basketball player Ezinne Kalu, a tigress between Tokyo and Landerneau

Published on : 15/07/2021 – 13:15

« I am ready to take up this challenge. I am super enthusiastic. I’m ready to make history, to do something special. Ezinne Kalu has already signed several exploits for Nigerian sport. This 29-year-old basketball player, born in the United States, has indeed won the last two African Nations Championships (AfroBasket) and leads her national team to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup, a first for an African selection. . But the best player of Afrobasket 2019 does not intend to stop there.

« The World Cup and Afrobasket are great competitions, don’t get the wrong idea. But the Olympics are something huge, she relishes. People from all over the world will follow the Olympics. The Opening Ceremony alone will attract so much attention from millions of very different people. And playing during an event like this, representing your country, it’s just a huge thing ».

A tailor-made Olympic program

For these Games, the Nigerian hopes to win a medal. ” I think that it is possible, says the one wearing number 23, in tribute to Michael Jordan. It won’t be easy at all. It will take a whole different level of focus and preparation. We will have to play with a lot of intensity, lock in defense and try to hurt our opponents. But I think it is possible. We’ll just have to stay focused, take one game at a time, and give it 100% on and off the pitch. ».

In Tokyo, Ezinne Kalu will in any case have the right to an almost tailor-made program since her team from Nigeria will face in the first round the United States, her homeland, Japan, then France, the country where she lives. ” It’s a really difficult group, analyzes the playmaker. I think our group will be the toughest. It’s really a good thing for us to compete with the best teams. We will also face the host country. And France also has a very good team ».

A beneficial sporting exile

Ezinne Kalu knows this last point well: she has been playing in the French Championship (LFB) since 2019, on the side of Landerneau Bretagne Basket (west of France). An experience that pleases the young woman, after trips to Portugal, Hungary and Germany. ” Landerneau is really a pleasant town, she assures. People are really united there. And I enjoy a beautiful freedom there ».

So she decided to extend her adventure at Landerneau for an additional season. ” The first reason is, that with the Covid, France is one of the safest places for a professional player, because France offers many advantages to athletes. And I need this. With the Covid crisis, I wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out this summer, explains the one who has been managing since 2017 its own brand of cosmetics. The second reason is the competitiveness of the LFB. I like playing in France because I am improving there as a player. I really performed there as I played against some of the best athletes in the world. Finally, the other thing that counted in my choice was being in a country where there are Americans. It makes me feel like I’m at home ».

Play a day in WNBA

Leaving the United States, the homeland of basketball, to play in less prestigious championships has not been easy. But Ezinne Kalu did not give up on the pinnacle for any basketball player either: playing in the North American league (WNBA). ” It has always been one of my goals, she blurted out. I wasn’t drafted into the WNBA when I left college in 2015. But let’s hope the Olympics will be a bit of a stepping stone to the WNBA. Otherwise I would continue to play abroad ».

And, whatever happens, Ezinne Kalu will continue to defend the colors of Nigeria, the country she decided to wear the jersey in 2013. A choice she has never regretted. In her diary, she thus ticked September 17 and 26, 2021, dates of the start and end of AfroBasket 2021. ” Things are won in threes, launches the double defending champion. I think it’s really important for us to mark the occasion, especially in a country like Cameroon. Every time we played against the Cameroonians, it was very difficult. They are really aggressive. It will be a really tough tournament to play ».