With the start of the biggest sporting event since the pandemic – the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Japanese capital is not particularly in a festive mood already – of course, due to recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country – but all is yet set for the cauldron to be finally lit at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium after a year-long wait.
Just like always, Team Nigeria will have able representation at the Games this year with sixty athletes already entered. We will see Nigeria compete in exactly ten sports including a first-time appearance in Artistic Gymnastics. We have here all you need to know about Nigeria representative(s) in each of these ten sports.
1. Artistic Gymnastics
Uche Eke will be making history as Nigeria’s first athlete to compete at an Olympic Gymnastics event when he takes to floor at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre on Saturday. Born and raised in America by Nigerian parents, 23-year-old Eke switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2018. He donned the Nigerian colours for the first time at the 2019 All-Africa Games in Rabat where he clinched Gold in the Pommel Horse event and Silver medal in the Parallel Bars. He has hopes of becoming the first African to clinch a medal in Gymnastics at the Olympics, and he will have at least six events to try out to achieve this feat.
2. Athletics
There is no gain saying that Nigeria’s best medal prospect is the athletics. The team is entered for 13 different Athletic events with stars like Ese Brume, Blessing Okagbare and Tobi Amusan sure to make a case for themselves.
3. Badminton
Three players (two male and one female) will be representing Nigeria in Badminton this year. Notably, Nigeria had failed to produce a representative in the sport for the past three Olympic editions but the trio of Godwin Olofua, Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Dorcas Adesokan will be hoping to make it worth the wait this year. Interestingly, Olofua and Opeyori will combine to compete in the men’s double – the very first time Niigeria will appear in the event at the Olympics.
4. Basketball
You must be living under a rock if you say you haven’t heard of Nigeria’s men basketball Olympic team exploits at their exhibition mini-tournament in Las Vegas earlier this month. The D’Tigers made a big statement going into Games as they the Almighty Team USA (which featured NBA stars) right in their own backyard and quickly followed that up with an equally stunning win over world no. 4 Argentina. The boys are now dark horses in the running for a medal at the Games and it’s so good to see.
Likewise, D’Tigress – the women’s basketball team – will be in the running for glory at the Games as they have shown great promise.
5. Canoe Sprint
Rising star Ayomide Bello will be representing Nigeria at the Canoe Sprint. She will compete in C-1 200m event. Back in 2019 at the All-Africa Games in Rabat, the 19-year-old swept home four Gold medals from the C-1 200m, C-1 500m, C-2 200m and C-2 500m events.
6. Rowing
Nigeria will be represented in Rowing by Esther Toko. She will row in the women’s single sculls event.
7. Swimming
17-year-old Habibat Ogunbanwo will be Nigeria’s sole representative in Swimming at the Olympics. She will compete in the women’s 100m Freestyle. She had earlier represented Nigeria at the 2018 FINA World Swimming Championships in Hangzhou, China, and at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea. She will be one of the youngest Olympians at the Games.
8. Table Tennis
Four players in Aruna Quadri, Olajide Omotayo, Funke Oshonaike and Offiong Edem will represent Nigeria in Table Tennis. For 46-year-old Oshonaike, this will be her seventh consecutive appearance at the Games having appeared in every edition since 1996. For a fact, she will become the first African woman to reach this feat when she steps out to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium hall on Saturday.
In contrast, Omotayo will be only making his Olympics debut in Tokyo.
Quadri and Omotayo will compete in the men’s singles while Oshonaike and Edem will slug it out with other top players in the women’s singles.
9. Taekwondo
Elizabeth Anyanacho is Nigeria’s sole representative in Taekwondo. She’s the first female Nigerian Taekwondo athlete to earn qualification for the Olympics in the past 16 years. She will compete in the women’s 67kg category.
10. Wrestling
Five Nigerian wrestlers including Odunayo Adekuoroye, Blessing Oburududu, Aminat Adeniyi, Adijat Idris and Ekerekeme Agiomor will fight for glory in Tokyo.
How many medals do you see Nigeria clinching at the Tokyo Games? Make your predictions on the all things Olympics this summer using our special Olympics betting page on NetBet Nigeria.
