AYG Angola 2025: Even Before The Competition we Knew we WilI be onThe Podium- Victorious Beach Volleyball GirlsI,l …Set Sights on Youth Olympics
By Clement Nwankpa Jr in Luanda
The harvest of gold by Team Nigeria continued at the ongoing Africa Youth Games Angola 2025 on Sunday as the duo of Joy Lawrence and Pamela Bawa beat Egypt 2-0 (21-16,21-18) to win the girls beach volleyball gold.
With this sorted, the excited girls have now set their sights on the Youth Olympics billed for Senegal next year. Joy Lawrence spoke for the team.
“We saw ourselves on the podium even before the competition started. We trained very hard for this and we are happy that our efforts were rewarded. We are happy to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians who watched us today and the ones back home”, she said.
She continued, “This has encouraged us to do more in future to make Nigerians happy. From here we will start preparing for the Youth Olympics. We will work hard to still be on the podium there.”
The Kaduna-based beach volleyball sensation recounted their journey to victory. “The matches were tough but our toughest match was against Egypt in this final but we resolved that we will not lose. We told ourselves that after coming this far we will not leave without the gold”, she said.
Their positive stance was corroborated by their coach John Iwerima.
His words, “It’s a privilege to be the coach of these amazing kids and I thank God for this opportunity. I was with them for two weeks in camp before this competition and I was so sure that they will be on the podium. We faced tough opposition but because we prepared tactically for different situations, we emerged victorious.”
He similarly sounds bullish ahead of the Youth Olympics.
“Our next target is the Youth Olympics in Senegal next year and I am very confident that these girls will still emerge tops at that level. I know the quality of players that we have here and with the right conditions, they are ready to shock the world.”
