Team Nigeria soars to second place in Commonwealth Games table with three gold medals

TEAM Nigeria soared to second place in the medals table after the first day of competition at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow picking up three gold medals in para powerlifting and setting a new world record in the process.

Yesterday was the first day of competition following the colourful opening ceremony on Thursday and the Nigerian contingent wasted no time in getting stuck in. Team Nigeria ended the  day with three gold medals, three silver medals and a series of world-record performances that underlined the country’s dominance in para powerlifting.

Paralympian Roland Ezuruike opened Nigeria’s medal account with silver in the Men’s Lightweight Group A event after scoring 153.9 points. Ezuruike came agonisingly close to gold but narrowly missed a Commonwealth Games record 190kg lift on his final attempt, however, his effort earned him an instant $2,000 reward and an additional $3,000 bonus under the National Sports Commission’s athlete incentive programme.

Nigeria claimed its first gold medal through Esther Nworgu, who won the women’s lightweight title with a remarkable 123kg lift worth 119 points. Nworgu broke the Commonwealth Games record and returned minutes later to surpass her own mark, delighting the Glasgow crowd.

Fellow Nigerian and veteran lifter Esther Oyema completed a one-two finish for the country, taking silver with 115.5 points, while England’s Olivia Broome settled for bronze. Team captain Folashade Oluwafemiayo, then once again demonstrated her class by rewriting the women’s para powerlifting world record twice in the same competition.

She first lifted 172kg to break her previous mark before raising the bar further with an astonishing 175kg on her final attempt. Her 134.8 points secured Nigeria’s second gold medal of the day and reinforced her status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

Rita Ferdinand also etched her name into the record books in the women’s up-to-79kg category, lifting 158kg to eclipse the previous world record of 154kg held by China’s Han Miaoyu. Despite the historic feat, however, Ferdinand finished with silver after posting 128.2 points.

Nigeria’s third gold came through Riluwan Idris in the men’s heavyweight division, where his massive 208kg lift earned 132.8 points and edged England’s Matthew Harding into silver. Beyond the powerlifting arena, Nigeria’s men’s 3×3 basketball team followed up their historic opening victory over the Cayman Islands with a 21-15 defeat to Australia, with Ikechukwu Nwamu leading the scoring with nine points as they prepare for a crucial clash against New Zealand.