2022 Commonwealth Games Day 2 Recap: Olarinoye wins first medal for Team Nigeria
Aruna Quadri leads men's team to table tennis QFs as ladies crash out
The 2022 Commonwealth Games Day 2 saw Team Nigeria win its first medal in the women’s weightlifting event as the Table Tennis teams rounded off their group stage campaign.
Adijat Adenike Olarinoye set a new Commonwealth Games record as she lifted a total of 203kg in the women’s 55kg weightlifting event. Africa’s number one ranked weightlifter in her category Olarinoye lifted 92kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk to win Nigeria’s first medal at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Elsewhere in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event, 19-year-old Stella Kingsley narrowly missed out on a medal after lifting a total of 170kg in the snatch and clean and jerk categories. The teenager missed out on the bronze medal by 1kg and the silver medal by 2kg.
In the men’s team table tennis event, Nigeria booked a place in the quarterfinals after they claimed a third win of the group phase with a 3-0 win over Cyprus to finish on top of Group 2 in the Commonwealth Games Day 2 action. Bode Abiodun and Olajide Omotayo defeated Losif Elia and Christos Savva 3-0 (11-4; 11-4; 11-5) in the doubles before Aruna Quadri defeated Marios Yiangou 3-2 (11-13; 11-5; 11-7; 6-11; 11-8) and Omotayo defeated Christos Savva 3-0 (11-2; 11-2; 11-3).
In the women’s team table tennis event, Team Nigeria crashed out despite putting up a valiant fight in their Group 1 meeting with England. They came back from 2-0 down before eventually losing 3-2 to bow out of the competition. First, Charlotte Bardsley and Maria Tsaptsinos defeated Offiong Edem and Fatima Bello 3-0 (11-6; 11-8; 14-12) in the doubles event before Tin-tin Ho defeated Ajoke Ojomu 3-0 (11-4; 11-9; 11-7). Edem started the fightback by claiming a 3-1 (4-11; 11-9; 13-11; 12-10) win over Tsaptsinos, and Fatima levelled the match with a 3-2 (11-8; 10-12; 6-11; 11-8; 11-4) win over Tin-tin Ho. Ojomu, however, fell to a 3-2 (11-6; 7-11; 8-11; 11-3; 9-11) defeat at the hands of Bardsley.
There was also boxing action in the Commonwealth Games Day 2. In the men’s light Middleweight boxing, Nigeria’s AbdulAfeez Osoba knocked out Bahamian fighter Carl Hield to qualify for the Round of 16 of the event.
In the women’s light Middleweight boxing, Nigeria Balance Shogbamu lost 4-1 on points to England’s Jodie Wilkinson in their Round of 16 bout to crash out of the competition.
