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Nigeria’s Flora Ugwunwa and Isau Ogunkunle has raked in a silver and bronze medals to Nigeria’s medals tally to four in women’s Javelin F54 and table tennis at the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Ugwunwa finished 2nd in the event with a throw of 19.26m behind Uzbekistan athlete Nurkhon Kurbanova who set a world record with a throw of 21.12m.
Ugwunwa’s feat has made Nigeria rake in the first medal in women’s Javelin category, with a total medal of four so far.
The 40-year-old Nigerian has continued to shine, having now won three consecutive Paralympic medals – two golds (Rio, Tokyo) and now Silver (Paris).
The bronze medal was won by Elham Salehi of Iran who threw 16.24m.
Other athletes who have won medals for Team Nigeria are Onyinyechi Mark, Eniola Bolaji and Esther Nworgu.
In the Table Tennis event, Isau Ogunkunle made the country secure the first Singles Paralympic Medal Since Sydney 2000, owing to his outstanding performances in the Men’s singles Class 4.
Back then, Tajudeen Agunbiade and Alabi Olufemi brought home gold and bronze, respectively, in the Class 9 Men’s Singles. Ogunkunle has reignited the nation’s legacy in the sport, securing Nigeria’s fifth medal at Paris 2024.
Although his run for gold came to an end in the semifinals, where he faced Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kim Young-Gun, Ogunkunle put up a valiant fight before falling short, losing 3-1.
The Ogun State athlete’s road to the semifinals was filled with standout moments. In the Round of 16, he delivered a stunning upset by defeating reigning Paralympic champion Abdullah Ozturk of Turkey, 3-1 (6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 12-10).
He followed this with an impressive 3-1 victory (9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6) over France’s Maxime Thomas, a Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist, in the quarterfinals, securing his place in the final four and guaranteeing Nigeria a historic singles medal.
