Nigeria’s three-man fighters for the 18th African Sambo Championships in Cairo, Egypt from June third to third departed the country on Wednesday ahead of their debut at the championship.

Sambo is an offshoot of judo, jujutsu, boxing, and folk wrestling and is currently recognized by the International Olympic Committee although it is yet to be listed for demonstration at the Olympics.

Nigeria was listed among the teams that will compete at the championship following their impressive outing at the 13th African Games in Ghana, where it debuted as one of the demonstration sports.

The three medalists at the 13th African Games led by gold medallist Charity Jatau as well as silver medallist Fatima Ogbonyomi, who will both compete in the women’s category, while the only male competitor is James Chegwam, who also won bronze in Ghana.

According to the vice president of the Sambo Association of Nigeria, Sheriff Hammed, the performances of the athletes stunned the continental body, which decided to include the team in the list of participating countries heading to Egypt.