The Nigeria Para Powerlifting Federation (NPPF) on Friday said that the body would continue to inject new athletes into its team to maintain the country’s prowess in the sport.

Are Feyisetan, Coach of the national team, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the aim was to find replacement for aging athletes that had done the country proud globally.

NAN reports that Nigeria is ranked number on in para power lifting.

“When you talk about powerlifting in the world, Nigeria is a force to reckon with and for us to maintain and sustain our lead on the world stage, we need to inject new athletes into the team.

“Nobody is a champion for life, in the next three to four years, some of our athletes who are world champions will phase out.

“For us to remain relevant in the global scene, we will have to plan ahead to achieve this,” he said.

The coach added that Paulina Okpala, a debutant, who won gold medal for the country at the African Para Powerlifting Championships in Algiers, Algeria, was among the new athletes.

“At a time, the likes of Bose Omolayo and Alice Oluwafemiayo were injected into the team but presently, we have four new athletes and one of them won gold for the country in Algiers,” he said.

NAN reports that Nigeria won 11 gold and two silver medals at the Africa Championships which also served as qualification for the 2020 Paralympics Games. (NAN)

– Sept. 14, 2018 @ 13:25 GMT |