Nigerian athletes in Tokyo – who were ruled ineligible to compete at the Olympics in Japan- have held a protest in the country.
They were banned from taking part in the track and field competition which begins on Friday.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) had on Wednesday ruled that a total of 20 competitors, including 10 from Nigeria, would be unable to take part in the competition because of non-compliance with out-of-competition drug testing requirements in the run-up to the games.
The athletes held placards criticising Nigerian officials, with one saying: “why should we suffer because of someone else’s negligence?”, “We are not just alternates but potential medalists,” and “All we wanted to do was compete.”
Observers have accused the Nigerian Ministry of Sports and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria of negligence and frustrating the dreams of the athletes.
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