Driven by his love for his country and passion for the sport, a Nigerian, Ladi Alapini sponsored himself to the 5th International Archery Grand Prix held recently in Cote D’Ivoire and brought three medals back home.
Alapini, a refined athletic was based in the United Kingdom until November 2017 when he returned home with the hopes of scouting for young Nigerians who might be interested in Archery.
He later collaborated with Pinefield School, Lekki, Lagos to establish the “Lekki Archers Club.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TheNewsGuru.com on Sunday, Alapini highlighted with nostalgia how he discovered the 5th International Archery Grand Prix in Cote D’Ivoire and his immediate willingness to represent Nigeria using his financial resources.
In his words: “I came back home from the UK in Nov 2017, to introduce Archery to the Nigerian Youths, by setting up An Archery Club “Lekki Archers Club” in partnership with Pinefield School in Lekki.
We have just graduated the 1st sets of Archers on 27th March, 2018.
In the cause of training new Archers, an opportunity came up, which i quickly grabbed.
I discovered that Cote D’Ivoire was going to have their 5th International Archery Grand Prix, which means they will be inviting other African countries, especially the West African Countries.
I contacted the Nigerian Archery Federation and asked for their approval and support for us to compete in the championship, technically we got their approval and support, but financial support was a major challenge for the Federation,” Alapini explained.
However, patriotic Alapini wasn’t discouraged when the Federation refused him their financial support. He raised funds and at the risk of his live traveled by road with two other archers to Cote d’Ivoire. No official accompanied them to the competition.
The competition at at Cote D’Ivoire had six categories;
1. 50 Metres Men (Individual)
2. 50 Metres Ladies (Individual)
3. 50 Metres Team
4. 70 Metres Men (Individual)
5. 70 Metres Ladies (Individual)
6. 70 Metres Team.
“However, due to financial constraints and bureaucracy in government sector, we could not attend the competition with any of the lady Archers and officials. Not going with any official had a serious effect on us in the area officiating as we later discovered,” Alapini said regretfully.
Giving account of what transpired on the field, Alapini said: “In the 50 Metres individual (men) three of us represented Nigeria, in the eliminating round, I made it to the first three, meaning I automatically qualified for Quarter-final, the other two however could not. From Quaver-final, I made it through to Semi-final.
For both team events in 50 & 70 Metres we (Nigeria) came 2nd position in both.
We also got a medal for most dogged athlete and best fair play Archers.
Elated Alapini explained that despite the challenges the outing was impressive and also called on government to invest heavily in sports and it has a way of turning the fortune of the country around for good.
“The outing was very impressive for me, i beat my Personal Best (PB) at both distances, had a very competitive challenge and for my first time representing Nigeria in an international competition and coming back home with three medals is a very great achievement for me and the team and it will also boost the game of Archery in Nigeria,” Alapini explained.