Squash is now one of the sports to feature at the maiden edition of the National Youth Games (NYG) scheduled for December 5 to 15 in Abuja.
Adamu Erena, President of the Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF), said in Abuja that the development was “a good and encouraging piece of news’’.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) had earlier picked only 13 games to feature in the competition which is being introduced to develop sports from the grassroots.
The sports earlier listed for the NYG were badminton, basketball, boxing, table tennis, tennis, football, track and field, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and handball Para-powerlifting.
NSC’s Director of Grassroots Sports Development, Malam Alhassan Yakmut, confirmed the development.
He said squash was recently added to the number of sports to feature at the NYG after the performance of the sport in recent times was considered.
“Now, we are going to have 14 sports at the Games. We were earlier planning for 13, but squash has now made it 14,’’ Yakmut said.
Erena said the inclusion of squash in the 2013 NYG was a result of hardwork.
He said the NSF was not discouraged when the sport was not listed among other sports for the Games.
“The federation kept on organising tournaments to discover new talents and did not relent. The Director-General of the NSC then saw our hardwork and readiness to bring glory to the sport.
“This made him and all the others at the NSC to reconsider their decision and include squash in the NYG,’’ the NSF president said.
He acknowledged that the number of competitions his federation organised gave the sport an edge, saying “the NSF is a very serious federation and our target is to bring glory to the NSC and Nigeria.
“I learnt that the Director-General, Gbenga Elegbeleye, called the Director of Grassroots (Yakmut) and the Minister (Bolaji Abdullahi) on the issue, and they agreed that squash should be included.’’
Erena said the development had already made squash athletes and officials in all the states of the country happy.
“As a federation, we are so happy and I am glad that our struggle did not end in vain. We were able to struggle to ensure that squash features in the Games.
“It does not speak well of a sport that such a Games is taking place and its teams are not there. The players will be discouraged.
“But now they (the players) are sure that they will participate and know what a Youth Games feels like,’’ the NSF president said.
On the expected gains from the NYG for the NSF, Erena said players for a feeder team for the country’s national senior teams would be discovered.
“This will help us when we are replacing the older ones,’’ he said.
