D’Tigress of Nigeria have beaten the Opals of Australia 75-62 in women’s basketball at the Paris Olympics, making it Nigeria’s first win since Athens 2004.
The Rena Wakama-led ladies pulled off a spirited performance to beat the Australians. They were listed as third on the competition’s power ranking, while Nigeria was named 12th.
This is the biggest upset of the Olympics so far and further solidifies the winning streak of Rena Wakama and D’Tigress.
Simone Biles makes history
Three years after the “twisties” of Tokyo, the greatest gymnast of all time returned to continue her remarkable Olympics story.
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The 27-year-old’s return to the Olympics was not just spectacular but groundbreaking on the vault, as she executed the Yuchenko double pike – becoming the first woman ever to execute the move at the Olympics.
Quick updates for Team Nigeria
Women’s Football
The Super Falcons suffered a second consecutive loss in the Paris 2024 Olympics, losing 1-0 to Spain on Sunday night at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France.
Coach Randy Waldrum made two changes to the side that started against Brazil, as Jennifer Echegini and Chinwendu Ihezuo dropped to the bench for Esther Okoronkwo and Asisat Oshoala, respectively.
Salma Paralluelo slipped past a static Nigerian defense to score in the 53rd minute, but VAR ruled the goal offside. Alexia Putellas secured the victory with an 85th-minute direct free kick, which caught Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Nnadozie, off guard.
The loss puts the Falcons at the bottom of the table with zero points, losing their first match by 1-0 to Brazil. This puts Nigeria in a tricky position going into the last game, yet they still have a chance to qualify if they defeat Japan by at least two goals and rely on Spain defeating Brazil.
Men’s Single Table Tennis
Quadri Aruna represented Nigeria in the Tennis category against Eduard Ionescu from Romania. Aruna started strong in the first three rounds, but Eduard returned with a streak for the last four rounds in a narrow win, ending the match 4-3.
Nigerian representative Olajide Omotayo went up against Noshad Alamiyan of Iran. Nigeria led by a considerable margin in the first round, but Noshad dominated the next four rounds, leading to a clear win of 4-1.
Women’s Single Table Tennis
Offiong Edem (Nigeria) went against Takahashi Bruna of Brazil in the Women’s Singles for Table Tennis. Takahashi won 4-0, dominating all four rounds, resulting in Edem’s exit from the Olympics.
Men’s Boxing
Adam Olaore (Nigeria) fought against Aibek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) for boxing qualifiers. Aibek led in all five rounds, leaving the score sheet at 5—0
Women’s Table Tennis
Olympics debutant Fatimo Bello of Nigeria bowed out after a 4–0 loss to Jia Nan Yuan of France in the Women’s round 64.
Cynthia Ogunsemilore suspended for doping
Nigerian representative for women’s lightweight boxing, Cynthia Ogunsemilore, who was scheduled to go up against Wu Shih-yi (China) in the Women’s lightweight boxing round of 16, has been suspended after testing positive in the doping test.
The boxer tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, a substance used to mask the presence of other drugs. “The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with the World Anti-Doping Code and the International Olympic Committee Anti-Doping Rules,” the International Testing Agency said on their website.
Upcoming Olympics schedule
Badminton
Anuoluwapo Opeyori (Nigeria) will go against Tobias Kuenzi (Switzerland) and up against Li Shifeng of China in the men’s singles qualifiers.
