The President of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), George Ashiru, yesterday said the federation discovered 56 new taekwondoists at the maiden National Youth Games (NYG) in Abuja in December 2013.
Ashiru said in Abuja that the athletes discovered were of various age grades of the competition.
He said, of the 56 athletes, 10 had been selected to represent Nigeria at the World Junior Championships and the Youth Olympics Qualifiers, both billed for Taipei, Taiwan in March.
“The Youth Olympics is coming up in August in China and our first and most important thing is to qualify. So, we are trying to qualify for the Youths Olympics in March.
“We have discovered 56 athletes who had good performances last year at the National Youth Games and at various age group tournaments.
“We have pruned the 56 down to 10, based on best rankings on gold medals. So, we will take those 10 to the World Junior Championships and the qualifying tournament for the Youth Olympics in Taipei in March,” Ashiru said.
He said the new South Korean coach hired by the NTF would train the athletes and prepare them physically, and also psychologically build them ahead of the championships.
