Nasarawa Karate Team Dazzles At North-central Zonal Championship, Finish As Third Best
The Nasarawa State Junior(U-17) Karate Team, on Sunday, returned home after finishing as third best at the Maiden edition of the Prince Sule-Iko Sani Sami/KFN North-Central Zonal Karate Championship held from 20th-22nd June, 2023, at the FCT Sports Complex, Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Garki, Abuja.
Team Nasarawa came 3rd overall best behind Kogi State and FCT Abuja who came 2nd and 1st positions separately, after scooping two Gold, five Silver, and seven Bronze medals.
Chineye Agbo won one Gold in the -59kg Girls’ Category and one Silver in the Team Kata Girls’ Cadre; Favour Moses won one Gold in the -55kg Boys’ Category, and one Bronze in the Male Team Kata; Magdalene Inji picked two Silver in the Girls’ and Team Kata, and one Bronze in the -53kg Female category; Emmanuel Ukeje scooped one Silver in the -61kg Boys’ Category and one Bronze in the Boys’ Team Kata.
Others were Jonah Yakubu who won one Silver in -68kg Boys’ Category and one Bronze in the Team Kata; Chidinma Amadi settled for one Silver in the Female Team Kata and one Bronze in the -48kg Girls’ Cadre; Boy wonder, 12-year-old Chinonso Moses, won two Bronze in the Boys’ Team Kata and Individual Boys’ Demonstration; Otuma Alexander won one Silver in the -55kg Boys’ Cadre and one Bronze in the Team Kata; while Clinton Ogorbueze won one Silver in the -55kg Male and one Bronze in the Male Team Kata.
Team Nasarawa went to the Championship with ten athletes and two officials.
Nasarawa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Jafaru Ango, alongside Permanent Secretary, Chief Barr. Isaac Danladi, and Directors of the Organisation were on ground to receive the worthy young ambassadors of the State at the office of the Commissioner on Monday.
Jafaru congratulated the team for making the State proud at the event and bringing glory and honour to the State.
He said all the Ministry is doing to meet up with the mandate of its establishment and in line with the blueprints for sports and talent development by the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration.
The Commissioner said the Ministry would continue to create a befitting environment for all sports to thrive as it is the priority of the Governor to see the State and her sports men and women excel at any sporting meet.
He promised to accord necessary support to the team and other sports teams in the State to put them in the best shape ahead of subsequent Championships to bring more laurels to the State.
Permanent Secretary, Chief Barr. Isaac Danladi, was full of praises for the young athletes, and disclosed that the Ministry would provide befitting sports facilities to the team to hold their training programmes in line with best practices.
While urging the athletes to remain disciplined and committed to their trainings and goals, Danladi applauded the Commissioner for his fatherly support to the athletes and their coaches, adding that it was his passion that drives the commitment of the athletes to go an extra mile to achieve success.
Earlier, Coach of the Team, Kingsley Enyie, thanked the Ministry for the support given to him and his lads to partake in the Championship, and pledged to continue to do his best to bring glory to the State.
Team captain, Jonah Yakubu, appreciated the Commissioner, the Permanent Secretary and the Ministry for ensuring their participation at the two-day event, with an assurance to work harder to win more medals in subsequent events.
Eche Amos, PRO, Nasarawa State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development report that nearly seventy participants drawn from Nasarawa, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Niger, Kwara States and FCT, Abuja participated in the competition..
