Damilola Sholademi has spoken about the setback that nearly derailed his campaign behind Nigeria’s record medal haul at the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria, where the country claimed seven medals, its best-ever outing at the event.
- +Archery: Sholademi speaks on setback behind Nigeria’s record haul
Nigerian archers reached the podium across both barebow and compound categories, winning one gold, five silver and one bronze medal at the championships, which ran from 21 to 26 July and featured 138 archers from eighteen countries under the auspices of World Archery Africa.
Nigerian archers reached the podium across both barebow and compound categories, winning one gold, five silver and one bronze medal at the championships, which ran from 21 to 26 July and featured 138 archers from eighteen countries under the auspices of World Archery Africa.
The gold came in the women’s barebow team event, where Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated hosts Algeria 5-3 to become African champions.
In the men’s compound team event, Aliyu Abubakar, Seun Oyeleke and Sholademi beat Algeria 205-183 in the semi-final before narrowly losing 182-197 to Mauritius in the final to settle for silver.
Sholademi, Nigeria’s most decorated archer and Technical Director of the Nigeria Archery Federation, said the haul was the country’s largest, crediting years of training and the influence of the ARCH Archery Club and Shooters’ Archery Club, which train military personnel on the Defence Archery team.
“Honestly, we did well. This is our largest medal count. The best we have ever had was just three in Tunisia,” Sholademi said.
“We had trained them years before, and we have an excellent relationship with them.”
However, the Oyo State Archery Chairman revealed that his own campaign was nearly derailed after his equipment went missing at Algiers International Airport and could not be traced until after the championships had ended, forcing him onto a thirteen-hour road trip between three cities before he was eventually told to retrieve it from the same airport.
“I did not let it get to me, despite the physical and emotional trauma. I had to keep my gaze on what was at stake. And as the Team Manager, I could not afford to show that my resolve was broken, I had to show strength and courage,” he said, revealing he had to borrow an unfamiliar bow to compete.
“Borrowing a compound bow that you are unfamiliar with a few minutes before shooting is like jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute. While I did not break my personal record, my silver medal reminded me that it is not the bow that makes the archer, rather, it is having the heart of an archer,” he added.
Notable members among the eighteen-athlete delegation included Aliyu Abubakar, president of Shooters’ Archery Club and coach of the national team, Kachollom Enyenihi of ARCH Archery Club, who leads the female archers, and Emmanuel Oyeleke, founder of Zen Archery Club, who won silver in the men’s compound team event. The Nigerian archery team is now officially known as the Flames.
