Glasgow 2026: Team Nigeria Bags First Silver, Opens With Winning Start

Team Nigeria kicked off its campaign at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on a positive note, recording an opening victory in men’s 3×3 basketball before securing its first medal of the competition through para powerlifter Roland Ezuruike.

According to Ireporter Online, Nigeria’s men’s 3×3 basketball team defeated the Cayman Islands 21-17 in their opening Pool A fixture, setting the tone for the country’s participation at the Games. Esosa Okundaye and Ikechukwu Nwamu led the scoring with six points each as Nigeria held off a spirited challenge to claim an important first win. The team will now shift focus to a tougher clash against Australia later in the competition.

Nigeria’s first podium finish came courtesy of experienced para powerlifter Roland Ezuruike, who captured the silver medal in the men’s Lightweight Group A category. Ezuruike impressed with two successful lifts to finish on 153.9 points but narrowly missed out on gold after an unsuccessful attempt to set a new Commonwealth Games record with a 190kg lift.

England’s Mark Swan claimed the gold medal, while Malaysia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin settled for bronze after finishing with 153.5 points. Fellow Nigerian Ibrahim Dauda also delivered a commendable performance, placing fifth in the fiercely contested event with a lift of 140.1kg.

In swimming, Clinton Opute became the first Nigerian athlete to compete in an individual event at the Games but failed to progress after finishing sixth in his heat of the men’s 200m individual medley with a time of 2:15.40.