The Paralympians put up a good show at the just
concluded Paralympics in London. President Goodluck Jonathan will on Saturday host
members of the Team Nigeria Special athletes at the just
concluded London Paralympics to a special reception. The President will also host the Falconets at the
reception, for their brilliant performance at the just
concluded FIFA Women U-20 Championship in Japan.
The Falconets came fourth in the competition. The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, confirmed
this to journalists at the State House. He held that the
reception will send a clear message that all athletes are
important. Speaking further on the reception, Mr. Maku contended
that the special athletes brought smiles to the faces of
Nigerians who were seriously hurt by the woeful
performance of the non-physically challenged athletes. “They have wiped away our tears. The message they
have sent is that we need a greater passion in what we
do. Their performance confirms that every citizen is
important. The reception will send a clear message that
all is important,” he said. The Minister described the performance of the female
junior football team in the FIFA Women U-20
Championship as “ventilating”, adding that “they
showed a lot of talent and defeated very great football
nations. “They have demonstrated that when women are asking
for 35 per cent they mean it. It is a clear indication what
women can do better where men have failed.” At the London Games, the Nigerian special athletes won
a total of 13 medals: six gold, five silver and two bronze
medals. Interestingly, their non-physically challenged
counterpart could not win a single medal at the main
London Olympics. Team Nigeria finished 22nd in the overall medals table
and placed third in Africa behind Tunisia and South
Africa respectively. At the Sydney Olympic Games, the special athletes also
performed well at the Paralympics by winning seven
gold, one silver and five bronze medals.
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