Since 1952, Nigeria has taken part in every Olympic Games except for the boycotted 1976 Olympics. Nigerian athletes have won a total of 23 medals, mostly in athletics and boxing. The national football team won the gold medal in 1996. In 2008, following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to strip the American 4 × 400 metre relay team of their medals after Antonio Pettigrew confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs, their Nigerian rivals were awarded the gold medal. Nigeria also won a medal in the heavyweight division of taekwondo at the 1992 Summer Olympics; as this was only a demonstration sport, Emmanuel Oghenejobo’s silver did not count as an official win. In this appraisal, The Nation Sport Desk writes that apart from athletics and boxing that contributed the majority of the medals, taekwondo, weightlifting and football have earned medals for Nigeria.
Gold Agenda for Dream Team VI
Prior to 1996, Nigeria had competed and won silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, but had never laid hands on the gold medal considered to be the ultimate reward at the world’s most prestigious multi-sports event.
Football is considered by some to be “mere addition” to what should rather be a celebration of other sports owing to the fact that it has only three medals to offer compared to some other disciplines, especially swimming, were every athlete stands a chance of winning a medal. However, the followership and razzmatazz associated with football has made it a top event at the Olympics.
So, it was football that gave Nigeria one of the gold medals of Atlanta Olympics with the second coming from the ‘Golden girl’ of Nigerian Athletics Chioma Ajunwa. It took the country another 12 years to record something close to the 1996 feat with the silver medal won in 2008 in Beijing, China, by the Isaac Promise captained fotball team.
It is worthy of note that Nigeria on both occasions had to beat the best contenders to claim the converted medals. Beating Argentina and Brazil at any level of football can never be considered cheap victories going by their exploits in the round leather game. From gold in 1996 to silver in 2008 could pass for a fall in standard, making it incumbent on the Dream Team in Rio to either settle for gold or at worst, silver, as anything less would be an indication that the country has started fading into oblivion. While failing to qualify for the football event of London 2012 Olympics when Austin Eguavoen held the forte as the coach could be said to be bad, the team bounced back to reckoning by qualifying for Rio, but that feat could only make meaning if the Samson Siasia-led side battle to make it to the podium once again. Japan, Sweden and Columbia are formidable no doubt, but Nigeria, known for springing surprises and rising to the occasion when given no chance, should be able to fly past their opponents and re-enact the achievement of 1996. Although the preparation cannot be said to be 100 per cent, the team, nonetheless, played some quality warm-up matches including a friendly against host Brazil, which ended 1-0 in favour of Nigeria.
The team in Rio is strong, especially with the inclusion of John Obi Mikel, whose wealth of experience will come handy. The likes of Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi, William Troost-Ekong, Usman Mohammed, Oghenekaro Etebo and even Taiwo Awoniyi, who has proven to be a great scorer, will all bring their wealth of experience to boost the campaign for medal. Reported delay in connecting flight from the Atlanta training base in the United States (U.S.) to Rio may affect the team ahead of their first match against Japan, but hopefully, the team will rise above all challenges.
As for Coach Siasia, Rio is an opportunity to upgrade from silver to gold. With determination this is certainly achievable.
Efe Ajagba; the lone
boxer set to conquer
After announcing his emergence at the 2012 National Sports Festival (NSF) tagged: ‘Eko 2012’ by claiming silver medal for Delta State, Efe Ajagba, has endeared himself to many boxing buffs. In his first international outing at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland, Ajagba, who was nearly dropped due to inexperience, proved his doubters wrong when he claimed a bronze medal in the men’s +91kg category. The baker-turned boxer will be the sole representative of Team Nigeria in the boxing event of the Rio Olympic Games, qualifying at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Cameroon among the 10 boxers that featured for Nigeria at the tournament.
The Ughelli-born pugilist has become a force to reckon with in Africa for his inspiring performance at the 2015 African Games, where he fell Seychelles’ Keddy Agnes to claim the gold medal in the superheavyweight category.
At the OQT in Yaoundé earlier in the year, Ajagba overcame Uganda’s Michael Sekemembe and Tunisia’s Aymen Trabelsi on his way to final where he stopped Morocco’s Mohamed Arjaoui to win the sole slot for Nigeria. Ajagba is also ranked among the top 10 boxers in the superheavyweight category by International Amateur Boxing Association and will face stiff competition from world’s top two boxers – Ivan Dychko (Kazakhstan) and Tony Yoka (France) for the gold medal. Ajagba will be coached by Tony Konyegwachie.
