28 team Nigerian athletes land in Tokyo for Olympics

The second batch of the Nigerian contingent to the Summer Olympics arrived in Tokyo, Japan on Wednesday amidst high expectations as the commencement dates for the games draw nearer.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics had to be postponed for a year due to the prevalence of the Coronavirus pandemic that forced a global shut down. But the games now look set to begin on 23rd July.

28 athletes from the field of taekwondo, athletics, and wrestling as well as the team officials arrived in the Asian country with a lot of expectations.

Chika Chukwumerije, a member of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, said the team had to wait for four hours to observe necessary protocols before their admission into the camp in Kizarazu.

“We were at the airport for four hours. The protocol was intense. We had to go through online applications, as well as immigration and customs check.

“Also, COVID-19 tests were done and we had to wait for the results as well. It was a very stressful one. But thankfully we are at Kizarazu now.

“The Mayor of the town came to welcome us and it was nice to have that kind of reception.

“Our advance team who were here earlier did a good job in organising food for us.

“We already have Nigerian dishes waiting for us as we arrived. So, it’s 5 a.m. Tokyo time and we have all settled in our rooms and we are rearing to go”, the one time Nigeria international revealed.

Nigeria will be participating in 9 events at the games.

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