He told AFP in Abuja, “I feel amazing to be the first champion in Invictus Games from Africa. “Invictus means unconquered, and since we are still alive, we are still unconquered.”
The Invictus Games were established in 2014 by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who is himself a veteran, to aid in the rehabilitation of injured service members and women via athletics.
There are now 23 participating nations in the event, which features sports like weightlifting, volleyball, and table tennis.
Azuegbulam, 27, competes in sitting volleyball and other sports and earned gold in a powerlifting division.
Azuegbulam’s path has been hard.
He was a member of an army battalion in Nigeria’s northeast fighting to drive out jihadists in October 2020, where the military has been engaged in combat with Islamist extremists for more than a decade.
Azuegbulam was wounded when jihadists opened fire with an anti-aircraft gun, causing medics to amputate his leg.
“I got into a lot of things after getting hurt; I was thinking a lot of things, I was not myself; it was very tough,” he stated.
He began to get involved in sports recovery for wounded service members and veterans with the aid of the neighborhood group Nigeria Unconquered, and eventually made it onto a squad going to the Invictus Games in September.
Bobby Ojeh, director of Invictus in Nigeria, predicted that more African countries will participate in the event and claimed that Azuegbulam’s gold would inspire others.
Since 2009, the Islamist struggle in northern Nigeria has claimed more than 40,000 lives and uprooted more than 2 million people.
In many regions of Nigeria, the security forces of the nation are battling separatists and bandit gangs.
Azuegbulam, who is from the Imo state in southeastern Nigeria, found his life again via athletics.
“Thanks to athletics, I am now recovered. Nothing more than you witnessing oneself performing an action, he declared.
But he claimed that the encouragement of fellow injured service members at the Invictus Games gave him additional motivation.
He declared, “I now have new friends and new family who can support me, give me advice, and know how to help me.
The Nigerian champion said he plans to continue competing in sports after winning gold at Invictus.
Right now, I’m prepared. I am prepared to advance in any sport because I have the necessary talent. I’ll be prepared even for the Olympics, he declared.
“I intend to keep playing sports. Let me concentrate on my sports so I can keep winning.
