Nigeria Wins First Gold at Tokyo Paralympics (Photos)

A Nigerian athlete at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympic Games, Latifat Tijani has won the country’s first gold medal.

 Twenty-two athletes represented Team Nigeria in the Tokyo 2020 games this year.

It would be recalled that the last edition, at Rio 2016 in Brazil, was the most successful outing for Team Nigeria, which became Africa’s best team and 17th overall on the medal table with eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

In Tokyo, Team Nigeria Paralympians  participate in four events: Para Powerlifting, Para-Athletics, Para-Table Tennis and Para-Rowing.

The first Paralympics debut for Team Nigeria was far back Barcelona 92, with six athletes who came back with three gold medals.

Nigeria’s largest contingent to the games was in Sydney 2000 with 31 Paralympic Athletes when Team Nigeria returned home with 13 medals.

The team captain, Lucy Ejike (44) who would be featuring in her sixth Paralympics after making her debut at Sydney 2000, has promised that the contingent would surpass the record at Rio 2016.

Ejike won a medal in each of the games she has been in, winning gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2016 and silver medals in 2000 and 2012.

The 22 athletes on the team are:

Flora Ugwunwa – Athletics – F

Iyiazi Njideka. – Athletics – F

Lauritta Onye. – Athletics – F

Nwaozu Chituru – Athletics – F

Galadima Suwaibidu – Athletics – M

Tijani Latifat. – Powerlifting – F

Ejike Lucy. – Powerlifting – F

Ibrahim Mujinat – Powerlifting – F

Omolayo Bose. – Powerlifting – F

Obiji Lovelyn. – Powerlifting – F

Oluwafemiayo Folashade -Powerlifting- F

Okpala Pauline – Powerlifting – F

Ibrahim Dauda – Powerlifting – M

Yakubu Adesokan – Powerlifting – M

Innocent Nnamdi – Powerlifting – M

Ijeoma Kingsley – Rowing – M

Fairh Obazuaye – Table Tennis – F

Tajudeen Agunbiade – Table Tennis – M

Olufemi Alabi Olabiyi – Table Tennis – M

Ahmed Koleosho – Table Tennis – M

Ogunkunle Isau – Table Tennis – M

Farinoye Victor – Table Tennis – M

Latifat Tijani, the gold medalist at the Brazzaville 2015 Africa Games and silver medalist at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, took part in the women’s 45kg powerlifting on Thursday, August 26, 2021, and came top place, winning gold.

She defeated China’s Zhe Cui to lift 107kg.