Sports

9 Nigerian Weightlifters Qualify For 2022 Commonwealth Games

Published

5 years ago

March 16, 2022

Joel Ajayi

Nine Nigeria weightlifters have qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games weightlifting event holding in Birmingham, England in July

The nine lifters are made up of 7 women and 2 men.

Their qualifications were confirmed in the March 1st, 2022 International Weightlifting Federation, IWF Ranking.

In the ranking released, Adịjat Adenike Olarinoye was ranked first in the 55kg women category while Stellar Peter Kingsley was ranked second in the 49kg women category

Rafiatu Folashade Lawal was ranked first in the 59kg women category while Islamiyat Adebukdu Yusuf was ranked 4th in

64kg women category

In other women categories, Joy Ogbonne Eze came second in 82kg, Taiwo Liadi 5th, in

76kg while Osijo Mary Taiwo was ranked 5th in

87kg women

In the men category, Joseph Umofia Edidiong was ranked 3rd in the 67kg while his compatriot, Emmanuel Appah was ranked 5th in 61kg.

Stellar Kingsley got a total of 168kg in (72 snatch and 96 jerk) to be placed second in 49kg womem category and won gold at the Commonwealth Championship in Uzbekistan last year.

Adịjat Adenike Olarinoye, who won a gold in 2021 Commonwealth Championship as well as silver and bronze in 2021 International Weightlifting Federation, NWF Championship in Uzbekistan in December was ranked first in the 55kg women category.

She lifted 90kg snatch and 113 jerk making a total of 203kg to be placed top.

Lifting a combined sum of 207kg with 92kg snatch, 115 jerk, Rafiatu Folashade Lawal, was ranked first in the 59kg women category. She achieved the feat in the 2021 Commonwealth Championship in Uzbekistan.

Islamiyat Adebukdu Yusuf won gold on February 2 at the 2022 Mauritius Open Championship with a 93kg snatch and 118 jerk lift totalling 211k was ranked 4th in the 64kg women category

In 82kg women category, Joy Ogbonne Eze who who gold at the 2021 Commonwealth Championship in Uzbekistan, and a bronze in the 2021 IWF Championship was ranked 3rd with 230kg lift. She had lifted 100kg snatch and 130 jerk for her second-place finish in the latest IWF ranking

With a total of 210kg lift comprising 95kg snatch and 115 jerk, Taiwo Liadi was ranked 5th in the 76kg women category. She achieved the record at the IWF Championship in Uzbekistan December last year

With a gold medal on her neck at the 2022 Mauritius Open Championship, Osijo Mary Taiwo qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games with a total lift of 213kg to be placed 5th in the 87kg women category.

She had 95kg in snatch and 118kg in jerk

Joseph Umofia Edidiong, silver medal winner at the 2021 Commonwealth Championship in Uzbekistan was ranked 3rd in the 67kg men category. He had a lift of 135kg snatch and 160kg jerk totalling 295kg to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Bermignham England.

Emmanuel Appah had a combined 255kg lift in 61kg men category to be ranked 5th and also qualified for the Games in July.

He had 115kg in snatch and 140kg in jerk during the 2021 Commonwealth Championship in Uzbekistan

The 2022 Commonwealth Games Weightlifting Event will hold at the National Exhibition Centre, Bermignham, from 30 July to 3 August 2022.

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Sports

Plateau Vipers, Benue Queens Crowned Champions at HFN North Central Division One Tourney

Published

5 hours ago

October 3, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Jibril Seidu, has said the federation will continue to intensify its grassroots talent development drive through zonal competitions across the country.

Seidu stated this on Saturday in Abuja at the finals of the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship, where Plateau Vipers defeated Suleja Shooters 29-24 to emerge champions in the men’s category.

In the women’s final, Benue Queens of Makurdi defeated City Queens of Suleja to claim the title.

The eight-day tournament featured teams from across the North Central Zone, with Plateau Vipers of Jos, Confluence Stars of Lokoja, Unity Boys of Abuja, Suleja Shooters and Nasarawa Ambassadors of Lafia competing in the men’s category.

In the women’s category, Nuela Handball Academy of Ilorin, Inikpi Babes of Idah, Benue Queens of Makurdi and City Queens of Suleja competed for honours.

At the end of the competition, four teams — two male and two female — emerged as the North Central Zone’s representatives for the national Division One league.

According to Seidu, the tournament was organised as part of the federation’s deliberate strategy to take handball development back to the regions and discover talents that might otherwise remain unnoticed.

He said the HFN board, inaugurated on October 25, 2025, resolved that grassroots development was essential to creating a sustainable pipeline of players for national and international competitions.

“All the teams you have seen here are from the North Central Zone of the country, and every state is represented with an academy or state team,” he said.

Seidu explained that the new approach marked a departure from the previous system, where talent identification was largely centred on the federation’s major league competitions.

He said taking competitions to the regions would provide young players with greater opportunities to showcase their abilities while strengthening the foundation of handball across the country.

The HFN president also linked the grassroots initiative to Nigeria’s recent achievements in international handball, stressing the need to develop younger players who can eventually replace members of the current national teams.

He noted that Nigeria had qualified for the 2027 Men’s Junior Handball World Championship in North Macedonia, describing the achievement as evidence of the potential within the country’s handball system.

“How do we replace these players with upcoming players? This is the avenue for us to get players,” he said.

Seidu added that the federation was determined to make handball more visible and accessible, describing it as one of Nigeria’s major sporting disciplines with significant potential for growth.

The North Central tournament is part of a wider zonal programme designed to decentralise handball development across Nigeria.

According to the federation, similar competitions are being organised across other zones, including the South East, North East, North West and South South, with qualifiers from each zone expected to converge at a designated venue for the next stage of the competition.

The federation also appealed for greater support from sponsors, stakeholders and state associations to sustain its grassroots development programme.

It expressed appreciation to the participating states, academies, team sponsors and other stakeholders for their support and commitment to the growth of handball in Nigeria.

The federation said the initiative would provide a platform for discovering the next generation of Nigerian handball stars while expanding the sport’s reach beyond its traditional centres.
While Speaking the elated coach of Benue Queen Godwin Tondo has promised a stronger and more tactical performance after guiding the team to victory at the 2026 North Central Division One Handball Championship in Abuja.
He attributed the success to the team’s long-term youth development programme, noting that the squad was built through a deliberate process of identifying and nurturing young talents.
According to him, the programme began with the selection of 92 girls from secondary schools, who were subsequently trained and developed over a four-year period.

He said the team’s success was a product of sustained hard work and commitment despite the challenges encountered during preparations for the tournament.

“I feel very pleased being a champion today. The road to this stage was very, very hard, but I am very happy that we have got the result from all the toughness of the game,” he said.

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