By Ime Bassey

Secretary of the Weightlifting Federation of Nigeria, Ms Uche Onwumeh has disclosed that coaches and referees of the federation will be taught on the latest techniques of the sports next year by the International Weightlifting Federation and the Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation.

Onwumeh told Saturday Vanguard Sports that the bodies decided to bring their training programme to Nigeria given the country’s continuous performances in International Championships.

“The International Weightlifting Federation and the Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation have agreed to hold one of their technical workshops for coaches and referees in Nigerian next year. This will help in improving their knowledge of the sport which in turn will aid our growth as they are the ones to officiate and scout for lifters.

“We got the nudge because of our performances in international competitions. The decision was reached at the just concluded congress held in Kampala, Uganda where the president represented the federation,” she said.

On her expectations from the lifters for the Olympic qualifiers slated for March next year, Onwumeh said, “All things being equal, we hope to qualify as we intend to start camping by January, again depending on funds because the Olympic qualifier comes up in March/April in Nairobi, Kenya,” she added.