I’m in Delta to win gold, nursing mother declares
Team Delta[ Pix By Sports247Nigeria]
Team Delta, yesterday, showed it is not willing to relinquish its number one position in the ongoing National Sports Festival as it won one more gold in addition to the four it has already won in the cycling event to make it five out of seven events contested for so far.
In the male and female 1km time trials, Delta won both gold medals. Bayelsa picked up the silver in the men’s event, Edo came third with the bronze, while Oyo picked the silver and bronze in the female event.
In the 500m female sprint, Delta’s leading cyclist, Ukpeseraye, won the gold, Deborah Alase of Rivers state picked the silver while Tawakalt Yekeen got the bronze.
Edo won her first cycling gold as Isah Momohy beat Quawan Tijani of Lagos and Emmanuel Gabriel Addo of Delta who picked silver and bronze respectively in the men’s 500m sprint.
As the rush for medals continues, some athletes are determined to shine despite the odds.
Fatima Sahidu, a nursing mother, competing in Taekwondo, said her coming to Delta 2022 is to win Gold medal. Fatimah, who is in Asaba with her five-month-old baby boy, Abubakar Sahidu, said motherhood wouldn’t deter her from achieving her dream of capturing a Gold medal.
The 27-year-old, who won a bronze medal at Edo 2020, said motherhood has not affected her preparation for the Games.
“I am fully ready and my target is the gold. Last time, I got bronze but my training has improved since the birth of my child. It has been tough training and playing my role as a mother but my husband and teammates have been helpful, taking care of him while I compete. I had a full training session yesterday after we travelled for 45 hours from Maiduguri,” she said.
Muhammad Sahidu, who doubles as coach and husband, said he is impressed with the facilities put in place by Delta State for the Games.
The Rivers 2018 bronze medalist is confident that his wife will pick the gold medal in the featherweight category.
