It’s been a bit of a rough ride so far for Team Nigeria at the Games.
Wednesday saw the exit of The Super Falcons from the Women’s Football event while Team Captain Anuoluwapo Opeyori was aso eliminated from the Men’s Singles in Badminton.
For the Falcons, 2 narrow losses to Brazil and Spain in their previous group games meant they needed a 2 goal margin of victory over Japan to stand a chance of progressing to the Quarter- Finals. They never came close as the Asians raced into a 2 goal lead and even though striker Echegini pulled one back with a lovely strike from the edge of the box, a brilliant free-kick by Kigawa extinguished any hopes of a comeback.
A lack of a cutting edge in attack was the bane of Randy Waldrum’s team at this tournament and just one goal in three matches tells the story.
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Team Nigeria Captain, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, also saw his Olympics come to an end after a 21-17, 21-7 loss to Li Shi Feng of China in the Badminton Men’s Singles event. The defeat meant Opeyori finished bottom of the three man Group N which also included Tobias Kunz of Sweden with Li Shi Feng topping the group and advancing into the next round.
The controversy surrounding Favour Ofili’s exclusion from the 100 metres Women’s event has led to a bit of buck passing by the Nigerian authorities. Sports Minister John Enoh put out a strongly worded statement demanding answers and threatening consequences.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, insists Ofili was registered for the event and the Nigerian Olympic Committee, NOC, appears to be facing some scrutiny over the exclusion. The real story behind the incident needs to be unraveled
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The one bright spark for Team Nigeria so far at the Games, D Tigress are in action today hoping to qualify for the knockout round of the Women’s Basketball event with a win over hosts France. Their surprise victory over Australia, the 3rd ranked team in the competition has put Nigeria in a very strong position. One win from their remaining two group games will ensure qualification into the last eight.
It’s going to be a tough match against the hosts who will be backed by a vociferously passionate home support but the Nigerian team has time and again shown great resilience in difficult situations.
Go D’Tigress!!!
By Deji Omotoyinbo, in Paris
