by Kolapo Olapoju
Everyday, we learn new things!
Who could have imagined that taking a harmless drink of Zobo would be Chika Amalaha’s undoing.
The 17-year-old Nigerian weightlifter was stripped of her gold medal after failing a drug test at the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, UK.
Andrew Ekanem, the Treasurer of Nigeria Weightlifting Coaches Association has shed light on the matter, saying that Amalaha failed the drug test because of her habitual Zobo drink.
Ekanem told Brila FM that they had warned her to not drink Zobo until after the games. “It was unfortunate that Amalaha was stripped of the medal she won at the Commonwealth Games,” he said. “I could recall that after she was warned against drinking Zobo after the African Youth Games in Gaborone, Botswana last May where she won three gold medals, when we returned to Abuja for camping ahead of the Commonwealth Games, she still sneaked out to drink Zobo again.”
Unless Zobo contains some components no accepted by the ruling body, I dont see anything wrong in it. Besides Nigerians are too intelligent for such excuses. I still believe its something we take here normally that she took that was wrongly decided.