Seven-time Olympian and former African Desk Tennis queen, Funke Oshonaike, has expressed deep appreciation to Basketball legend Olumide Oyedeji and key Nigerian sports activities directors following her appointment to the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Fee.
READ ALSO: Women Basketball Camp Closes in Abeokuta, Members Urge NBBF to Enhance Grassroots Growth
Earlier within the week, IOC President Kirsty Coventry introduced Oshonaike as one in every of 5 newly appointed members of the Athletes’ Fee, a physique that represents the voice of athletes inside the Olympic Motion.
The others appointed alongside her are Soraya Aghaei Haji Agha of Iran (badminton), Husein Alireza of Saudi Arabia (rowing), Cheick Sallah Cissé of Côte d’Ivoire (taekwondo), and Colombia’s biking icon, Mariana Pajón.
Reacting to the appointment, Oshonaike reserved particular reward for Olumide Oyedeji, President of the Nigeria Olympic Athletes Fee, whom she credited for initiating and sustaining her journey to the worldwide Olympic stage.
She revealed that Oyedeji first put her title ahead for the IOC Athletes’ Fee election in Paris final yr, standing firmly by her regardless of the frustration of narrowly lacking out on the polls.
“In Paris, I obtained so many votes, but it wasn’t sufficient to get elected, and I used to be heartbroken. However you by no means stopped believing in me,” Oshonaike mentioned, noting that Oyedeji’s encouragement and unwavering help performed an important function in preserving her targeted.
Describing her appointment as a shared triumph, the desk tennis icon added that the victory belonged not simply to her, however to everybody who stood by her through the difficult moments of the journey.
Oshonaike additionally prolonged her gratitude to different stakeholders inside Nigerian sports activities, together with the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), the NOC Secretary Normal, revered broadcaster Aisha Falode, the Secretary Normal of the Nigeria Soccer Affiliation, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, and Nigerians who rallied behind her trigger.
“I’m stuffed with pleasure, delight, and gratitude. What a good looking second for my beloved nation, Nigeria,” she mentioned.
Oshonaike’s appointment marks one other important milestone for Nigeria on the worldwide sporting stage, reinforcing the nation’s rising affect inside worldwide sports activities administration and the Olympic Motion.
