A 13-year-old swimmer from Delta State, Aidan Dumuje Abili, who won four gold medals in swimming at the just concluded 2024 National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, Delta State, has appealed to government at all levels to invest more in sports especially at the grassroots where raw talents can be discovered and nurtured into stardom.
He said by investing more in sports, the Federal, state and local governments would revive sports in primary and secondary schools across the country.
The highly talented swimmer had individual three gold medals and one relay gold medal in his second attempt at the national youth competition. He won one gold medal in 200m individual medley, one in 50m butterfly, one in 100m butterfly and capped it up with another one in 4x50m mixed medley relay.
The victory marked his second time competing in the Youth Games after an impressive outing in 2023 when he won three individual gold medals and one silver in the relay event.
Speaking after medal presentation, Abili thanked the government for putting the Games together for Nigerian youths to showcase their talents.
He urged sports managers to organise more sporting competitions that would give young talents international exposure adding that young talents like himself can be found across the country and if well trained, monitored and nurtured can win Olympic medal for Nigeria.
He also advised parents to encourage their children to participate frequently in sporting competitions adding that without his parents support and encouragement, he would not have recorded any meaningful sport achievements.
“Last year, I won three individual gold medals and one silver relay medal. This year, by God’s grace, I’ve won three individual gold medals again, and this time, a gold relay medal.
“Winning so far means a lot to me. It shows how far I’ve come and that all my hard work and sleepless nights of planning and strategising for my races have paid off.”
Abili emphasised the significant role his mother played as his role model, providing constant support and encouragement throughout his athletic journey.
“My mother is my role model. She encourages me a lot, helps me through everything and takes me to training,” he said.
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