Chika Chukwumerije
Encyclopedia
Chika Chukwumerije (born December 30, 1983) is a male taekwondo
practitioner from Nigeria. The son of Nigerian politician Uche Chukwumerije
, Chika first drew attention in 2003 during the qualifiers for the 2003 All-Africa Games
, where he eventually won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category. He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, but lost his first bout to Pascal Gentil
, the eventual bronze medal winner. Nevertheless, after a period of intensive training that was funded by his father, he became one of Nigeria's best chances for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing. He won a gold medal at the 2007 All-Africa Games
in the +80kg class and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games soon after. Although he lost to eventual silver-medal winner Alexandros Nikolaidis
in the semifinals of the +80kg event, he was entered into the repechage
round of the tournament. Here, after defeating Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan he claimed a bronze medal in the event, Nigeria's third medal of the tournament.
. His father, Uche Chukwumerije
, was a national senator and Information Minister
of Nigeria.
that were held in Abuja
, Nigeria. During the qualifications, he and partner Friday Dirisu fought hard against Lucky Ojemudia and Micheal Obiora to win the two spots in their weight categories. He won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category, along with Ngala Munayi of Kenya.
Chukwumerije was chosen for the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens at the Olympic qualifiers in Cairo
, Egypt in late January 2004. He came in second in the regional qualifications, behind only Abdelkader Zrouri
of Morocco. He finished in 11th place in the men's +80 kg
event after failing to advance beyond the preliminary round. He was defeated by Pascal Gentil
of France, the eventual bronze medalist in the event. Despite this, he was considered by several sources to be one of Nigeria's best medal prospects at the 2008 Summer Olympics
in Beijing, citing the amount of training he had undertaken and the experience that he had gained since the last Olympics. His father had paid for him, as well as fellow taekwondo practitioner Isa Adamu, to be trained in the United States and Europe and compete globally. This financial backing was unavailable to most other Nigerian athletes. Chukwumerije spent six weeks training in the United States, although the American embassy
refused to grant his training partner Adamu a visa
. They did, however, train together in Manchester
and worked with coach Osita A. Green. They also trained in Taiwan and Germany.
At the 2007 All-Africa Games
in Algiers
, Algeria, both Chukwumerije and Adamu won gold medals in taekwondo, the former in the +80 kg class. They then headed to Tripoli
, Libya, where they earned their qualification tickets for the Beijing Olympics. Despite having lauded Nigerian athletes in the past, two days before his event, he proclaimed his "disappointment" at the performance of the Nigerian national team who, at that point, had not won a single medal at the games. He did, however, praise the Nigeria national football team
, who ended up in second place in the men's tournament. The next day, however, Nigeria won bronze medals in the women's 4x100 metre relay
and the women's long jump
.
Competing in the men's +80kg event, Chukwumerije defeated Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hung
in the preliminary rounds. He defeated Mali's Daba Modibo Keïta
in the quarterfinals, but lost to Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis
, the eventual silver medal winner in the event. In the repechage
, he defeated Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan to claim one of two bronze medals. The other went to Arman Chilmanov
of Kazakhstan. In doing so, he earned an incentive offered by LG Electronics
, who offered to furnish the home of any Nigerian Olympic competitor who won a medal. In September 2009 he entered the University of Liverpool
for a one-year master's degree program in mechanical engineering.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
practitioner from Nigeria. The son of Nigerian politician Uche Chukwumerije
Uche Chukwumerije
Uche Chukwumerije was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in April 2003, representing Abia North Senatorial District....
, Chika first drew attention in 2003 during the qualifiers for the 2003 All-Africa Games
2003 All-Africa Games
The 8th All Africa Games were October 5-17, 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium...
, where he eventually won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category. He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens, but lost his first bout to Pascal Gentil
Pascal Gentil
Pascal Gentil is a French taekwondo practitioner. A three-time winner of the European Championships, four-time World Cup Champion and Olympic bronze medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and at the 2004 Summer Olympicsin Athens, Pascal Gentil is the most decorated taekwondo practitioner...
, the eventual bronze medal winner. Nevertheless, after a period of intensive training that was funded by his father, he became one of Nigeria's best chances for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing. He won a gold medal at the 2007 All-Africa Games
2007 All-Africa Games
The 9th All-Africa Games took place between 11 and 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers is the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were held there...
in the +80kg class and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games soon after. Although he lost to eventual silver-medal winner Alexandros Nikolaidis
Alexandros Nikolaidis
Alexandros Nikolaidis is an Olympic taekwondo athlete from Greece. Initially the favorite, he eventually won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics held in Athens after losing from his opponent and eventual gold medalist, Moon Dae-Sung of South Korea.On March 24, 2008 Alexandros Nikolaidis had the...
in the semifinals of the +80kg event, he was entered into the repechage
Repechage
Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...
round of the tournament. Here, after defeating Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan he claimed a bronze medal in the event, Nigeria's third medal of the tournament.
Early life
Chukwumerije was born on December 30, 1983 in Nigeria. He is a graduate in the subject of mechanical engineeringMechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
. His father, Uche Chukwumerije
Uche Chukwumerije
Uche Chukwumerije was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in April 2003, representing Abia North Senatorial District....
