Chris Maduewesi
Member
Chukwumerije who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics said that the failure to compete in such a tourney could scupper Nigeria's chances of qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
He further stated that it was entirely Nigeria's fault not to have participated in the event,arguing that the athletes cannot afford to be missing such majors.
“The WTF did everything right – sent information on time, got Nigeria registered and provided the platform to engage the host organisers in order to participate. It was a mistake from the official representative of the China Taekwondo Association, and it won’t be fair to bring the WTF in on this,” Chukwumerije said.
“Missing out on a G4 tournament is not funny at all because winning it will push the athletes up the charts by as much as 10 to 15 places. It means Nigeria will have to invest more to win back those lost ranking points. That means more competitions to attend, extension of training time, increase in the mental and emotional stress.
“Our athletes can’t afford to miss the majors. The focus is don’t miss the All Africa Games, don’t miss the world championships, don’t miss the Grand Prix, and do not miss the G-2s. If we do that and do relatively well, we will have two or three people automatically qualified for the Olympics. It is that straightforward” Chukwumerije was quoted as saying on The Punch.