Vice President of the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), Omonlei Yakubu Imadu, has expressed pride in Team Nigeria’s boxing contingent despite the country’s six representatives finishing the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games without a medal.
Nigeria entered the boxing competition with six boxers, having targeted podium finishes after an intensive preparation programme. The federation had previously expressed confidence that the squad possessed the quality to challenge for medals.
However, Nigeria’s medal hopes eventually came to an end in Glasgow, with Blessing Orakwe becoming the final Nigerian boxer eliminated after the earlier exits of the other members of the team.
Despite the disappointing outcome, Imadu insisted that the boxers should be commended for their efforts, arguing that they came up against opponents with greater international experience.
“I’m proud of the team. We took the best boxers available to us and gave them the preparation they needed, but unfortunately they came up against superior and more experienced boxers,” Imadu said.
The NBF vice-president maintained that the federation had done everything within its reach to prepare the athletes for the demanding competition.
Nigeria’s six-member contingent was part of a historic Commonwealth Games boxing field that featured 201 boxers from 43 Commonwealth Games Associations, with Glasgow 2026 also marking the first Commonwealth Games boxing competition to feature equal numbers of men’s and women’s weight categories.
Imadu believes the experience gained by the Nigerian boxers against high-level opposition will be valuable as the federation continues its programme of developing athletes capable of competing successfully on the international stage.
The federation’s official development programme places emphasis on preparing athletes, coaches and officials for national and international competition as Nigeria looks to strengthen its boxing structure.
While the medal target was not achieved in Glasgow, Imadu’s assessment is that the experience should serve as a learning opportunity for the boxers and the federation as preparations continue for future international competitions.
