Ogili wins silver as Okon-George enters Islamic Games final

Nigeria’s medal prospects continued to rise at the sixth Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Ogochukwu Ogili won silver in the women’s shot put, while Patience Okon-George advanced to the final of the women’s 400m, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Ogili produced a best throw of 7.35m, narrowly missing gold to Bahrain’s Rooba Alomari, who recorded 7.39m in the penultimate round.

Saudi Arabia’s Nadha Alhumayolani completed the podium with a mark of 6.13m, giving Nigeria its second athletics medal of the Games.

The Nigerian athletics team had earlier opened its medal account through Obiageri Amaechi in the women’s discus on Monday.

Amaechi threw 56.99m to win silver, just 0.05m shy of Cameroonian Nora Atim Monie, who won gold with 57.04m. Turkey’s Ozlem Becerek took bronze with 55.56m, while Nigeria’s national record holder Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons finished fourth at 55.08m.

Amaechi’s medal offered timely redemption following her early exit from the women’s discus at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where she missed out on the final.

Okon-George, a three-time national champion, progressed to the final of the women’s 400m after finishing second in her semi-final in 52.92s.

She will face competitors from Morocco, Turkey, Niger, Uganda, Bahrain, and Guyana in the final at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s Samuel Kure Adams will also contend for a medal in the men’s javelin final.

The thrower enters the competition with a personal best of 77.45m and a season best of 76.79m, raising hopes of a podium finish.

Additional opportunities for medals await in the men’s and women’s 4x100m relay finals on Wednesday.

The Nigerian team continues to field a strong mix of home-based and overseas athletes across sprints, relays, and field events, despite some high-profile withdrawals, including African shot put record holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and recently switched Divine Oladipo.

In the men’s events, Chidera Ezeakor, Caleb John, and James Emmanuel compete in short sprints, while David Akhalu, Gafari Badmus, and Ezekiel Asuquo feature in long sprints. In the field, Samuel Kure and Victoria Kparika represent Nigeria in javelin.

On the women’s side, sprinters Chioma Nweke and Anita Enaruna compete in the 100m and 200m, joined by Maria Omokwe and Iyanuoluwa Bada across sprint and relay events.

With the Games running from November 7 to 21 at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium, Team Nigeria has amassed a total of 17 medals so far with six gold, seven silver, and four bronze which signals a strong overall performance in athletics and other disciplines.