By Hananeel Jackson/ Christy Aboghe
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Chief Daniel Igali has called for the prompt update medals table in the ongoing 21st National Sports Festival in Asaba, tagged Delta 2022.
Igali while speaking with pressmen at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, said the current medal table does not reflect the overwhelming success of team Bayelsa so far.
He said that he had told the officials of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation to promptly release the medals won each day before the next session of events.
According to him, the lateness in the release of the medal table does not portray the importance of the sports festival.
The Commissioner called on the authorities to task every federation to provide the results of events within 24 hours for the main organizing committee to have the daily updates of the table.
Igali noted that what was currently in the log, does not reflect team Bayelsa performance on two days having amassed over 60 gold medals with only 31 gold reflecting in the medals table.
The Olympic and World Wrestling Champion pointed out that the instant reward of two hundred thousand naira for gold medalists, one hundred thousand naira for silver medalists and fifty thousand naira for bronze medalists earlier promised by the Bayelsa state government were been fulfilled.
While commending Delta State for hosting this year’s spectacle, the President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation, said any referee that is found to be involved in unprofessional conduct would be punished, stressing that athletes who emerges winners in wrestling events in Asaba would automatically become champions in the weight class.
He asserted that the federation would have its national wrestling championship in March next year in Bayelsa before the African championship in April.
Team Bayelsa are currently second in the latest medals table behind hosts, Delta updated by the organizers after day six of the festival
