EDO 2020: Athletes urge sports ministry on suitable time frame for NSF

Desirous of picking Tokyo Olympics qualification standard at the National Sports Festival, top Nigerian athletes have asked the sports ministry not to fix the new date beyond August 2020.

The sports ministry and Edo 2020 organisers are scouting for a new date for the National Sports Festival after the March 20 – April 2 date was scuttled by the COVID-19 worldwide sports postponements, which included the 2020 Olympics, now to run in the summer of 2021.

Athletes who are still hopeful of making world-standard performances to qualify for “Tokyo 2020” said any new date beyond august for the national sports festival will not allow their performances to be recognized by the world athletics.

Only six Nigerian athletes including Blessing Okagbare, Ese Brume, Tobi Amusan, Divine Oduduru, Raymond Ekevwo and Chukwuebuka Ebube have earned the qualification standard so far