Nigeria must take handball seriously – Ohaekwe

Udo

Udochi Ohaekwe is a member of the national women’s handball team, who plays for HC Holon in the Israeli League. She tells Idris Adesina about her career goals and challenges facing handball in Nigeria in this interview.

How would you describe the just-concluded Sam Ocheho/Injoo Invitational Handball tournament?

It was the best championship of its kind, starting from the first day till the end, I enjoyed it, most of the people that were at the second edition of the Sam Ocheho tournament also attest to it.

How will you rate the quality of the competition?

I will say it is unique. It is the best championship I have participated in so far in Nigeria. It is the first time an individual will single-handedly organise an international championship (in collaboration with Innjoo), but I give him all the required thanks.

You won two awards at the competition, the Most Valuable Player in the female category and the Best 4 Position. How do these awards make you feel?

I’m extremely happy to receive the awards given that this is our first time at the competition.

What do you feel about development of handball in Nigeria?

I feel really bad the way handball has been in Nigeria, many countries we were ahead of many years ago have caught up with us and left us where we were. Handball in Nigeria could best be said to have been moving slowly as against the speedy progress it ought to have been making every year. I strongly believe that this just-concluded Sam Ocheho tournament will go a long way in rejuvenating handball and making it a sport that people will not only want to watch or hear about but will want to play as well.

When did you start playing handball?

I started playing handball in 2006. In the first year I started playing, I travelled with the Imo State team for the National Sports Festival in Ogun State, I didn’t play nor was I registered but my coach allowed me to travel with the team for exposure, after that I developed interest and never stopped working on myself till date.

That means you started when you were in secondary school…

Yes, I began playing while I was in secondary school.

Did you play in your school’s handball team?

No I didn’t. Back then, my school didn’t have a handball team, I only participated in athletics and football. In Imo State then, we always had Games in our educational zones, students would be selected to represent each local government, at the local government area levels of the competitions. The LGA had a handball team but I wasn’t one of them until they were short of players at one of the championship venues and I was done with my own event. The coach saw that I could fit in and that was how they introduced me to the game just to fill in the gap. That was how I picked up interest in handball and since then I haven’t looked back.

When did you leave the country for Israel?

It was just a year ago after the 2015 All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.

How would you compare the game here to the one in Israel?

I can’t compare the Israeli handball to Nigerian handball because there is a lot of difference. In Israel, there are regular championships and friendly matches. But in Nigeria, competitions are not there and we only get invited to camp when competitions are near – such as the  All Africa Games and the African Women’s Nations Cup. I don’t want to sound ungrateful but I do know we all can do better in the development of handball if we try harder.

You play for HC Holon in Israel. What were you doing before joining them?

I was a student of the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, where I was studying Library and Information Science. I did my National Diploma there but while I was waiting for registration to commence at Alvan Ikoku College of Education for my degree programme, I got an offer to play in Israel. Since it was  something I always wanted to do, I put the college on hold to go to Israel because I know it’s also a better opportunity to complete my education and build a career over there.

Your club exited this season’s European Handball Championship in the second round. What are your targets for next season?

We hope to improve and do better next season so that we can be champions. It wasn’t easy for the team after losing some good players to other clubs after the first round. Although it made the rest of us work extremely hard, we couldn’t pull it through. All the same, we hope for a better team outing next season.

How was the performance of the team in the Israeli League?

The team performed really well in the Israeli women’s handball league but like I said earlier, two of the best players in the team left for another club which resulted to a minor setback for us. We however finished fourth. The other teams in our league are Hapoel Rishon Letzion, Maccabi Rishon Letzion, Hapoel Petah Tiqwa, Maccabi Arazim Ramatgan, Hapoel Ashdod and Bnei Hertzeliya.

Nigeria are not playing at the 2016 Olympics. How do you feel about that?

I feel really bad that we won’t be participating in the 2016 Olympic Games. I was thinking that the last All Africa Games  is a road to the Olympics but felt really bad when we didn’t qualify for the competition. I strongly believe we will participate and win a medal in the Olympic Games before I retire as a player.

Nigeria used to have many players playing abroad but now there are only a few of you outside. How can we get back to those days?

On the issue of having less players playing professionally, I can’t say what has caused the reduction in the numbers of players playing abroad because I have a little knowledge of what obtained in those days when those players were many abroad.

Did your parents support you when you began playing handball?

I couldn’t have gone this far without the support of my parents, they have always been there for me in every way.

As a member of the team that couldn’t win a medal in Congo last year, how do you feel about the development of the sport in Africa compared to Europe?

A viable national handball league will go a long way in rebuilding handball in Nigeria and by extension Africa. There is a popular saying that “practice makes perfection”. I believe that with constant training and playing of matches, we all can perfect our skills just like the European players.

With your target to win a medal at the Olympics before retiring, when are you planning to retire from handball?

I am not planning to retire soon. For now, retiring is not an option because my body is still very active. I know that it will get tired and there will be a time I won’t be able to do what I am doing now but I should still be around for the next Olympic Games. Male players tend to stay longer in the game than women because of their makeup but the Olympic target will keep me on.

How do you advise  players who have yet to become known in handball?

My advice to them is to be disciplined, hardworking, consistent and always play from the heart. With discipline and hard work, a player can go far in handball – not only in the sport but in everything we do.