Athletes participating in the 12th edition of the Biennial Nigeria Police Games tagged Anambra 2020 say their determination to win gold medals in the competition was prompted by the bait of promotion to the next rank bait announced by the IGP.
Speaking to journalists at various venues of the ongoing tournament, some athletes also made passionate appeals to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Adamu Mohammed Abubakar, to increase the reward for the overall zonal winner of the event to N100m cash prize and N50m worth of equipment, arguing that such gesture will make the tournament more competitive.
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A kick boxer from zone 10, George Lucky, noted that he missed the chances of the 2008 edition when his bronze medal was not enough to earn him promotion like his counterparts that won gold during the tournament.
Lucky, who brutally picked the semi-finals ticket in a bloody clash at the ongoing games, boasted that he is mentally and physically ready to pick the gold medal. He admitted being desperate for promotion.
Similarly making an appeal, the chairman Police Cycling, CSP Abbas Abdullahi, pleaded that cash and equipment rewards would be enough motivation.
“Our request to the police authority is that there should be reward in a Game of this magnitude. For us to have a befitting game in the next edition, I don’t think a reward of N100 million will be too much for the winning zone and N50 million worth of equipment.
On the challenges facing cycling, he said: “There are multiple challenges facing cycling. First is the issue of lack of recognition. I don’t think we have given cycling the priority it deserves. The civil engineers have not taken note that they should accommodate cyclists in building roads.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police Games on Monday accelerated into speed gear with results of some of the events concluded.
In cycling, Tombrapa Grikpa, representing Force Headquarters Abuja, won Gold in 1 km after returning home in time of one minute, 58 seconds, 08 milliseconds (1:58.08).
Lindia Paul of Zone 5 Police Command picked silver after finishing second in time of 2:34.87, while Oluchi Manna of Zone 6 won bronze haven returned in time of 2:42.61.
In male category, Busari Michael of Zone 11 won gold after finishing in time of 1:52.73, while Moses Adodo of Zone 2 took the first runners-up with a time 1:53.19 to take silver and Ayuba Zarma from Zone 4 won the bronze after finishing in third place in time of 2:06.17.
In Taekwondo, Omobobola Ajayi of Force Headquarters Abuja picked gold after defeating Olarewaju Adegoke of Zone 11 in the emale Heavy Weight category.
Adegoke eventually settled for silver, while Attah Queen of Zone 5 won bronze after defeating Augusta Ogbalo of Zone 6.
In men’s football event played at the Otuocha Township Stadium, Zone 6 defeated Zone 2 by a lone goal to pick a valuable three point in their campaign for football gold.
In the other matches played at the same venue, Zone 7 humbled Zone 8 by 2-0, while Zone 9 and Zone 2 ended their encounter 0-0 in the women’s football event.
Action continues in the Nigeria Police Games on Tuesday in kickboxing, badminton, football, chess, cycling, hockey, judo, scrabble and shooting as the tournament enters day three.
