Chukwumerije battles for Olympic points in Grand Prix

Chika Chukwumerije

Beijing Olympics medallist, Chika Chukwumerije, will on Friday tackle Uzbekstan’s Jasur Baykuziyev in the first round of the men’s +80kg at the inaugural World Taekwondo Federation Grand Prix in Manchester,.

Chukwumerije is making a return to the mat after his last outing at the last World Championships in Mexico and he will be up against the Uzbek, who is a silver medallist at the 2012 Asian Championships.

London Olympics gold medallist, Gabon’s Anthony Obame, is ranked number one among the eight athletes rated in the +80kg class at the Grand Prix.

Chukwumerije, who is not seeded for the competition, will face the unseeded Uzbek in the first round with the likelihood of confronting the Gabonese at the semi-final stage.

President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, George Ashiru, Korea’s Sihwan Keum, who tutored the Nigerian team at the 2012 London Olympics, will coach Chukwumerije.

“Nigeria squares up against Uzbekistan in the first match in the World Taekwondo Federation’s first ever best of the best Grand Prix tournament. All 256 qualified participants from 59 countries are chasing crucial Olympic qualifying points,” Ashiru said.

The WTF Grand Prix is the first of four global Grand Prix, with final to be held at the end of 2014.

The event will feature 250 of the world’s top athletes in eight weight categories.