Elizabeth Anyanacho is the first female taekwondist in Nigeria to qualify for a second consecutive Olympic Games. She achieved the feat by securing the ticket at the qualifying tournament held in Dakar, Senegal. In her maiden appearance at the Games, the 24-year-old was edged out in the first round at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by Turkey’s Nur Tartar. Drawing on the lessons learnt from that early exit, Anyanacho is taking no chances as she prepares for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France. This time, she is asking more of herself and vows to do all it takes to avoid an early departure from the Games.
Following a dominant display against Kenya’s Jully Musangi in the women’s 67kg category at the 2024 African Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament in Dakar, Senegal, Elizabeth Anyanacho secured her place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France as the sole Nigerian standard-bearer in the taekwondo event of the Games.
As against what the fans saw her do in Senegal, Anyanacho says qualifying is not a walk in the park: “It is not as easy as it looks. God has been and is the one helping me plus the training, dedication and the hard work we put into it.
“I also think I have gained a level of maturity in the sport from the last Olympic Games, which is why it looked easy on the surface; it was not at all.”
Weighting her qualification for Paris against that of Tokyo 2020, Anyanacho states: “Comparing Paris 2024 qualification to Tokyo 2020 qualification, I would say a lot has changed. My walk with God became stronger, the training became tougher, the competitions increased and much development began to set in. I started to understand the game better and my confidence level increased. I already had a good background in taekwondo; I just needed to be polished.”
Nevertheless, she adds: “I must also thank God for helping me to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. A lot of preparations went into it – the training, the competitions, and the specific things I needed to build. The support from friends and family and every little detail that was put in is cherished.”
Setting her sight on success, Anyanacho is leaving no stone unturned as she prepares for Paris 2024. The African Games medallist discloses: “There’s no such thing as too much preparation. So I would continue with what I have been doing, being consistent and intentional about every detail, that is prayers, training, more prayers and more training.”
In addition, Anyanacho admits that she is preparing for Paris with a close eye on her possible opponents at the Games.
Her words: “I have really tough opponents and I know they are training hard. I don’t envisage having any easy matches in Paris. But I will do my best and fight with all I have.”