D’Tigers
faces daunting task
The D’Tigers will be making a return to the Olympics after making their debut in the basketball event of the London 2012 Olympics. The team failed to move out of the group stage in London, but won one game against the then African champions, Tunisia and many will also remember the ill-fated games against the USA, which ended 156-73 in favour of the Americans.
However, the Nigerian team had become better under Will Voigt, winning the Afrobasket for the first time last year and putting up a decent performance at the Stankovic Cup where the team defeated China twice to finish third, losing to Argentina and France.
The team also played a two-legged friendly against Argentina in the U.S. winning one and losing the other. It also rounded off its preparation with a 111-66 point loss to America at the Toyota Centre in Houston. However, the Nigerian team will be without the services of its NBA star, Al-Farouq Aminu. He declined participation due to ‘continued and unresolved organisational challenges’ with the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF). Players that made the team are Ebi Ere, Ike Diogu, Alade Aminu, Chamberlain Oguchi, Benjamin Uzoh, Ikenna Ibekwe, Josh Akognon, Michael Gbinije, Michael Umeh, Shane Lawal, Andy Ogidi and Stan Okoye.
Voigt said: “In the past, people would look at African teams and say they’re athletic, but they have no discipline and play wild. We’ve really worked hard to change that. That was our approach at AfroBasket, and that’s our approach for Rio.”
Ranked 25th in the world, Nigeria plays Argentina in its opening Group B game on Saturday. Others in the group are Lithuania, Croatia, Spain and Brazil.
Table Tennis team
counts on Toriola’s experience
Since table tennis became part of the Olympic Games at Moscow ‘88, Nigeria remains the most consistent team that had featured at the biggest sporting event in the world. In the history of the games, Segun Toriola remains the best performer from the continent when he made it to the fourth round at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China. After the men’s team event draw on Wednesday with Team Nigeria pitted against World and Olympic Champion, China, it was clear that it is going to be rosy for the team in Brazil.
Segun Toriola, 41, has continued to receive rave review since his qualification for his seventh Olympic Games, the most by any African. Toriola’s dedication, discipline and commitment to the sport has made him one of the most decorated athletes in Africa having won 34 medals at the African Games and Championship as well as Commonwealth Games. Twenty-four of the medals are gold with seven being singles title.
Aruna QuadriI, 27, has warmed himself to the heart of table tennis buffs after becoming the first African to make the top 30 in the world. His rise from 230 to 30 in the world within nine months made him an instant global brand and this also fetched him the 2014 ITTF Star Award, as the first non-Asian to cuddle the gong. Rio is his second Olympics appearances while his debut at London 2012 was the beginning of his global resurgence in the sport. He is the only rated African player in the table tennis event in Rio, and Quadri will be the cynosure of all eyes.
Forty-year-old Olufunke Oshonaike is another Olympic veteran who will be making her sixth appearance since making her debut at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games in United States. The most decorated female table tennis player at the African Games and a mother of two will be hoping for a good finish in Brazil.
Edem Offiong, 28, is a former African Games champion who will be making her third appearance at the Olympic Games having feature at Sydney 2000 and London 2012. The beautiful-looking Cross River State-born star is not a pushover at continental level, but she needs to prove herself at global level, which the Rio Olympic Games is providing.
Debutant Bode Abiodun, 35, has become a major player in the national team. He is a respected player in Portugal and he will give Toriola and Quadri the necessary backing.
Maryam Usman on
another Olympics’ mission
Amid controversy, Maryam Usman was chosen by the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) as the country’s sole representative at the Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. With the experience of Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Usman believes she has the chance to win a medal. The 25- year-old will be competing in the women’s +75kg.
Athletics team out
to redeem image
It has indeed been a Herculean task for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to prepare the country’s athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympics .
The AFN had to deal with paucity of funds, dearth of talents, defecting athletes and the recent ban of Tosin Adeloye (a member of the women’s 4×400 relay team) by the IAAF over the use of banned substances.
However, the fastest female sprinter in Nigeria, Blessing Okagbare, who has been the country’s brightest medal prospect for many years, remains the country’s major hope in athletics, and indeed, in the entire games. Would Okagbare re-enact her performance at the Commonwealth Games where she broke a 10-year old record with a time of 10.85secs?
Although Okagbare 10.79secs was recently erased by Cote d’Ivoire’s Muriell Ahoure last June at the Star Athletics Pro-meet in Montverde, Florida, Okagbare, however, insists that she is in top form for the Olympics. Okagbare is no stranger to the Olympics, her first medal at the Olympics in Beijing, China in 2008, was a bronze in the long jump. At the London 2012 Olympics, Okagbare placed eight in the final with a time of 11.01 secs. Again, she would be competing for honours in the sprints and long jump in Rio.