, was a national senator and Information Minister
Federal Ministries of Nigeria
The Cabinet of Nigeria is the Executive Branch of the Government of Nigeria.The Cabinet members are appointed by the President and report to the President....
of Nigeria.
International career
Chukwumerije first garnered attention while training for the 2003 All-Africa Games2003 All-Africa Games
The 8th All Africa Games were October 5-17, 2003 in Abuja, Nigeria. 53 countries participated in 23 sports. The main venue was the newly constructed Abuja Stadium...
that were held in Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
, Nigeria. During the qualifications, he and partner Friday Dirisu fought hard against Lucky Ojemudia and Micheal Obiora to win the two spots in their weight categories. He won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category, along with Ngala Munayi of Kenya.
Chukwumerije was chosen for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens at the Olympic qualifiers in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt in late January 2004. He came in second in the regional qualifications, behind only Abdelkader Zrouri
Abdelkader Zrouri
Abdelkader Zrouri is a Moroccan Taekwondo athlete.Zrouri competed in the men's +80 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China. In the preliminary round, he landed an axe kick on Juan Diaz of Venezuela and knocked Diaz out at 1:40 of the second round...
of Morocco. He finished in 11th place in the men's +80 kg
Taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's +80 kg
These are the results of the men's +80 kg competition in taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. A total of 16 men competed in this event, limited to fighters whose body weight was greater than 80 kilograms...
event after failing to advance beyond the preliminary round. He was defeated by Pascal Gentil
Pascal Gentil
Pascal Gentil is a French taekwondo practitioner. A three-time winner of the European Championships, four-time World Cup Champion and Olympic bronze medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and at the 2004 Summer Olympicsin Athens, Pascal Gentil is the most decorated taekwondo practitioner...
of France, the eventual bronze medalist in the event. Despite this, he was considered by several sources to be one of Nigeria's best medal prospects at the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing, citing the amount of training he had undertaken and the experience that he had gained since the last Olympics. His father had paid for him, as well as fellow taekwondo practitioner Isa Adamu, to be trained in the United States and Europe and compete globally. This financial backing was unavailable to most other Nigerian athletes. Chukwumerije spent six weeks training in the United States, although the American embassy
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
refused to grant his training partner Adamu a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
. They did, however, train together in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and worked with coach Osita A. Green. They also trained in Taiwan and Germany.
At the 2007 All-Africa Games
2007 All-Africa Games
The 9th All-Africa Games took place between 11 and 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers is the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were held there...
in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Algeria, both Chukwumerije and Adamu won gold medals in taekwondo, the former in the +80 kg class. They then headed to Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Libya, where they earned their qualification tickets for the Beijing Olympics. Despite having lauded Nigerian athletes in the past, two days before his event, he proclaimed his "disappointment" at the performance of the Nigerian national team who, at that point, had not won a single medal at the games. He did, however, praise the Nigeria national football team
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
, who ended up in second place in the men's tournament. The next day, however, Nigeria won bronze medals in the women's 4x100 metre relay
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's 4x100 metre relay
The Women's 4x100 metre relay event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 21 and 22 August at the Beijing Olympic Stadium.There were 16 NOCs competing at this event. These 16 NOCs were selected by the average of the two best marks at the qualifying period...
and the women's long jump
Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's long jump
-Qualifying round:Qualifying performance 6.75 or at least 12 best performers advance to the final.Q - Qualified by right / q - Qualified by result / NM - No Mark / NR - National Record / SB - Season Best / DQ - Disqualified-Final:...
.
Competing in the men's +80kg event, Chukwumerije defeated Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hung
Nguyen Van Hung (martial artist)
Nguyễn Văn Hùng is a Vietnamese martial artist. He is a three-time gold medalist in Taekwondo at the Southeast Asian Games. He also represented his country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in taekwondo. For his accomplishments in sport, his government granted him the Honourable First Class Labour...
in the preliminary rounds. He defeated Mali's Daba Modibo Keïta
Daba Modibo Keita
Daba Modibo Keïta is an Malian Taekwondo athlete. Keïta has competed in international competitions since 1996, and in 2007 became the Heavyweight division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in Beijing, and in 2008 competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg class.-Personal life:Keïta was...
in the quarterfinals, but lost to Greece's Alexandros Nikolaidis
Alexandros Nikolaidis
Alexandros Nikolaidis is an Olympic taekwondo athlete from Greece. Initially the favorite, he eventually won the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics held in Athens after losing from his opponent and eventual gold medalist, Moon Dae-Sung of South Korea.On March 24, 2008 Alexandros Nikolaidis had the...
, the eventual silver medal winner in the event. In the repechage
Repechage
Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...
, he defeated Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan to claim one of two bronze medals. The other went to Arman Chilmanov
Arman Chilmanov
Arman Chilmanov is a Kazakhstani Taekwondo athlete.- 2008 Olympics :Chilmanov was the other competitor in the controversial +80 kg bronze medal match against Ángel Matos of Cuba....
of Kazakhstan. In doing so, he earned an incentive offered by LG Electronics
LG Electronics
LG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...
, who offered to furnish the home of any Nigerian Olympic competitor who won a medal. In September 2009 he entered the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
for a one-year master's degree program in mechanical engineering.