Nigeria has recorded its best-ever performance at the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria, winning seven medals, including a historic first team gold, to underline the country’s growing status in continental archery.
The Nigerian contingent returned with one gold, five silver and one bronze medal, surpassing previous performances at the championships and marking a significant milestone for the sport.
The country’s landmark victory came in the barebow women’s team event, where Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated hosts Algeria 5-3 in the final to claim Nigeria’s first-ever continental team title.
Adekogbe emerged as Nigeria’s standout athlete, winning three medals during the competition. In addition to the historic team gold, she secured silver in the individual barebow women’s event after losing to Algeria’s Marwa Rahmoun in the final. She also claimed another silver in the barebow mixed team event alongside Abubakar Usman.
Usman added a second silver after helping the Nigerian barebow men’s team, alongside Abdul Rahman Obasa and Abdulbasit Sanni, reach the final before finishing runners-up to Algeria.
Nigeria also impressed in the compound category, collecting three more medals.
The compound men’s team of Aliyu Abubakar, Seun Emmanuel Oyeleke and Damilola Bartholomew Sholademi defeated Algeria 205-183 in the semi-finals before settling for silver after losing to Mauritius in the final.
The compound mixed team of Yvonne Hareke Evans-Uhegbu and Oyeleke also won silver following a narrow 142-138 defeat to Namibia in the final after overcoming Algeria in the semi-finals.
Evans-Uhegbu completed Nigeria’s medal haul by winning bronze in the compound women’s individual event, defeating Algeria’s Sihem Akli 129-90 in the third-place match.
Nigeria competed with its largest-ever delegation to the African Archery Championships, fielding 18 athletes across six divisions under the auspices of World Archery Africa. The tournament featured 138 archers from 18 African countries.
Nigeria Archery Federation President, Mohammed Baba Abdullahi, described the performance as a defining moment for the sport.
“Seven medals and our first team gold, this is the day Nigeria stopped competing to take part and started competing to win. And we are only just beginning,” he said.
The federation’s Director of Marketing, Emmanuel Oyeleke, said the success should encourage greater investment in archery across Nigeria, particularly at the grassroots level.
He called on corporate organisations, brands and individuals to support the national team through sponsorship, athlete adoption, equipment donations, travel logistics and media partnerships to sustain the country’s growing success on the continental stage.
The latest achievement builds on Nigeria’s recent rise in African archery after previous medal-winning performances in Pretoria and Nabeul, Tunisia, as well as gold medals at last year’s African Championships and Africa’s inaugural Run Archery Tournament in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
