Recently updated on October 24th, 2022 at 03:50 pm
Shola Olowookere has emerged the overall winner of the 2017 Lagos International Taekwondo Classics. He defeated his counterpart from Ghana at the finals of the competition at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.
Shola Olowookere, a Lagos State taekwondo athlete and 300 level student of Chemistry Education, University of Lagos, said that the conduct of the competition was of international standard and an exposure to the abilities of athletes from other climes.
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Sports, Mr. Deji Tinubu who spoke during the final events of the competition said that the state government will continue to use the opportunity of the Lagos International Teakwondo Classics to expose indigent athletes to the standards of the sporting activity at the global scene.
He said that the competition provided a platform for both experienced and up-coming taekwondo athletes in Nigeria to compete against their peers in other countries.
Tinubu advised the participating athletes to continue to show interest in similar competitions, stressing that the athletes could leverage on the various opportunities made available by the state government to launch themselves to the international scene by showcasing their various talents.
Deji added that apart from the discovering and nurturing of young talents in football, the state government is also extending the opportunity of discovering young talented Lagosians in other sporting activities including taekwondo.
In the words of Mr. Deji:
“As you know that one of the cardinal focus of the Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration is in the area of Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment and Sports for Excellence, T.H.E.S.E. The present administration is seriously implementing the project T.H.E.S.E., to boost tourism, employment generation and relaxation especially for the youth.”
According to the Special Adviser, it is the resolve of the state government to use project T.H.E.S.E, to grow the Lagos economy and empower the youth through several alternative means in which sports development is an integral part.