By Chris Adetayo
No checklist may ever do justice to the best athletes Nigeria has produced in six many years. Even leaving out those that got here earlier than independence (like Hogan Child Bassey and Emmanuel Ifeajuna) doesn't make it simple. Added to that is the proliferation of sports activities that many have made us happy with. Soccer often is the king of sports activities right here, however many others have completed as a lot, if no more, than soccer to place Nigeria on the world map.
That's why I selected to go for one hero per sport. One other criterion is how globally influential they had been of their sport. Being a pioneer additionally helps.
Beneath I current my 10 sporting heroes for Nigeria @ 60!
Tennis – ODIZOR “THE DUKE”.
Simply our best tennis participant. Recurrently featured within the Grand Slams within the early and mid-Nineteen Eighties, together with reaching the 4th spherical of Wimbledon in 1985. Rose to No. 52 on the earth. Nearly single-handedly, Nigeria superior to the Davis Cup World Group. A real legend!
Desk tennis – ATANDA “MANSA” MUSA
Serial African and Commonwealth Champion within the Nineteen Eighties. He succeeded Sunday Eboh and was unbeatable for years, standing shoulder to shoulder with the most effective from China and so on. His rivalry with Yomi Bankole was the tennis equal of Stationery Shops from Lagos and IICC Capturing Stars from Ibadan. Mansa Musa was an actual pleasure to look at.
Athletics – MARY ONYALI.
Extra ladies have made us proud in athletics than in another sport. And none can match Mary for sturdiness, consistency and multitude of laurels on the highest degree. Represented Nigeria in 5 Olympic Video games (that's twenty years of consistency on the high degree). An actual queen of numbers!!
Boxing – RICHARD “DICK TIGER” IHETU.
Legendary boxer. Within the days when there have been few weight courses (about 8, as a substitute of the present 24) and turning into world champion in a number of weight courses was extraordinarily uncommon, he was world middleweight champion after which gentle heavyweight. A grasp boxer of the kind we’ve not often seen.
Soccer – AUSTIN JAYJAY OKOCHA.
Go to any nation on the earth, say you're a Nigerian and the identify Jay-Jay will in all probability pop up. There have been extra profitable and award-winning footballers from this nation. However none have had the worldwide attraction, love and recognition that Jay-Jay calls for. An actual asset for Nigeria.
Golf – PETER AKAKASIAKA.
We didn't do a lot golf. Partly as a result of golf in Nigeria stays a “nation membership” sport, performed primarily by pot-bellied, middle-aged women and men in search of an outlet for networking and lengthy walks. However of the few who’ve turned professional, none have come near what Peter Akakasiaka has achieved, together with enjoying within the British Open (which is the sport's equal of the World Cup).
Wrestling – MICHAEL OKPALA “POWER MIKE”.
A family identify after we had been infants (all of us claimed we had been Energy Mike). Many years later, nonetheless Nigeria's most well-known wrestler. MIKE BAMIDELE comes shut (he was world champion for 8 years), however identify recognition and heavyweight make Energy Mike merely unparalleled.
Basketball – HAKEEM “THE DREAM” OLAJUWON.
He began enjoying basketball late in his teenagers. Nonetheless, he completed as one of many best gamers within the historical past of the sport. He’s a two-time “World Champion” and has gained each particular person award within the sport and has been deservedly inducted into the Basketball Corridor of Fame.
Weightlifting – OLIVER OROK. N
Commonwealth champion. He narrowly missed the Olympic Championship in 1984. He had the most effective “Snatch” elevate (a world file), nevertheless it took a lot out of him that he couldn't get a elevate within the “clear and jerk”. However his heroics had been rewarded with a uncommon honorary gold medal from the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC).
Badminton – SAMSON EGBEYEMI. The one member of the ten whose picture I couldn't discover. Reminiscences of him are additionally obscure, not on account of a scarcity of growth within the sport. He was African champion for about ten years (Seventies – Nineteen Eighties). Dominant participant who put the sport and Nigeria on the map.
That is my checklist. What do you suppose?
