Saturday, 15 February 2020

2020 Africa Championships: Bad weather holds Nigeria wrestlers in Turkey


By Akeem Lawal 
NIGERIA’S wrestling contingent to the just concluded 2020 Africa Wrestling Championships in Algiers, Algeria are yet to return to the country, no thanks to bad weather that held them back in Istanbul, Turkey.


The team that won 14 medals (7gold, 5silver and 2bronze) at the championship were initially scheduled to return to Nigeria via Turkish Airline at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, Lagos on Tuesday night.

However, the team has since been stucked in Istanbul during their stop-over due to unfavourable weather conditions since Tuesday. 

President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali who revealed the delay on his Tweeter account, commended the Turkish Airlines for taking good care of the wrestlers.

“Turkish airlines flight from Istanbul to Lagos has yet again been cancelled due to bad weather. The NIGERIA wrestling team, earlier scheduled to arrive Lagos this evening will still remain in Istanbul till the weather clears.

“Must be a harrowing experience for the team. Thank God Turkish airlines is purportedly taking good care of them,” Igali said in a tweet.

Turkey's most populated city, Istanbul has been having its share of bad weather since last month. According to reports, the city's already congested traffic came to a halt particularly during rush hours as storms and severe rainfall battered the city. Some underpasses were flooded and authorities reported that winds ripped apart the roofs of 108 buildings in the city and led to the collapse of three retaining walls.

Last Wednesday, three people were killed and 180 were injured when a plane broke into three pieces after it slammed into a runway at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport. The crash landing happened amid rainy and windy weather.

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