Olympic bronze medalist in taekwondo , Chika Chukwumerije revealed that he was targeting  top 10  world ranking  as part of efforts to boost Nigeria’s chances in  the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chukwumerije said in Abuja that  his world ranking improved after the December 2013 World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester, London.

“I just picked up valuable ranking points. I didn’t do as well as I wanted but before the tournament I was ranked 22nd in the world and after the tournament my ranking came up to 17th.

“So, my rest period is effectively over because after the London Olympics I took a long break and I was helping with administration, doing off-season training.

“This year, it has become very serious; I want to get back my full fitness, I am going to try and get back into the top 10 global ranking for this year.

“So, that is the motivational goal.”

According to him, the task now will be to ensure that the experience of the 2012 London Olympics does not repeat itself at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Chukwumerije, who is a board member of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), said that he would also focus on training more athletes who would take over from him.

He explained that it would be a thing of joy to see athletes win medals for the country just like he had done at different international competitions.

“I am going to be helping other athletes coming through the ranks.

“Because over the next couple of years I will probably ease out and we are going to have a couple of athletes right behind me to take up the mantle.

“So, it is a very tough battle because I am playing a dual role; it’s very challenging but I enjoy what I am doing.

“I really hope that taekwondo can keep on delivering medals from the young ones coming up.

“It’s just about passing on that knowledge, getting them to train day-by-day and helping out on a day-to-day basis to ensure that we deliver for Rio and for the Olympics after that.”