Lookman’s stellar run, Oshoba’s boxing record… 10 shining lights of Nigerian sports in 2024

Records were set, history was made, jinxes were broken and champions were crowned. The year 2024, despite its rollercoaster nature, was largely eventful and fairly successful for Nigerian sports.

Despite the country’s poor outing at the Paris Olympics, Nigerian athletes across various sports made the nation proud; from the Super Eagles’ memorable AFCON performance to Ademola Lookman’s consistent run and Elizabeth Oshoba becoming Nigeria’s first female world champion in boxing.

Here, TheCable takes a trip down memory lane to spotlight the major sports moments 2024 will be remembered for.

OSHOBA’S RECORD-SETTING VICTORY

On January 13, Oshoba defeated Michela Braga, the Italian boxer, by unanimous decision in their 10-round bout at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The 24-year-old’s victory made her the first Nigerian female boxer to clinch a world title.

She won the IBO and WBC World Women’s featherweight titles and extended her professional record to an unblemished 7-0.

AFCON SILVER MEDAL

The Super Eagles of Nigeria had a memorable run at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) held in Cote d’Ivoire.

When Jose Peseiro was appointed the team’s head coach in 2022, he pledged to lead Nigeria to a fourth AFCON title.

The Portuguese almost achieved the objective but fell short at the final stage.

Despite the array of attacking talents at the Eagles’ disposal ahead of the competition, the expectation at home was modest. The team’s performance in the group stage further dented the little hope. The Eagles struggled for a late draw against Equatorial Guinea in the opener. They squeezed past Cote d’Ivoire and secured another unconvincing win over Guinea-Bissau.

But the tune changed positively in the knockout phase. Nigeria defeated Cameroon in the second round, edged Angola in the quarter-final, and surpassed South Africa in the semis. However, they eventually lost the final to Cote d’Ivoire.

William Troost-Ekong, Eagles captain, was named the player of the tournament and President Bola Tinubu conferred national honours and gifts of land on every member of the squad.

AMUSAN’S AFRICAN INDOOR RECORD

On February 4, Tobi Amusan clocked 7.75 seconds to set a new African women’s indoor record in 60-metre hurdles.

Amusan was unstoppable at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston as she retired the 7.77 seconds she had set just a few weeks prior in Kazakhstan, where she had beaten Gloria Alozie’s 25-year African record in the event.

TEAM NIGERIA’S MEDAL HAUL AT AFRICAN GAMES

Team Nigeria finished second on the medals table at the 13th African Games in Ghana.

The Nigerian contingent raked in 47 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze medals across 25 sports at the competition.

Team Nigeria’s medal tally was only bested by Egypt, which had 189 medals, comprising 101 gold, 46 silver and 42 bronze.

ARUNA QUADRI’S AFRICA CUP TRIUMPH

Quadri defeated Egypt’s El-Beiali Mohamed to win the men’s singles title of the 2024 ITTF Africa Cup in Kigali, Rwanda.

Aruna last won the competition in 2017 in Agadir, Morocco. He finally exorcised the pain of losing in the final of the last three editions of the competition.

The 35-year-old lost to Egypt’s Omar Assar, his arch-rival, in the 2022 and 2023 editions and was beaten by Ahmed Saleh in 2020.

D’TIGRESS SHINE AT THE OLYMPICS

D’Tigress’ performance at the Paris Olympics is one of the few silver linings from Nigeria’s unimpressive outing at the Games.

Led by Rena Wakama, D’Tigress defeated Australia in their opening match, recording the team’s first win at the Olympics in 20 years.

Despite losing to France in their second game, the ladies were valiant against Canada to reach Nigeria’s first-ever quarter-final in women’s basketball at the Olympics.

The team eventually lost to the US but the performance was inspirational enough to earn Wakama the title of best coach in the competition.

OFILI, THE RECORD BREAKER

Favour Ofili became the first Nigerian to qualify for the final of the women’s 200 metres at the Olympics in 28 years.

Nigeria has not been represented in the event’s final since Mary Onyali achieved the feat in Atlanta ’96.

Ofili would eventually finish sixth in the final.

LIKE OFILI, LIKE OGAZI

Eighteen-year-old Samuel Ogazi became the first Nigerian to qualify for the final of the men’s 400 metres at the Olympics in 36 years.

Innocent Egbunike was the last Nigerian to achieve the feat, qualifying for the final at Seoul in 1988.

In Paris, Ogazi finished the final race in seventh place.

EDO QUEENS ON FLEEK

Edo Queens had a storied debut in the CAF Women’s Champions League campaign.

The Queens became the first Nigerian team to progress beyond the competition’s group stage after defeating Mamelodi Sundown in their final group game.

They eventually lost to TP Mazembe in the semi-final and were also defeated in the third-place match against FC Masar of Egypt.

LOOKMAN’S ACCLAIM-FILLED YEAR

Ademola Lookman had a year to remember, which culminated in being named the 2024 CAF men’s player of the year.

He followed in the footsteps of Victor Osimhen, who won the prize in 2023.

The last time Nigerian players won consecutive CAF men’s best player prizes was over 27 years ago. Nwankwo Kanu won the award in 1996, and Victor Ikpeba claimed the gong the following year.

Lookman had an impressive 2023/24 season for both club and country. The winger scored 17 goals and provided 11 assists in all competitions last season for Atalanta, which retained its status as one of the best in Serie A.

He scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, winning Atalanta’s first-ever European title.

Earlier in the year, he was also named the 14th best player in the world at the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony.