NSC to Camp Commonwealth Games Athletes in China

Sports Minister and chairman of the National Sports Commission, Ibrahim Bio disclosed that he plans to camp Nigerian athletes for the Commonwealth Games in China or another Asian country that has similar climatic conditions with India.

The Minister who was speaking in Abuja said that the exercise will enable the selected athletes concentrate on training and acclimatize before the Games billed for October 3- 14 in New Delhi, India.

He added that his ministry will ensure that Nigeria gets good results in the Games even as the fortunes of the country's athletics has somewhat dwindled in recent times. Bio blamed the development on lack of planning and organisation of grassroots development programmes to produce new athletes.

"Once the athletes are selected for the Games, we'll will take them to Asia for camping for a period of time. We want them to acclimatise and concentrate," Bio said. On the other hand, Athletics Federation of Nigeria technical director, Sunday Bada disclosed that the Ijebu-Ode camp, which was closed for the Easter holiday, will re-open after the AFN Golden League this weekend."We want to use the performance of the athletes at the meet in Ibadan as a yardstick for selection," he said.