Musa Nimrod, president of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation, has commended Nigeria’s beach volleyball players for making the country proud after winning gold on Sunday at the ongoing African Youth Games in Angola.

Mr Nimrod, who also serves as president of the Confederation of African Volleyball Beach Volleyball Commission, described the victory as significant compensation for Nigeria’s absence from two previous World Championships held in Qatar and Australia.

He said Nigeria was rapidly emerging as a continental powerhouse in beach volleyball, citing the women’s team’s consistent, impressive performances.

Mr Nimrod said that the long-term goal of the Nigeria Beach Volleyball Commission would be to secure qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

He said that the country narrowly missed out after finishing second in the last two Olympic qualification campaigns.

He expressed optimism that beach volleyball would continue to win medals for Nigeria at both continental and intercontinental competitions.

The fourth African Youth Games, which began on December 10, will end on December 20.

The tournament recorded a historic milestone when Angola became the first Lusophone country to host them.

Nigeria’s contingent to the tournament comprised 86 athletes competing in 12 sports, including athletics, badminton, boxing, beach volleyball, cycling, and judo. Others are golf, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, and weightlifting.

Competitions are being staged across six host cities, including Luanda, Benguela, and Bengo, bringing together young athletes aged 14 to 17 from up to 54 African countries.

(NAN)