By Solomon Nwoke
Technical Director of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) Dr Daniel Igali who is also the President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) has never ceased to exude confidence that Team Nigeria will do the nation proud in the forthcoming Olympics in Rio, Brazil next month. The Sydney 2000 Olympics wrestling gold medallist spoke extensively on his expectations from the quadrennial Games.

Excerpts:

Daniel Igali

You were in Madrid with the wrestling team for the Spanish Grand Prix, a tune-up for the Rio 2016 Olympics, what was the experience like?

We had scheduled a competition in Germany, another one in Canada (Toronto), Romania and the last was supposed to be in Madrid, the one we have just came back from, but because of the financial constraints we were not able to attend any of those tournaments until we were able to attend the one in Madrid. I can tell you that I am very impressed with the attitude of the athletes, they were in very physical shape. The only thing I observed was match rustiness which I think at the end of the day, they were able to overcome, because people who had three or four matches wrestled a lot better as the matches went on. So I am hopeful that it would be a good experience for them going forward to the Olympics.

With what you have seen of the athletes, are you really sure that Rio 2016 Games  will not go the way of London 2012?

You see, one thing I want to clarify is this; if you exposed your athletes optimally, if you train them, give them the best conditions, that is when you have put them at par with other people, that does not give them any special advantages. The fact that we were in camp for two months and they went to one competition does not in anyway mean that there is any guarantee of success. What it guarantees is that the athletes will go to Rio because they have already qualified and what we expect of them is that they will give their 100% effort. What I have always told my athletes is that if you leave that wrestling mat and you feel that you could have done more on that mat then, you have cheated yourself and the country. And they all know that they have to go to Rio and give their 100% effort.

Like how many athletes are you taking to Rio to represent Nigeria?

We have seven athletes made up of five female and two male wrestlers that  will hopefully go to Rio to represent Nigeria.

Outside wrestling, you are the chairman of the Technical Commission of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the responsibility of the Nigerian team rests on your shoulders. How set is Team Nigeria technically for the Olympics?

Well, we do know that most of the sports have almost finished their qualifications. We know that about nine  sports, but I am hearing that badminton is getting a slot and may be going to the Olympics so, we may be over 80 athletes going to the Olympics. We have a couple of teams, the Basketball and football teams going to the Olympics. We are confident, we may not have had the best preparations, but the mood in camp and the anxiety of the athletes to do the much they can for the country suggests to us that we may not come back empty handed from the Rio Olympics. We could have done more, but the obstacles we faced may not give us what we originally hoped for. However, we are a little bit confident that we’ll not come back empty handed from Rio.

You said that in Rio 2016, we’ll not come back empty handed. What gives you that impression since some of the federations that are going to represent Nigeria are groaning of lack of funds to really prepare their athletes for the Games?

You see one thing we also need to understand about preparations is that an average Nigerian thinks that when you bring athletes in an enclosed place and keep them there, like for one month, you are preparing for the Olympics. But as far as I am concerned, that is putting people in prison. Preparations started from 2012, every athlete that went to London 2012 that have also qualified for this Olympics will also use that as a defining moment for this Olympics. An athlete that went for the last Olympics, those experiences don’t go away, they stay with you.

The Commonwealth Games that we went to two years ago, the All Africa Games that we went to a year ago, the African Championship that we went to four months ago, the Olympic qualifiers that we had three months ago, are all preparations for this Olympics. Yes we have had issues with funding. We still haven’t received the funds, but the athletes have been training, so if we were not preparing nobody will qualify. If we have qualified for the Olympics that goes to show you that training has been going on.

The only grouse we have with this preparation is that wrestling, for instance, was supposed to go for four tournaments but because of funds we only went for one. Some other sports, even athletics were complaining that they had competitions lined up many of them they couldn’t go to, so what will end up happening is that if we had a target of five medals we may end up winning one or two. But it does not mean that we are starting from zero.

Team Nigeria have prepared for this Rio 2016 Olympics but not optimally, that is the only grouse even I as a stakeholder has. We could have done better, but it is not to say that we have not prepared at all. One of the worst things we can do as administrators is not for me to say, in wrestling, this weight class is going to win, athletics, this person is going to win.

The moment you say that, the other person will say, oh we are not even part of the equation and could even rob off on them and they might go there and say they are not even expecting me to do anything anyway. Yes we are not going to mention individuals that we think could win or the relay team that we think will win, but from the indices that we have, we are quite confident that we are not going to come back empty handed from Rio.

There are fears everywhere because of the level of poor preparation compared to previous Games.

You can have the best preparation without winning anything, it does not mean that someone who comes in here in the stadium and trains six hours everyday will win more than someone who comes in and trained purposefully for two hours.

We need to understand that, as I said earlier, what we needed was to follow all our programmes to the end but we were not able to do that, that is a disappointment. We also do know that the calibre of the athletes we have and even the amount of training we had, the records that we have looked at and some of the individual competitions we had with medal hopefuls from other countries and the performances we have had, makes us believe that on a good day in Rio, we’ll not come back  empty handed.

In Boxing, we have only one boxer representing the country in Rio. Are you not dismayed that the same boxing that shot Nigeria to the reckoning has hit all time low?

