Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Federal Republic of Nigeria

TOWARDS harnessing the potentials of Nigerian youths, a group chaired by Senator Ben Obi has honoured Olympic medallist, Chika Chukwumerije, at a grand reception in Abuja at the weekend.

The 24-year-old Mechanical Engineering graduate of the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri, became the first Nigerian to win an Olympic medal in taekwondo with his bronze medal win at the Beijing Olympic Games in China. The reception being organised by the 17-member Chika Chukwumerije Reception Committee will use the event to appreciate Nigeria's modest performance in the taekwondo event of the tournament.

Speaking on the essence of the event, Senator Obi said: "We want to use the event to appreciate Nigeria's modest performance in Beijing, especially in taekwondo. Also, to hold up this achievement as a message to our youths that the pursuit of excellence in sports, academics and good citizenship can simultaneously be undertaken."

He urged the youths to take a cue from Chukwumerije's feat in Beijing, stating: "You don't need to be a drop-out in school to be a sports star. Academic excellence, success in sports and sound moral development can be simultaneously achieved to the maximum advantage of one another.

"Chika, a graduate of Mechanical Engineering, is moving ahead to read for his Masters Degree alongside preparations for the next World Taekwondo Championship and next Olympic Games."

The reception was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, with dignitaries drawn from across the country. Among the committee members was the former Director General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Eddie Iroh.

Chukwumerije made his second appearance at the world event and boosted Nigeria's lean medal haul in Beijing, where he competed in the men's +80kg taekwondo event and defeated Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hung in the preliminary rounds. He went on to beat world champion, Mali's Daba Modibo Ke?ta, in the quarterfinals but due to technical error, he lost to Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis, who eventually won silver medal in the event.

In the repechage, he defeated Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan to claim the bronze.

(The Guardian 09.23.2008)