Okagbare, who did not participate in many races like she did before the 2012 Games, should stand a chance of winning a medal in the 100-metre. The 27-year-old told NationSport that she is optimistic of churning out a good performance in Rio.
The Nigerian male athletics team may have gone to sleep in recent times. They have not been a force to reckon with since Olusoji Fasuba retired to join the Royal Navy in 2011. The new kid on the block, Seye Ogunlewe. Unfortunately for Ogunlewe, his best of 10:12secs may be inadequate to get him on the medals’ list. Divine Oduduru is another Nigerian male athlete who had passed through the ranks. The 19-year-old is five-time African Junior champion and he would be participating in his first Olympics.
America-born Anthon Hicks who broke the country’s national record in the 110m hurdles told NationSports that he decided to fly the Nigeria Green-White-Green colour when he discovered that he would not make the U.S team. Fortunately for him, Nigeria embraced him. He has said that his aim is to pick a medal.
The news hit the stand like a hurricane when it was announced that Nigeria’s Tosin Adeloye had been banned for eight years by the world athletics governing body, IAAF, for testing positive to banned drugs. As a result of which the 4X400m relay team was disqualified from the Games. However, the women’s 4x100m relay team will be led by Blessing Okagbare. The male Relay team had not met the qualifying time earlier.
Wrestlers face tough test
Seven wrestlers – five female and two male – remain the hope of the nation in winning medals at the Rio Olympics.
Seven-time Africa champion and team captain, Blessing Oborududu (63kg) leads the female list, which also includes, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist and World No 3, Odunayo Adekuoroye (53kg), Commonwealth champion, Aminat Adeniyi (58kg), Mercy Genesis (48kg) and Hannah Reuben (69Kg), while the two male are three-time African champion, Amas Daniel (65kg) and Soso Tamarau (97kg). They are training under the tutelage of the NWF National Coach Victor Kodei and his deputy Purity Akuh. owever, due to the paucity of fund, the wrestling team could only attend the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid last month where they won one silver and two bronze medals.
Wrestling event at the Games is scheduled to take place from 14 to 21 August at Hall 3 of the Olympic Training Center in Barra da Tijuca. Nigeria male representatives will be on the mat on the 14th, while their female counterparts will commence their campaign on the 17th.
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Hon. Daniel Igali is however optimistic that the athletes will come to party and do the country proud despite the funding challenges.
”We felt it (missing out of the medals at London 2012) four years ago but we are not going to allow that to repeat itself and the NWF has started the process of preparing these athletes few years back despite funding challenges.
“One thing we have requested from these wrestlers going to Rio, was to go and give more than hundred percent and they all know that they can’t leave the matter feeling they should have done better and they know that we have burnt thousands of hours because of this Olympics and it would be travesty if all the efforts, belief is betrayed,” he added.
Jonathan Akinyemi dreams big
Jonathan Akinyemi will be representing Nigeria at the K-1 class canoeing event at the Rio Olympics. Born on November 22, 1988 in Warrington, North-East England to a Nigerian father and a British mother, the 27 year old accountant at the London games in 2012 became the first Nigerian to compete in the canoeing event where he finished 21st in the heats.
He qualified for the Rio games after a top place finish at the African Canoe Slalom Championships held in 2015 at Sagana, Kenya starving off stiff oppositions from Morrocan and South African canoeists. Akinyemi hopes to perform better than he did in 2012 acknowledging that his poor performance in London was due to the number of penalties he gave away during his three minute run. He had amassed 60 seconds of penalties in just 190 seconds.
Debuting Ukogu hopes for the best despite neglect
Chierika Ukogu will have the honors of being the first Nigerian to compete at the Olympics rowing event. 24 year old Ukogu, a graduate of Human biology from Stanford University will be lining up in the women’s single scull event.
She had a torrid preparation for the games as she was virtually abandoned by the rowing federation and had to sponsor herself to the games after appealling for funds via the online crowdfunding platform, Gofundme.
She started rowing at 14, when she attended high school in Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Flourtown, Pennsylvania. Her journey to the games started when she attended the 2015 World Rowing Championships in Aiguebelette, France, where she got to the finals of the single skulls and placed sixth.
Ukogu, a Woman’s health researcher at the University of Pennsylvania then proceeded to Tunis for the 2015 FISA African Olympics Qualification Regatta where she won the bronze medal behind Micheen Thornycroft from Zimbabwe and the Algerian Amina Rouba, who won the gold and silver respectively.
As part of her preparation for the games, she bankrolled her training tours to France, Spain and the U.S.
