Boxing glove. CREDIT: This Day Live
Nigeria won three gold and two silver medals at the African Elite Men’s and Women’s Boxing Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, which ended on Thursday, with all three golds coming from female boxers.
Ajishola Khadijat, Precious Anine and captain Blessing Orakwe won the gold medals, while Patricia Mbata and Ridwan Raheem settled for silver. The five medals came from a 10-member contingent.
Khadijat gave Nigeria its first gold with a 5-0 unanimous decision win over Algeria’s Malak Noir in the women’s 51-54kg final. Anine followed by beating another Algerian, Benane Djouher, in the women’s 60-65kg final.
Orakwe produced the most emphatic display of the day, stopping Kenya’s Akinyi Elizabeth by referee stoppage in the first round of the women’s 75-80kg final.
Before the final, the captain had said she was not in Nairobi to joke and would overcome anyone standing between her and the title.
Mbata missed out on gold in the women’s 70-75kg final, losing 3-2 on points to Egypt’s Aboelfead Nabila. Raheem also lost by the same scoreline in the men’s 65kg final, going down to Angola’s Bernardo Massimino Sander by split decision.
The medal haul marked a sharp recovery for the team, which lost five bouts early in the competition.
Aishat Gbadamosi, Abdulramon Abdulwahab, Emmanuel Chuwuka and Kenneth Anigboro lost to opponents from Algeria, Egypt, Kenya and Uganda respectively on Sunday, and some of the decisions drew complaints about officiating.
Raheem began the revival on Monday by beating Algeria’s Ismail Bekhsis. Khadijat, Anine and Orakwe then won their semi-finals, with Khadijat and Anine both winning 5-0 and Orakwe stopping Uganda’s Aiwine Diana in the first round. Raheem reached the final on Wednesday by beating Rwanda’s Niyonzima Pacifique on points, while Mbata had already qualified.
Cross River State head coach, Mary Obo Ekpo, had predicted that Nigeria would return home with multiple medals. The result is also a boost for the Nigeria Boxing Federation, led by its President, Olawale Edun, and Vice President, Omonlei Yakubu Imadu.