A taekwondo athlete, Daniel Otunoye, representing team Zamfara has been ruled out of the National Sports Festival presently holding in Asaba the Delta state capital after he slumped few minutes before his fight with his Bayelsa opponent.
Otunoye had already gotten ready to slug it out with his opponent Yiazibe Torukuru from Bayelsa when suddenly he slumped at the multipurpose indoor sports hall of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.
Although he immediately received attention from the medical personnel on the ground and later rushed to the hospital for recuperation, Otunoye was eventually ruled out of the competition on medical grounds.
Otunoye had fought earlier in the day and was a favourite to make the final before his collapse ended the championship for him.
He was already on the fight arena facing off against his opponent but fell before the opening bell was rung.
According to the health doctor in charge of the National Sports Festival, Dr. Anthony Enebe, the athlete’s condition isn’t so bad but we have to rule him out to avoid complicating it.
“The guy (Otunoye) is okay now, he dislocated his right wrist and is a known asthmatic patient, but the asthma isn’t so bad that he can’t compete in an event like this,” Enebe said.
“I think the dislocation from an earlier bout was what caused him to collapse and needed to be taken out of the fight, but he is fine now.”
Enebe added that the young athlete’s fight would not be postponed. Instead, Otunoye forfeited the bout, as his condition ruled him out of the rest of the festival.
“He can no longer make an appearance in this festival. The injury marks the end of the competition for him,” Enebe said.
One of Otunoye’s teammates, Sherifah Hassan, who was at the indoor hall when he collapsed, told our correspondent what happened on the mat.
“He didn’t complain about any pains before the fight, his opponent landed a back leg kick on his hand and as soon as it landed, he went down and started shaking,” Hassan, who checked on Otunoye at the medical centre, said.
“After a few seconds, he suddenly went still and we were scared that he was dead. Our fears heightened because the medical personnel kept touching his wrist and we thought they were checking his pulse, not knowing it was dislocated.
“I am glad to hear that he is okay now, although I am sad about the injury because I really feel he had a very good chance of winning the gold medal,” she said.
Otunoye’s opponent will move to the next round of the event.