Barely
three days after the spectacular opening ceremony of the 31st Olympic Games, at
the world famous Maracana Stadium in Rio, Gambian competitors will begin their
chase for the first-ever Olympic medal in the history of the Game today Monday.
To
start the ball rolling, Finish-based Gambian judoka Faye Alex Njie will enter
the ring today in the 73kg category of the competition.
Faye
Njie earned qualification to the Rio games after winning silver medal at the
All African Games and earning a continental quota spot from the African
championship held in Tunis in April.
The
22-year-old Gambian, who fights in the 73kg category, will face Didar Khamza of
Kazakhstan at 13.00pm (Brazil), 16.00pm (Gambia) today in the first round.
Sixty-four
judokas from all over the world will compete in this category in a long day
event.
Faye
Alex Njie - who pioneers Gambia’s Olympic debut in judo and arrived in Rio de
Janeiro on Wednesday morning companied by his finish coach - said he is proud
to represent his fatherland in the Olympic Games.
Commenting
on his first opponent, Faye said Didar Khamza is a good judoka but not
unbeatable.
The
son of Ebrima Njie of Njaba Kunda of North Bank Region, Alex, did not think
twice before choosing to wear the Gambian flag, despite a lot of pressure from
other countries.
