One of the weightlifters at the games.
By Dianabasi Effiong
Team Edo won top spot in weightlifting at the ongoing 9th National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State .
The team won nine gold, one silver, and two bronze medals while Team Akwa Ibom came second with five gold, two silver, and two bronze medals respectively.
Team Abia followed in third position with three gold medals, while Team Niger settled for fourth with a gold and two silver medals.
Teams from Enugu, Oyo, and the FCT jointly finished in the fifth position with three silver medals each, while Team Lagos finished eighth with three medals (two silver and a bronze).
Imo won the ninth spot with one silver and two bronze medals, while Plateau, Delta, and Osun completed the top 12 teams in the youth games.
Edo’s dominance was most evident in the women’s weight classes, where they swept all nine gold medals on offer.
Favour Cornelius (44kg), Esther Amarachi Chijoke (48kg), and Beauty Akpore (53kg) each clinched three gold medals to power Edo to the top.
In the men’s division, Akwa Ibom proved their strength, winning five of the nine gold medals available.
Destiny Bassey (56kg) secured two gold medals, while Goodness Okon (65kg) bagged three to highlight their dominance.
Team Abia also impressed, with Vitalis Nnaji Chiemerie sweeping three gold medals in the men’s 60kg category.
Niger’s Abdulsalam Kamaldeen grabbed gold in the men’s 56kg clean and jerk with a lift of 91kg.
Other standout performances came from Oyo’s Fathia Owoyele, who battled hard to win three silver medals in the women’s 48kg category, while Enugu’s Aguji Michael Chiemerie (65kg) and FCT’s Esther Chidalu Ezenwa (44kg) both claimed three silver medals.
Ezenwa’s younger sister, Chinaza Cecilia Ezenwa (Lagos, 53kg), added two silvers and one bronze to ensure Lagos made the medals table.
For Team Imo, Victory Maduabuchi Iwuoha contributed one silver and two bronze in the Men’s 60kg, while Plateau’s Dach Veirat Dachoaaom secured one silver and one bronze in the Women’s 53kg. Delta and Osun each walked away with five bronze medals through spirited performances from their lifters.
In total, 12 states made the medal table, but it was Edo’s remarkable clean sweep in the women’s division that underlined their supremacy.
At the close of the weightlifting event, President of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF), Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Aladi, commended the outstanding performances of the athletes, assuring that newly discovered talents would be given more opportunities to develop and make the sport their own.
Dr. Aladi reaffirmed the Federation’s commitment to building a steady pool of weightlifters capable of representing Nigeria at both national and international levels.
Also speaking, NWF Technical Official, Sefiya Ahuozia, lauded the quality of the competition at the National Youth Games in Asaba. She expressed confidence that with the level of talent on display, Nigeria’s future in weightlifting remains bright.
