Following the multiple medals won in the swimming events of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, South Africa has displaced Nigeria as the leading African team on the medal on Day Five of the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Australia holds grip on the top of the table with 33 gold, 22 silver and 26 bronze medals while host England is second with 26 gold, 27 silver and 14 bronze medals.
South Africa occupies fifth spot on the medal table while Nigeria, which remains the second best, is in 11th place with two gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Meanwhile, there is a ray of hope for Team Nigeria after two judokas won some of their bouts to advance to the next stage in their various weight categories.
It was Fatai Muritala who started the day for the team but he was no match to his England counterpart Lachlan Moorhead with a 10-0 loss in the men’s -81kg.
Just like Muritala, Joy Asonye who competed in the quarterfinal of women’s -70kg was beaten 10-0 by Australia’s Aoife Coughlan.
But in the repechage tie, Asonye defeated Fiji’s Shanice Takayawa 10-0, while Cecilia James also put up a good performance when she humbled her Zambian counterparts 10-0 in the elimination stage of the women’s -63kg but her run was ended by Wales’ Jasmine Hacker-Jones who beat her 10-3.
What would have been a soothing balm for Nigeria in judo was missed yesterday as Asonye lost the bronze medal contest to England’s Kelly Petersen-Pollard.
But from today, medals will begin to roll in for Team Nigeria and indeed most African countries in the athletics event with the men’s 100m take centre stage at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.