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•Sets World Records on opening day
Team Nigeria launched its Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games campaign in style on Friday, topping off a stunning opening day with three gold medals, three silver medals, and a string of world records from its para powerlifting squad — a performance that reaffirmed the nation’s standing as a global force in the sport.
The medal rush began with Paralympian Roland Ezuruike, who opened Nigeria’s account with silver in the Men’s Lightweight Group A event. Scoring 153.9 points, Ezuruike narrowly missed gold after falling just short of a Commonwealth Games record 190kg lift on his final attempt. His performance earned him an instant $2,000 cash reward plus a $3,000 bonus under the National Sports Commission’s enhanced athlete incentive programme.
Nigeria’s evening truly caught fire when Esther Nworgu delivered the country’s first gold of the Games. Lifting 123kg for 119 points, she claimed the women’s lightweight title in dramatic fashion — shattering the Commonwealth Games record, then returning less than ten minutes later to break her own mark again.
The Glasgow crowd was left in awe, and Nworgu walked away with $5,000 in instant cash plus another $5,000 credited to her account.
It was a Nigerian sweep in the event, as veteran Esther Oyema took silver with a 125kg lift on her second attempt, good for 115.5 points — well ahead of England’s Olivia Broome, who took bronze.
Team captain Folashade Oluwafemiayo owned the rest of the evening, reminding everyone why she’s considered one of the greatest female para powerlifters of her generation. She broke her own world record with 172kg on her second attempt, then stunned the arena by returning for an astonishing 175kg on her final lift — rewriting the women’s para powerlifting world record for the second time in a single competition. The 134.8-point total secured Nigeria’s second gold.
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Rita Ferdinand added another chapter to the record books in the women’s up-to-79kg category, lifting 158kg to surpass China’s Han Miaoyu’s previous world record of 154kg. Her 128.2-point total earned silver — making it a night where two Nigerian athletes set world records within hours of each other.
Closing out the session, Riluwan Idris claimed Nigeria’s third gold in the men’s heavyweight category with a massive 208kg lift. Remarkably, Idris weighed in at just 86kg, scoring 132.8 points to edge England’s Matthew Harding (199kg, 131.0 points) for gold, with Malaysia’s Nicodemus Moses taking bronze.
By night’s end, Nigeria had six medals — three gold, three silver — and had firmly staked its claim as one of the standout teams of the Glasgow Games.
Outside the powerlifting arena, Nigeria’s men’s 3×3 basketball team hit its first bump after a historic start. Fresh off a 21-17 win over the Cayman Islands — the country’s first-ever Commonwealth Games victory in 3×3 basketball — the team fell 21-15 to Australia. Ikechukwu Nwamu again led the scoring with nine points as the squad regroups for a crucial group-stage match against New Zealand.
In boxing, Abdulramon Abdulwahab was eliminated from the men’s 65kg competition, losing 5-0 on points to Uganda’s Nuhu Batte in the Round of 32. Batte’s ring control and cleaner combinations proved the difference across three rounds.
With a strong foundation laid on day one, Team Nigeria heads into the remaining nine days of competition with momentum — and plenty to build on.
