Nigeria Men’s Squash team arrives Washington, set to take on Wales
Participating Countries drop to 23 due to Visa delay
All is now set for the 2019 WSF Men’s World Squash Team Championship which begins today as team Nigeria arrives Washington DC with full hopes to make it to the top.
It was said that out of the Nigerian team, two players couldn’t make it to compete at the championship due to the unreleased visas from the American Embassy.
Uchenna Uba, Media Officer of Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF), told SportingLife that there were however alternatives to make up the team.
He also said among the four players to take part in the tournament, one seems to be a USA based player and the other was opportune to have a valid visa.
Read Also: World Championship: Visa hindering Nigeria squash team’s departure to U.S
The federation spokesman however disclosed that the few Nigerian players abroad were called upon to participate in the championship though they were not part of the trials that took place in Ilorin.
“Out of the four selects players to represent Nigeria, one is USA based, the other has a valid Visa.
“We have a couple of Nigerian players in the USA who are very good but didn’t participate in our process to select those who will represent us. We had to activate two of them to make up the team.
“We don’t like that idea but we are left with no choice,” Uba added.
To go further, Onaopemipo Adegoke and Gabriel Olufunmilayo were replaced by Adewale Amao and Ehime Ehalen.
According to Uba, “Only 23 countries are in USA for the tournament organised by world squash federation, wsf, which is made up of 88 member nations. It’s obvious that visa issues kept many out of the tournament.
“There was no playoffs to select those who will participate. Member countries are free to participate,” he added.
The team will then take on it’s first opponent- Wales today in Pool B in the opening fixture of the tournament with bright hopes for the top spot.