COMMONWEALTH GAMES: GOLDEN START, TOUGH BATTLES FOR NIGERIA IN GLASGOW
By: Gyang Dakwo
Team Nigeria has made an encouraging start at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, with para powerlifting producing a flood of medals and weightlifting adding another podium finish, but the country has also discovered that the road to a memorable campaign will come with difficult battles.
Nigeria’s biggest success so far has come from para powerlifting, where the country secured three gold and three silver medals after a series of outstanding performances.
Esther Nworgu opened Nigeria’s gold medal account in the women’s lightweight category, scoring 119.0 points to claim the title and set a new Commonwealth Games record. Fellow Nigerian Esther Oyema completed an all-Nigeria one-two finish by taking silver with 115.5 points, while England’s Olivia Broome won bronze with 106.6 points.
Nigeria continued its dominance in the women’s heavyweight category when Folashade Oluwafemiayo produced one of the biggest moments of the Games by winning gold after breaking the world record twice during the competition. She first lifted 172kg before improving the mark with a 175kg lift, which secured the title with 134.8 points.
Rita Ferdinand added another medal for Nigeria in the same category, winning silver after recording a 158kg lift.
Roland Ezuruike came close to adding another gold medal in the men’s lightweight category after one of the closest contests of the Games. Ezuruike finished with 153.9 points, the same score as England’s Mark Swan, but the British athlete took gold after the tie was decided by the competition’s countback rule. Malaysia’s defending champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin settled for bronze.
Rilwan Idris completed Nigeria’s golden run-in para powerlifting by winning the men’s heavyweight title after producing a winning 208kg lift.
The positive momentum continued in weightlifting, where Ruth Nyong gave Nigeria another reason to celebrate by winning silver in the women’s 48kg category. Her podium finish added to Nigeria’s growing medal collection and kept alive expectations of more success in the event.
However, the competition has also delivered some setbacks, especially in boxing, where Nigeria has suffered four early exits.
Hassan Foly was the first casualty, losing 4 – 0 to Lesotho’s Refiloe Thai in the men’s 70kg Round of 32. Abdurrahman Abdulwahab also exited at the same stage in the men’s 65kg category after losing 4 – 1 to Tanzania’s Yusef Lucasi Changalewa.
David Akintola followed in the men’s 80kg category, suffering a 4 – 1 defeat to Changalewa in the Round of 32, before Ajishola Kadijat bowed out in the women’s 54kg category after a closely fought 3 – 2 split decision loss to Wales’ Helen Jones in the Round of 16.
Nigeria’s hopes in the boxing ring now rest on Patricia Mbata in the women’s 75kg category and Blessing Orakwe in the women’s 70kg category as they continue the country’s medal chase.
The basketball teams have also faced difficult moments as Nigeria’s men’s 3×3 team has endured defeats in the group stage, while the wheelchair basketball team lost its opening match against Scotland.
Attention now turns to athletics, where Nigeria hopes to add more medals through some of its leading performers. Tobi Amusan will compete in the 100m hurdles, Favour Ashe and Rosemary Chukwuma will spearhead the country’s sprint events, Samuel Ogazi will carry Nigeria’s hopes in the 400m, while Chukwuebuka Enekwechi remains one of the country’s leading contenders in the shot put.
Nigeria arrived in Glasgow with 74 athletes competing across 10 sports, and the early signs have been mixed but promising. The para powerlifters have given the country a flying start, and the challenge now is for athletics and the remaining teams to convert expectations into more podium finishes as the Games move towards the decisive stages.
