Boxers seek probe of ill-treatment in Bangkok

Sports Minister, Senator John Owen Enoh, has been urged to investigatethe alleged poor condition of the nation’s boxers, who were said to have resorted to begging to survive in Bangkok, Thailand, venue of the final Olympic Games’ qualifying championship.

Yesterday, an online report, newstap.com.ng, painted a sordid picture of five Nigerian boxers at the qualifiers, who have urged the sports minister to come to their rescue in the Southeast Asian country.

The team made up of one male and four female boxers under the guidance of two coaches arrived in Thailand on May 20 for the qualifiers, which ended yesterday.

A member of the team, who pleaded anonymity, decried a situation where only $200 was given to the coaches with each boxer getting $100, saying it is grossly inadequate to sustain them throughout the qualifiers considering the high cost of living in the host country.

“I want you to help us tell the Minister of Sports Development that we are really suffering here at the qualifiers, and this accounted for why only two of us; Patricia Mbata, and Zainab Adeshina made it to the quarterfinals.

“Our problem started immediately we left Nigeria with Turkish Airways on May 19. We left the country without any allowance and spent about 10 hours in Istanbul, Turkey waiting for a connecting flight to Bangkok without any food or water.

“We know we are going to face the same ordeal on our way back to Nigeria. That is why we are crying out now,” one of the boxers said on Saturday.

“When the Secretary General of the Boxing Federation handed over the paltry allowance to us, he promised that efforts were being made for more funds to be sent to us, but 24 hours to the end of the qualifiers, we have not gotten any other money or any information