Disqualified athletes protest in Tokyo over Ministry, NOC’s negligence

The embattled 10 disqualified Team Nigeria athletes took to the streets of Tokyo Friday to protest over the Ministry of Sports and the Nigeria Olympics Committee’s (NOC) negligence that led to their disqualification from the Tokyo Olympics.

The aggrieved athletes were on Wednesday banned from taking part in the ongoing Olympics by the Athletics Integrity Unit following their failure to meet the minimum testing requirements under Rule 15 of the Anti-doping Rules.

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Another 10 athletes from Belarus, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco and Ukraine were also disqualified.

The grouse of the athletes is that the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the Nigeria Olympics Committee, and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) failed to ensure that they (athletes) complied with the mandatory pre-games testing in line with the laid done rules and regulations.

During the protest, the affected athletes mostly from field and track events carried different placards with inscriptions like “We are not just alternates but potential medalists”.

“All we wanted to do is simple.” “Why should we suffer for someone else’s negligence?”.

Already the Ministry of Sports and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) have accepted responsibility for the unfortunate situation.a