Chukwumerijie Foundation product wins silver at Rio

Gold medalist of the 2nd Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation (CCSF) International Taekwondo Opens, Niger Republic’s Issoufou Alfaga Abdoulrazak, has followed up his 2013 exposure by winning a Silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the +80kg Weight Category.

The 6ft 9” competitor had his very first exposure to the daedo electronic system that was used at the Rio 2016 Olympics during the CCSF Opens editions held in 2013, when he won the edition.

In a historic development for West Africa, a total of three medals were won by the region. Cote D’Ivoire’s Cheick Sallah Cissé, who is the current African Champion, took it a big step forward when he won the Gold medal in the Male -80kg category by beating London 2012 Bronze Medallist, Lutalo Mohammed [8 – 6] in an epic final.

In winning the Gold medal, the 23-year old showman has become the first ever African to win an Olympic Gold medal in the sport of Taekwondo. He is also the first Ivorien to win an Olympic Gold medal.

His countrywoman, 22-year old Ruth Gbagi, who is also the African Champion won an Olympic Bronze by defeating Azerbaijan’s Farida Azizova [7 – 1] in the Bronze medal match, after she had initially narrowly lost [4 – 5 to number one ranked player in that category, France’s Haby Niare.

The double Olympic medals won the tiny West African nation marks an extraordinary climax to the investment poured into the Taekwondo development project for the past four years. The Cote D’Ivoire team is coached by local and indigenous coach, Attada Tadjou, who is half-Nigerian.

Niger Republic’s Alfaga lost to Azerbaijan’s Radik Isaev, who is also the current World and European Champion. The Azerbaijan had earlier defeated 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist, South Korea’s, Cha Don Ming [12 – 8] in the Quarter-Finals and Great Britain’s Mahama Cho [ 4 – 1] in the semi-finals.

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Nigeria will remember that 3-time Olympian, Chika Chukwumerije, defeated the newly crowned Olympic Champion [3 – 2] when they met in the Round of 16 at the 2014 Grand Prix in Manchester.

For the 22-year Alfaga, the Silver medal is the first Olympic medal ever won by Niger Republic, and has turned him into a national hero overnight. For the past year, he was coached by former German National Coach, Markus Kohlöffel, who also coached Tunisia’s Yassine Trabelsi and Senegal’s Balla Dieye in the +80kg and -80kg category respectively.

Other medals won by African athletes include Bronze medals won by Egypt’s Hedaya Wahba in the female 57kg category and Tunisia’s Oussama Oueslati in the 80kg category. Defending Olympic champion and tournament favourite in the +80kg category, Gabon’s Anthony’s Obame was defeated by Great Britain’s Mahama Cho [12 – 6] in the first round.

The total haul of five 5 Olympic medals is the most ever medal return by African athletes at the Taekwondo event of the Olympic Games.

The next edition of the bi-annual CCSF Opens will be in 2017. Perhaps, Tokyo 2020 Medallists will be unveiled at this edition.