An Ebonyi- born African wrestling champion Pius Nwachi says he intends to establish a training centre in the state, to harness budding talents and check youth restiveness.
Nwachi who hails from Ngodo, in Afikpo North Local Government Area of the state, is known in wrestlling circles as “Super Man Nwaching”.
The heavy weight wrestler had a career record of 12 fights: 10 wins, one draw with one disqualification, in the world wrestling circle.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abakaliki that Ebonyi was blessed with budding youth talents to be groomed to excel in wrestling and other sports.
“The present realities in the country should make the government and relevant stakeholders explore all avenues to harness youths’ talents and make them self-sufficient.
“Sports, therefore, provide an ample opportunity to achieve this objective with the dearth of employment opportunities in the society,” he said.
He noted that the training centres would be in the mould of the Power Mike Training Centre in Anambra which had churned out budding talents for the country as it was where he cut his teeth to international stardom.
“I want the state government to provide me with a land to construct the centre and provide the needed logistics for the actualisation of the dream.
“My foreign partners are going to contribute to the project as it will serve as a veritable source of revenue to the government and provide jobs to the teeming youth of the state.
“The Kwara government assisted my contemporary from the state in constructing such centre and it will be a credit to Ebonyi governor in particular, to have national, continental or world champions churned out by the centre,” he said.
The 58-year old wrestler said he was still into active wrestling, having cut his professional teeth since 1985 and participated in heroic bouts in Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique among other countries.
“I featured in the African Alliance series with world stars such as Thunder God, Prince of Africa, Mac Stanza among others and featured with the great Undertaker in a wresting series in South Africa.
“I also featured in the MTN gladiators’ series where I placed second and also ventured into film acting in South Africa between 2001 and 2006,” he said.