Nigeria's women's basketball team will travel to the Olympic Games this month without team captain Sarah Ogoke, for personal reasons, but she says she has not retired from D'Tigress.
Ogoke's absence from the 16-strong roster came as a shock when it was announced , with the Nigeria Basketball Federation issuing a statement stating that "personal reasons" were responsible for her absence.
"Regrettably, due to personal reasons, Sarah Ogoke will not be part of the team at the 2024 Paris Olympics," the statement read.
"Sarah has been a dedicated leader and inspiration to D'Tigress over the years. While this is a disappointment, we trust in our resilience and commitment to make Nigeria proud."
The skipper will be a big miss for Nigeria, both for her experience, mentality and leadership, and she was quick to add that she has not called time on her career: "I haven't retired, this is not the last you will hear of me playing basketball."
Ogoke, 34, acknowledged that it was a tough decision made in consultation with the federation: "It wasn't an easy situation or an easy decision," she said in a Twitter Spaces conversation with NBBF media.
"But we came to an agreement that for now, I'll have to take a back seat for personal reasons that maybe will be disclosed later. But for now, I really want the attention to be on the girls.
"Every effort was made for me to be there and play, but this time around, it just wasn't possible. It's not easy not playing and not being there with the team, especially after everything that we've been through in order to get the qualification.
"It's unfortunate, but in the grand scheme of things, I think this is the way that God wanted it."
While she will not be at Games, Ogoke says she will be supporting them all the way: "I'm going to do the best I can to, at the minimum, be tuned in virtually. If I can find a way to Paris, I'll try my best to be there.
"The girls are super excited. I won't lie, the girls are reaching out to me saying that it's not really the same without me, which is really hard for me to deal with. But I'll try my best to see what I can do, to really be in the stands to cheer them on but overall, it's an amazing opportunity and the girls are excited."
Ogoke took on the leadership of the team when former captain Adaora Elonu and a few other senior players were frozen out in the wake of a much publicized protest over unpaid allowances.
As team captain, she helped rebuild bridges between the players and the federation, stabilizing the team through one of their worst periods, when they were denied a chance to go the World Cup in the wake of administrative infighting back home.
She also steered them to a record fourth AfroBasket title on the bounce, in the process becoming the first Nigerian woman to win four titles before leading the team to qualify for the Games.
Ogoke said: "Winning our fourth Afrobasket and making history last July was one of our most memorable moments for me. Having that opportunity to captain my first AfroBasket was amazing and to be able to rally the team together and accomplish the task ahead by winning was a really amazing experience.
"What's better than qualifying for the Olympics, which we did in February, that was amazing as well."
In her absence, D'Tigress are most likely to be led by the returning Ezinne Kalu, a veteran of many battles in the green and white colours of Nigeria and Ogoke has given her a vote of confidence.
She said: "Ezinne is back. We are two different people. She is not going to replace my leadership but she brings her own energy, her own experience.
"The void is there but we have an amazing group of women, people that are ready to step up and do their absolute best to keep the girls going in the right direction. And I am in touch with the girls, I speak to them on a regular basis. So I am doing my part, the best that I can from my end."
Nigeria have been drawn with Australia, France and Canada and begin their journey to an Olympic medal on July 25 against the Aussies.
NIGERIA OLYMPIC ROSTER
Amy Okonkwo, Ezinne Kalu, Promise Amukamara, Elizabeth Balogun, Nicole Enabosi, Tomi Taiwo, Ifunanya Okoro, Pallas Kunayi-Akpanah, Murjanatu Musa, Lauren Ebo, Blessing Ejiofor, Solape Amusan, Rita Igbokwe, Lucy Ibeh, Adebola Adeyeye, Christeen Iwuala
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