Former Nigerian boxer Ikechukwu Okoronkwo has criticized the Nigerian Boxing Federation for its inadequate preparation of boxers, leading to their poor performance at the Paris Olympic Games.

In an interview with Brila.net, Okoronkwo expressed his disappointment but noted he wasn’t surprised by the outcome.

He pointed out that the insufficient preparation time and flawed selection process doomed the team from the start.

“The right thing was not done because when the selection started, they were discriminating and they were fighting for the coach that would take the boxers there. They were not interested in building up the home-based athletes,” he said.

“They were looking for quick ones. So when I saw that happening, I told them, look at where you people are going and they will not be good for the Nigeria Boxing Federation and they will not be good for Nigeria.”

Okoronkwo added, “In sports, you have to train because you are building your body. If you don’t build the body properly, when it gets unnecessary stress, there will be fatigue. The person will be tired. So if you don’t build somebody well, there’s no way we perform well. The athletes will like to go there and get tired.”