An eight months pregnant athlete Aminat Idrees clinched a gold medal at the ongoing National Sports Festival, in Benin City, Edo State.
Idrees won in the Mixed Poomsae category in Taekwondo, organizers said Monday, describing her achievements as "inspiring." The 26-year-old expectant mother, who could be seen in a footage shared on Twitter demonstrating different combat techniques, also picked up other medals in a non-combat simulated category of Taekwondo known as Poomsae....
"It's such a privilege for me. I just decided to give it a try after training a couple of times... It feels really good," Idrees said after the competition.
"Before I got pregnant, I had always enjoyed training, so it didn't seem different with pregnancy," she added.
A video of the visibly pregnant competitor was shared online, triggering mixed reactions on social media, with some critics suggesting the woman shouldn’t have competed due to her condition.
The expectant mother responded to online criticism saying she didn’t put her baby at risk by showing her skills at the competition.
“A lot of people don’t understand what Taekwondo is actually about,” she added.
“I feel this is an avenue to educate people about this. Taekwondo has two branches: the combat sport and Poomsae – which is a form of exercise... just displaying the hand and leg techniques in Taekwondo. I participated in a Poomsae event.
“I felt there wasn’t much risk attached to it, so I decided to give it a try. My doctor, as well as the organizing body of the games certified me fit to participate in the non-contact sport,” the champion recalled.