Not really. We would have expected boxing to qualify a few more but you also know that for the past three All Africa Games and even in the last All Africa Games, boxing brought four Gold medals for us. So it is not like boxing is completely dead. What I think about boxing was also the same issue of finances. Boxing was supposed to have gone for a few qualifying tournaments but did not have the opportunity because of funds.

They went with fewer athletes and the last one they wanted to go with more athletes they went late to the event and were not able to win, the same thing with weightlifting. Weightlifting started two years ago with their Olympics qualifiers and didn’t have funds to go for it.

As we are talking, we have only one athlete qualified   for the Games. But those are the issues that can be dealt with, it may not necessarily be the issue of falling standard of the sport but it is because of the peculiar issue of funds that has affected this country and it’s something we need to look at and resolving in the long term.

Last week the minister of sports said the joy of the Olympics is in participation and not winning medals. I don’t know whether you as an Olympian and having also won laurels do share in the minister’s opinion?

Well, that is the motto of the Olympics. The motto of Olympics is about participating, your country being represented is something that is taken seriously. But far and above that, we also have to understand that being an Olympian to qualify to go to the Olympics means that you belong to the top one percent of the elite athletes in the world.

Wrestling for instance, if we go the World championships, on the average of every weight class has about 42 to 50 people and as I am talking to you now the people that have qualified in every weight class is between 15 to 18. For you to have been in the top 15 and 18 in your class to even qualify means that you are one of the best in your class, so if you don’ t win does not necessarily make you a loser. It means that you are still one of the top athletes in your class and that’s why you even qualified to go to the Olympics. We have to understand that.

We were at the Olympics qualifying tournament in Tunisia and the only medal Chad won was in wrestling and Chad went to the World championships and there’s no tournament they have gone and were not able to qualify. The president was crying and they were even prepared to do whatever they can for us to give them one of our qualifying slots ( laughter) but we had seven, that tells you this is the most we have ever qualified going to any Olympics. So why won’t I have a certain amount of confidence.

When I came here some journalists were asking me if I am not worried that we went to the Spanish Grand Prix and the two male wrestlers did not win anything. Odunayo Adekuoroye won a bronze medal, Blessing Oborodudu and the other athlete also won a silver and a bronze medal apiece and I told them in a competition where you have 54 countries and somebody like Blessing beat number six girl in her class that is going to the Olympic 10-0, Aminat beat the number two ranked athlete to win a bronze and I should not be happy?

That I should be worried? That Adekuoroye went to a competition of 54 countries and won a bronze, I should be worried? I am very optimistic that we have better chances than we had last time.  I am not completely happy at how we prepared because I think we could have done a lot better. What we need do now is to gather around these athletes and encourage them because we are going to the Olympics.

But if you the press are writing everybody off because we did not prepare. It’s like our soldiers that are going to deal with the Boko Haram and we are writing them off that they are all going to die because they don’t have superior weapon to that of  Boko Haram terrorists.

They (athletes) will go to the Olympics, they have prepared, though not optimally. What they need now is encouragement. We have to encourage them because there is not much we can do from now to the Olympics.  We may even spoil the situation now if we don’t handle it well. So what we need to give these athletes is confidence, let them know that we are behind them, the country is behind them and that that indomitable Nigerian spirit should hold sway in Rio. And we may be surprised because the Olympics is full of surprises.

Olympics has always been about Miracles. People you never expect spring surprises. Look at what happened to Chioma Ajunwa 7.12 meters jump in Atlanta ’96. She had never ever jumped it in her life and she has never  jumped it ever since, but in an Olympic moment that spirit comes into you and you just make a leap that you never even thought possible. It’s like a miracle and you win an Olympic medal. I would rather hope that we prepare optimally and be lucky, but right now we are hoping on luck, that indomitable Nigeria spirit to come to play so that somebody or a few people can make Nigeria proud.

As the technical head of the NOC , what is your message to the team?

That they should go out there and have the confidence to face off against any foe(s), that they should go out there with the believe that Nigeria is solidly behind them. The NOC is solidly behind them and that they should have no fears about their performances in Rio because we’ ll certainly, without an iota of doubts in my mind, do better than we did in London 2012 .

Apart from all you have said about lifting of their spirits, what about their kits. Are they sure of being kitted well like other countries that will be in Rio or is it going to be a kind of ‘coat of many colours’?

From what I do know, the NOC has some kitting arrangements with a foreign firm and I am sure all those kits have already arrived. I also know that the Ministry of  Youth and Sports has been working around for kitting arrangements. Those details I don’t have but the NOC worked on some kits and they are being shipped to Abuja as we speak.

The Commonwealth Games is not a matter of the NOC. Most countries have their Commonwealth Games Federations, so it was really run by the ministry of  Youth and Sports. The NOC didn’t have as much as a firm role as it is in the Olympics.

In the Olympics, nobody can even submit the name of an athlete without the NOC. In terms of kitting, if the NOC does not approve of a kit for Nigeria, you can’t wear it at the Olympics in Rio because you have to confirm that they are accredited kits by the NOC. So I am not worried about that. But I can tell you now there will not be anything like ‘coat of many colours’ for Nigerian athletes in Rio Olympics.