Lagos, Ogun, Others for Judo, Sambo Clinic in Osun

To update the knowledge of athletes ahead of major tournaments, a one-day judo and sambo clinic has been organised by a UK-based King Timmy Judo and Sambo Sports Foundation in collaboration with Osun State Sports Council.

The exercise will take place from Friday, August 16 to 18 at Oyan Town Hall, in Osun State with Lagos and Ogun leading other contingents from the South-West states to the event which has been endorsed by the Osun State Government.

The clinic is an initiative of UK-based certified Sambo coach Rotimi Okeniyi who said that he aimed to popularise Sambo as well as update the knowledge of the athletes on new judo rules.

To encourage more participation, Okeniyi said: “We decided to organise this event to popularise the sport and also assist the southwest states with training equipment which I have been doing for years now and part of the plans is to build one of the best training facilities in Nigeria and in the southwest. Osun being my state, I also want Sambo to be popular in the state as well.

Top dignitaries including Senior Special Assistant on Sport, Culture, and Tourism to Osun State Governor, Shefiu Babatunde; Chairman, Osun State House of Assembly on Sports, Abiola Awoyeye, as well as Speaker of the State House of Assembly Wale Egbedun, will grace the event.

The father of the day is the Oloyan of Oyan, HRM Oba Kelani Adekeye Oluyeye I while national head coach Edokpolo Ihaza will be among the instructors who will handle proceedings during the clinic.

For the Vice President of the Sambo Association of Nigeria, Sheriff Hammed, the initiative would help to galvanize interest in Sambo following the successful outing of the country at the 2023 African Games in Ghana and the 2024 African Championships in Egypt. “I am so excited about this kind of initiative as Okeniyi and his team decided to improve the fortune of the sport with the clinic. This is what should be supported by all and sundry because our athletes must know the rules of the sports as well as update their knowledge to be able to compete with their counterparts in major competitions. This is commendable and we must support it because they are also going to give out the latest equipment to the participants,” Hammed said.