Augustina Ngere whose ring name is 'Tina Terror' is one of the few top Nigerian female wrestlers and current African female wrestling champion. In this interview with IFEANYI EDUZOR, she speaks on her plans to win a world title for the country before retiring from wrestling. Excerpts:
You are a wrestler married to another wrestler by name 'Big Ben Everest Jnr', how are both of you coping in the relationship considering that both of you are involved in the same sport?
We cope very well, but that does not mean that at times we do not have misunderstandings. In any relationship there are bound to be misunderstandings, but when you understand your partner very well, you settle your misunderstandings amicably and things will go well.
The most important thing in any marriage is for the couples to love themselves and things will move fine and I thank God that ever since I married my husband, who is based in the United States as a professional wrestler, our marriage has been going on smoothly to the glory of God.
You have two lovely kids, and still wrestling, doesn't it affect you as a mother?
It does not affect me in any way; rather, it gives me courage to believe I am strong and can still go further in my chosen profession. Being a mother does not in any way make me not to take my training serious especially when I am preparing for a fight because you don't expect your opponent to be soft on you.
One thing you should understand is that what makes a wrestler a world beater is being consistent in training and that is what I do at all time and it has really helped me subdue my opponents in the ring.
Do you children watch your fights; and are they not scared that their mother is a wrestler?
The answer is yes. They always watch me wrestle; sometimes they cry especially when they see me suffering punishment from my opponent, but when they see me beating my opponent, they feel happy as well. They have become use to their parents' profession and they are not scared. It is only my son that always says; mummy stop wrestling because they will kill you one day, but I keep on assuring him that nobody is going to kill his mother in the ring.
Will you encourage any of your kids to take to wrestling?
Actually, I cannot decide for them what they want to be in future because everyone has got his or her life to live. Whatever they feel to do in life, I as a mother will encourage them to do it to the best of their ability. Days have gone when parents chose careers for their children. The only thing a good parent can do is to give his child good foundation and encouragement in his chosen profession and through that way the child can excel and become a meaningful citizen of the country.
You have been the African women wrestling champion for quite some years now; do you have the intension of challenging for the world title in future?
The dream of any sports man or woman is to aspire to be a world champion and I believe I have all the qualities and strength to rule the female world of wrestling. It is because of this belief that made me to be training vigorously everyday because I believe that one day the opportunity will come for me to have a crack at the world title. When that opportunity comes, I promise Nigerians that I will not disappoint them.
However, I am using this medium to appeal to both the Federal and Imo State Government (my home State) including corporate organizations to come to my aid financially to enable me achieve that dream.
You participated in the first and second BRF Wrestlemania and now the third one is coming up very soon, what are your fans expecting from you?
I want my fans to expect the best and nothing but the best from me. I am promising them that I am not going to disappoint them. My fans should remember that during the last two editions of that international tournament, they saw the real 'Tina Terror' in action and all other wrestlers both local and foreign ones avoided me. Even the ones that tried to test my power were all stretched out of the ring in the first five minutes and that is what I am going to repeat this time around.
Do you think you have what it takes to beat some of the best foreign wrestlers that will be coming to Nigeria for that championship?
Like I explained earlier, 'Tina Terror' is a real terror in the ring and I am ready at all times to punish my opponents to submission. I have done it many times in the past and I am ready to do it again this year. I do not want to know where the wrestler comes from; whether she is from Europe, America, Asia, Caribbean, Australia or Africa, it is none of my business because I have trained well ahead of the championship and I am going to write the name of Nigeria in gold at the end of the competition.
What is your take on insinuations in some quarters that women should be banned from wrestling?
Those calling for the ban of women participating in wrestling are ignorant of what the sportsis all about. Such people should also call for the ban of women football. Having said this, I want to remind you that there is an adage that says that, "what a man can do, a woman can do it better". So, I believe women can do a lot of things better than men.
We have seen instances where women become Presidents and Prime Ministers of their countries and if such women were banned from politics in their country, they wouldn't they have been able to occupy such high offices .What I am saying is that rather than banning women from wrestling, they should be encouraged to get to the pinnacle of the sport.
Have you received any type of sponsorship or encouragement from Government or corporate organisations since you joined the sport?
The only time I received any form of financial support from my state government was when I won the African title. My state government appreciated me and gave me some money just to support me because then I was preparing to fight for the world title. But the money they gave me was not enough to take me to anywhere.
However, they tried and I quite appreciate them for that support. That is why I am still appealing to them to give me all the support towards bringing glory, not only to Imo State but Nigeria as a whole.
What made you go into wrestling and where you at any time discouraged by your parents from going into the sport?
I developed interest in the game at a very young age. And I was encouraged to take to the sport after watching great wrestlers like Ray Apollon, Mil Mascaras and Argentina Apollo on television. These wrestlers held sway in the 80's.
Initially, when I started the game, my parents and close relations where not happy seeing me becoming a wrestler, but I made them understand that it is what I wanted for myself. But as they started seeing my fights on television, then they gave their blessings and encouragement to me which has enabled me to excel.