Adekuoroye admits training challenges

TRACKING_____If there is any athlete that is feeling the brunt of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is Odunayo Adekuoroye, a six-time African champion who admitted missing competing on the mat in the last three months.

Adekuoroye’s last tournament was in February at the African Championship in Algeria, where she defeated Egypt’s Eman Essam Guda to claim her sixth continental title.

The silver medallist at the 2019 World Championship believes the pandemic has denied her the chance to hone her skills on mat as well as continue her preparation for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

“I have not been on the mat for a couple of weeks now, I have missed wrestling so much; Covid-19 has really affected sports because by now I should be somewhere training for the Tokyo Olympic Games, but I just must stay indoors and train with the little equipment I have,” Adekuoroye said in a live chat @sportsmedicine-prodessionals. “The pandemic not only affect sports men and women alone even those that sports is their source of income; even the fans all over the world. So, I think Covid-19 has really affected sports adversely.

“Before the pandemic, I trained twice daily by spending six hours in the gym but because of COVID-19 my coach can only monitor my training through video calls which is not every time. This is really missing affecting my daily routine because of the pandemic.”

In the interesting conversation with the online advisor for physical and sport-related medical issues, she emphasized the importance of medical team in training in order to avoid injury.