Team Nigeria’s Hannah Rueben (left) defeated Kenya’s Emily Friday Karimi Mbogo 10-0 at the African Wrestling Championship held at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State…recently.
South Africa’s Greco-Roman coach, Matheus Geldenhuys has described Nigerians as the most-friendly people he has ever come across in the continent. Geldenhuys led South Africa to the just concluded African Wrestling Championship held at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
It came tops in the cadet freestyle, where it won two gold, two silver and four bronze medals. The southern Africa nation, however, failed to put up a good showing in the Greco-Roman category, and completely missed in the top three countries where the North Africans dominated.
Speaking to The Guardian during the closing ceremony, Geldenhuys said he had something to take home from what he saw at the championship and lessons learnt.
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“What I think we must do as Africans for the sport to grow is that we must work together. All the participating countries must work together in wrestling in order to improve the game in the whole of Africa. By this, we can compete competitively with the rest of the world.
“What I have learnt is that we must continue to work at what we are doing now in the continent. We, South Africans have a very a young team that we came to the championship with.
“These are youngsters that we must work with and with more experience we expect to start getting results from them in the nearest future. I am quite sure that in the next two to three years from now, we will start picking the results that we expect from them,” he said.
Geldenhuys, who was thrilled by the hospitality offered by the host throughout the competition, confessed that he had not seen this elsewhere in Africa.
“Nigerians, I think are the most friendly people in the whole of Africa; everywhere that I have gone to in the continent. Right from the day we arrived here and up till the end of the competition, I can’t complain of any single thing. The people are wonderful,” he stated.
Source: G Sport
