News

03/03/2020

Egonu sounds warning to rivals

Rome, Italy, March 3, 2020 – Italian superstar Paola Egonu has sent an ominous warning to her rivals for the year ahead by claiming that a visit to Nigeria over the New Year has left her refreshed and ready to challenge for honours over the coming months.

The 21-year-old was born in Cittadella in the Veneto region in north-east Italy to Nigerian parents and she travelled to the west African country at the end of 2019 to join her family in celebrating her grandfather Ernest’s 92nd birthday.

“It was a beautiful week of vacation in which I finally spent a lot of time with my cousins,” Egonu told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. “They have been relaxing and restful hours.”

The Italian opposite has a few busy months coming up. Her club Novara have reached the CEV Champions League quarterfinals and will try to add another trophy to the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship they won in December 2019.

Then in the summer she will turn her attention to the Italy team who will compete in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Egonu has already shown her devastating ability at international level when she finished as leading scorer at the Japan 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship with 324 points in 13 matches, an average of nearly 25 points per match.

“Africa is a thought that I need during my intense sporting life,” Egonu said. “That moment when I close my eyes and think about it, its smells and its colours. This is what Nigeria means to me when I remember my holiday there and I really can't wait to go back.”