Nigeria's archery team achieved its best-ever performance at the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria, securing a record seven medals. The delegation of 18 athletes brought home one gold, five silver and one bronze, surpassing the previous best of three medals won in Tunisia.
Sholademi's Resilience on Display
Damilola Sholademi, one of Nigeria's most experienced archers, competed with borrowed equipment after his bow was lost during transit. Despite traveling through three cities and enduring a 13-hour road journey, Sholademi helped the men's compound team win silver. He described the experience as one of the toughest of his career: 'Borrowing a compound bow that you’re unfamiliar with a few minutes before shooting is like jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute. While I didn’t break my personal record, my silver medal reminded me that it’s not the bow that makes the archer; rather, it’s having the heart of an archer.'
Sholademi, who is based in the United States, is pursuing a Level 3 national coaching certification and volunteers to teach archery. He also served as Team Manager, saying, 'I couldn’t afford to show that my resolve was broken; I had to show strength and courage.'
Gold in Women's Barebow
Nigeria's only gold medal came in the women's barebow team event. Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated hosts Algeria 5-3 to become African champions. The men's compound team, comprising Sholademi, Aliyu Abubakar and Seun Emmanuel Oyeleke, defeated Algeria 205-183 in the semi-finals before losing 197-182 to Mauritius in the final, taking silver.
The Nigeria Archery Federation (NAFED) Technical Director attributed the success to years of preparation and collaboration with the ARCH Archery Club and Shooters’ Archery Club, which developed military personnel now competing for the Defence Archery team. 'We had trained them years before, and we have an excellent relationship with them,' he said.
New Identity: The Flames
The championships, held from 21 to 26 July, attracted 138 archers from 18 countries under World Archery Africa (WAAf). Following their breakthrough, the Nigerian national archery team will now compete under a new name—The Flames.
