NSC: Nigerian athletes ready for Beijing Olympics

LAGOS, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian athletes are in top form for the forthcoming Beijing Olympics, Amos Adamu, Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), has assured.

"We are determined to train hard so that our athletes will do better at the Olympics, we are indeed preparing hard for the Olympics," he said in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, on Friday.

Adamu said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the impressive performance by the athletes at the Olympic qualifiers was as a result of the training they had undergone.

"Nobody gave our boxers any opportunity to qualify for the Olympics, but half of those we were preparing for the games have already qualified," he said.

Adamu stated that the commission planned to introduce bigger rewards to motivate the athletes at the games.

"We will reward the athletes handsomely, at least more than three times what we normally give them.

"Moreover, we want to let them know what is at stake. We want them to be focused for now," he said.