Team Nigeria exerted their dominance in the boxing event at the 13th edition of the African Games in Ghana on Friday, clinching eight gold medals across different categories.
In the women’s 57kg final, Nene Ojo won Nigeria’s first gold medal in boxing, claiming the title with a walkover after Algeria’s Chahira Selmouni failed to show up at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.
Dolapo Omole won Nigeria’s second gold medal by defeating Armando Rugoberto Sigauque of Mozambique in the men’s 57kg category. Omole, who has already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics, won the but by a Referee Stop Contest (RSC).
The medal rush didn’t stop there, as Patricia Mbata defeated Tunisia’s Molka Mabrouk Ben 4-0 to win gold in the women’s 75kg event. In the men’s 92kg final, Olaore Adams overcame Kevin Kuadjovi, beating his Togolese opposition with a round-one knockout to win the gold medal and become a three-time African heavyweight champion.
Nigerian Boxers box 8 gold & 2 silver medals at #AfricanGames2023
GOLD MEDALISTS:
Ojo Joy-57kg,
Omole Dolapo-57kg,
Cynthia Ogunsemilore-60kg,
Blessing Oraekwe-70kg,
Patricia Mbata-75kg,
Jacinta Umunnakwe-81kg,
Adams Olaore-92kg,
Ifeanyi Onyekwere-92+kg, pic.twitter.com/ADOz4ssYVT— RALPH Chidozie George (@ralphcgeorge) March 23, 2024
Cynthia Ogunsemilore beat Egypt’s Rahma Mohamed Mahfouz 5-0 to win the gold medal in the women’s 60kg final; Blessing Oraekwe overpowered Lucas Alcinda Dos Santos of Mozambique 5-0 in the women’s 70kg to win gold; and Jacinta Umunnakwe beat Joel Marie Wika of the DR Congo 4-1 to win another gold medal for Nigeria in the women’s 81kg final.
Likewise, Ifeanyi Onyekwere dug deep to defeat Alo Mike Mansogo from Equatorial Guinea 4-3 in the men’s 92+ kg heavyweight category to win gold and take the country’s gold medal haul in the boxing event to eight.
Shukura Kareem and Zainab Adeshina, the other two Nigerian fighters who got to the finals of their respective events, had to settle for a silver medal each. Kareem was beaten 5-0 by Morocco’s Bertal Widad in the women’s 54kg final, while Adeshina failed to see off Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam, who won the gold medal after a 4-1 win in the women’s 50kg final.
