Just like it happened at Tokyo 2020, Elizabeth Anyanacho will be Nigeria’s sole flagbearer in the taekwondo event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after picking her ticket at the African Qualifying Tournament held in Dakar, Senegal at the weekend.
Anyanacho was drawn against Kenya’s Jully Musangi in the women’s -67kg and the Nigerian showed her class against her opponent with a dominance display that handed her the victory in the second round of the three-rounds contest.
Being the only Nigeria athlete among the four that competed in the qualifiers, Anyanacho described her qualification as a reward for months of hardwork at the Taekwondo Training Centre in Germany.
However, the trio of Benjamin Okuomose, Ifeoluwa Ajayi and Chinazum Nwosu were not lucky in their quest for the Paris tickets as they were shown the exit in the first round of the championships.
On Day 1, it was Nwosu that first tasted defeat as she was dumped out by her Mali’s Moham Aissata Siby in an encounter that ended 2-1 in favour of the Malian. Nwosu, who was making her third attempt at qualifying for the Olympic Games, was pained with the result.
On Day 2, Benjamin Okuomose made the same mistake he made in 2019 when he lost his contest against Gabon’s Anthony Obame as the Nigeria national heavyweight champion lost to the Gabonese in the first round of the men’s +80kg.
Ajayi, a debutant also fell to the superior quality of Mali’s Mohamed Fofana in the first round of the men’s -68kg.
Coach John Victor who led the team to the tournament was not too happy with the results of the team but he took solace in the fact that Nigeria will be represented in Paris.