pre-Olympic boxing tournaments, but the plan hit the rocks after only Ajagba qualified to represent Nigeria.
“I really don’t know what they expect this chap to achieve at the olympics when we keep him here on so-called training.
Olympics is for the best, if others are out there training and competing and our man is in Nigeria exposed to only conditional training, then we shouldn’t expect much,” the source said.
Ajagba, the Africa Games champion in the super heavyweight 91+kg category, now has to make do with whatever skills Tony Konyegwachie, the national boxing chief coach, and his assistants are able to impart in him.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist is also in camp with two sparring partners – Ramon Razak and Gabriel Francis.
Sunday SunSport could not confirm whether the English coach, Kevin Smith, who accompanied them to the 2012 Olympic Games will join up in Brazil.
Smith accompanied the pair of Sadiq Umar and Efetobore Apochi to the last AIBA Olympic qualifying event in Baku penultimate week.