Wrestlers Odunayo Adekuoroye, Blessing Oborodudu and Esther Kolawole increased Nigeria’s medal haul to 16 at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after the duo claimed gold in their respective wrestling event on Friday.Team Nigeria has so far won seven gold, three silvers and six bronze medals.
Three-time world championships medallist, Adekuoroye, won her third straight gold medal at the Commonwealth Games after beating Anshu Malik from India 7-3 in the final of the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling event.Before now, Adekuoroye won gold in the 53kg freestyle category at the 2014 edition of the games in Glasgow as well as gold in the 57kg freestyle category.Malik, the top seed in her category at Birmingham 2022, started cautiously against Adekuoroye.The experienced Adekuoroye opened the scoring with a two-point throwdown and doubled her lead just before the break to take a 4-0 lead heading into the second period.
The young Indian wrestler, meanwhile, struggled to find a way through the Nigerian’s strong defence and only won her first point of the bout through a passivity penalty on Adekuoroye.
The Nigerian eventually won the bout 7-3 to win her third straight gold at the CWG. The match originally ended 6-4, but a point got swapped due to an unsuccessful challenge by Anshu’s camp after the match ended.Oborududu also edged Linda Morais from Canada in the women’s 68kg category final. The feat sees her become a two times Commonwealth Games Champion.
In the 62kg category, Esther Kolawole, also won bronze after defeating Abbie Fountain from Scotland 10-0. Sakshi Malik from India won gold while Ana Gonzalez settled for silver.In the women’s long jump qualifying round Group B, Ese Brume advanced to the next stage after placing second behind Ghana’s Deborah Acquah.
In the men’s 4x400m relay round 1, Nigeria failed to qualify for the next stage having placed fourth behind Botswana, Jamaica and Zambia.In the women’s 100m hurdles event, Tobi Amusan, qualified for the final billed for the Alexander Arena after she won her heat with a time of 12.40secs.It was Amusan’s first race since her world record feat in Oregon, United States.
Amusan will contest the final with Jamaican duo Danielle Williams, Megan Tapper, England’s Cindy Sembre, Michelle Jenneke of Australia and Devynne Charlton of Bahamas.
The Nigerian star has the chance to defend her Commonwealth Games title which she won in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.Amusan opened her 2022 season by winning the 2022 Diamond League event in Paris, were she set an African record by 0.01secs with a time of 12.41secs.
The 25-year-old has been tipped to break the 16-year-old 12.65secs Games record set by Jamaica’s Brigitte Foster-Hylton in Melbourne, Australia after running a new 12.12secs World record to win the world title in Oregon, USA last month.In Table Tennis, the duo Amadi Omeh and Olajide Omotayo beat Guyana’s Shemar Britton and Christopher Franklin 3-1 (11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5).
In the women’s singles round of 16, Offiong Edem crashed 4-1 (13-11, 11-3,11-6,9-11,11-7) to Jian Lay from Australia.
But she teamed up perfectly with Fatimo Bello in the women’s doubles event to beat the duo Priscilla Greaves and Thuraia Thomas from Guyana in three sets (11-3,11-3, 11-5).
World No.15, Aruna Quadri also defeated Gavin Rumgay of Scotland, 4-0 to progress to the quarter-finals of men’s singles event but Abiodun and Omotayo failed to advance after they lost 4-0 in their respective round of 16 games.In the mixed doubles, Bode Abiodun and Fatimo Bello lost to the duo Luu Finn and Liu Yangzi 3-0 (11-7,12-10,11-7) round of 16.
Also the duo of Omotayo Olajide and Ojomu Ajoke lost in three straight sets (11-7,11-6, 11-7) to Gnanasekaran Sathiyan and Batra Manika in the mixed doubles event.In the men’s singles classes, Nasiru Sule reached the final of the event after he edged Raj Alagar from India 3-1 (7-11,11-8,11-4,11-7).
Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi also advanced to the final after defeating India’s Sonalben Patel 3-1 in the Para Table Tennis event.In the men’s shot put final, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi failed to make podium finish after finishing fourth after a throw of 20.36m.
New Zealand’s Tom Walsh claimed gold at Alexander Stadium while Aucklander Jacko Gill, who uncorked a personal-best 21.90 to snare silver, completed a Kiwi one-two.
