Team Nigeria went to 2016 Olympics in Rio with much expectations, despite poor preparation. There were much talks of surpassing past records, but suddenly Nigeria’s only hope of leaving Brazil with a medal now hangs precariously on the bronze medal match between Nigeria’s U23 Dream Team VI and Honduras.
The team captained by Mikel Obi had wanted to emulate the Atlanta ’96 feat, however they were eliminated by Germany in the semifinal on Wednesday in Sao Paulo when they failed to put up a fight for a place in the final.
The Chelsea player had risked losing his place in the Blues starting eleven when he opted to lead the U23 team to fight for gold in Brazil.
He said, “We arrived in Brazil with our minds set on the gold but it’s painful that it has turned out this way. Every match played was with the mind-set to win it.
“We gave everything against Germany but luck wasn’t on our side. We will keep going for bronze, to make Nigeria proud.”
Till now, Nigeria, with a population of over 180 million black people, has not won a single medal. Due to corruption and shoddy management of sports, those in charge could not find one person in the country capable of winning something at the world stage.
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