By Elisha Arafin
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Five students of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko(AAUA) have qualified to represent Nigeria at the World University games coming up in Chengdu, China.
This is the first time the university will achieve such feat.
The World University Games, also known as the Universiade, is a multi-sport event that holds every two years, bringing together student-athletes from around the world to compete for honours in different sporting activities.
The five Students (5) from AAUA are, Daodu Joel Eniola, Emeka Ugwu Junior, and Daramola Oluwatobi made the Taekwondo team while Damilola Oyedepo and Motunrayo Abiola qualified for Badminton.
The five students will join 95 other student athletes from 41 universities to represent the Giant if Africa in the games between July 27 and August 8.
In an interview with The Hope, the institution’s Director of Sports,Mr. Lawal Surajudeen Akorede congratulated the talented students for making the University proud.
Akorede adduced the promotion and development of sporting activities and success of the University teams to the support of the school Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olugbenga Ige.
He added that the VC has always approved training and competition allowances whenever the school is set for any competition within and outside the state, adding all student athletes have been well remunerated.
He further appreciated Prof. Ige for making AAUA one of the best universities that encouraged sport activities in Nigeria and also implored him for more support.
Akorede maintained that the university will use the feat as a spring ground to discover more talents and push them outside the world, adding that the sports unit had done several things to bring the best from the students.
“I have gone through what students are facing through, you have to scout and go down to their level in order to get the best of them. We are using the university as a spring ground to make them discover themselves as we have discovered them”.
He added that scouting and inviting good student athletes to the school team contributed to the success of the school sporting activities.
“We have been doing that to make the school sports go higher. Before now, I was at the sport complex, watching and scouting good players in order to invite them to the school team. We go as far as sports council in Akure to woo some potential athletes,” he said.
