In a narrow miss, Odunayo Adekuoroye lost in the quarterfinals of the women’s wrestling 57 kg category, dashing her hopes of advancing to the semifinals on Thursday.
This defeat further dims Nigeria’s chances of winning a medal in the event, following Blessing Oborududu’s unsuccessful pursuit of a medal in the women’s freestyle 68 kg earlier this week.
After securing a Victory by Injury (VIN) against Fouzia Aouissi in the second round on Friday, Odunayo seemed poised for success in the quarterfinal against China’s Kexin Hong, initially leading 4-0.
However, Hong made a strong comeback, rapidly scoring 8 points and ultimately winning the match 10-8.
This is not the first time she has faced disappointment at this stage, as she also lost in the quarterfinals to Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson in the 2016 Olympics.
Bello and Otuedo’s Canoeing setback
Nigeria bid farewell to the women’s canoe single 200m event on Thursday, with both
Ayomide Bello and Beauty Akinaere Otuedo failing to progress to the semifinals.
Bello finished 6th in the second quarterfinal with a time of 49.24s, while Otuedo came in 8th in the 3rd heat, crossing the line in 1:01.82.
Ibadin’s Disappointment in the 800m
Edose Ibadin missed out on a spot in the men’s 800m semifinals as the Nigerian record holder finished 7th in his repechage heat with a time of 1:49.09 on Friday.
Botswana’s Kethobogile Haingura claimed the automatic spot with an impressive time of 1:45.05.
4x100m Relay Teams’ Underperformance
Nigeria’s aspirations of clinching medals in the 4x100m relay events were shattered on Thursday.
The team consisting of Favour Ashe, Kanyinsola Ajayi, Alaba Akintola, and Usheoritse Itsekiri finished 7th with a season’s best time of 38.20s in the men’s heat, falling short of qualification.
South Africa secured a spot in the final by finishing 2nd with a Season’s Best of 37.94s, while the USA emerged victorious with a time of 37.47s.
In the women’s competition, the group comprising Justina Eyakpobeyan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Tima Godless finished 6th in heat 2, achieving a Season’s Best time of 42.70s, but missing out on direct entry to the final.
Lawal’s Missed Chance in Weightlifting
Folashade Lawal narrowly missed out on a medal in women’s 59kg weightlifting, landing in 5th place with a total lift of 230kg in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk events.
Despite coming close to a podium finish, she fell short of the 3rd place by 5kg overall.
Putting in her best effort, she set a new personal record in the Clean and Jerk, surpassing it by 5 kg.
However, Lawal failed to lift on her two attempts of 103 kg, concluding the Snatch with a 100 kg lift. She will begin the Clean & Jerk with 120 kg.