Nigeria’s campaign at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, got off to a brilliant start as weightlifter Rafiatu Lawal claimed a stunning hat-trick of golds in the women’s 58kg category, the country’s first medals, on Sunday.
Lawal dominated the event, lifting 98kg in the snatch and 122kg in the clean & jerk, for a combined total of 220kg, to secure Nigeria’s first-ever gold medals at this year’s Games.
The 28-year-old finished ahead of Niogora Abdullaeva of Uzbekistan, who settled for silver, while Noura Essam of Egypt took bronze.
Just last month, Rafiatu Lawal made history at the 2025 IWF World Championships in Forde, Norway, where she became the first Nigerian athlete to win three silver medals at the global event.
A seasoned champion, Lawal previously captured gold medals at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and the 2023 African Games in Accra.
She also achieved a fifth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Adeshina books spot in boxing final
Nigeria’s impressive start continued in the boxing arena, where Zainab Adeshina advanced to the final of the women’s 51kg category after a dramatic 4–1 victory over Algeria’s Fatiha Mansouri at The Promenade – Art Tower venue.
Zainab, representing the red corner, overturned a difficult start, winning the third and final round convincingly to secure her place in Monday’s gold medal bout against Tunisia’s Rabia Topuz.
According to the official bout report, judges from Egypt, Iraq, Slovakia, and Australia all scored the contest in favour of Adeshina, while the Puerto Rican judge awarded it to Mansouri.
Despite trailing early, the 21-year-old Nigerian clawed her way back with sharp combinations and superior movement.
Mansouri’s frustration led to two referee warnings for repeated infringements, resulting in point deductions that swung the scoreline in Adeshina’s favour.
Australian judge Dylan Perceval scored all three rounds 10–9 for Adeshina, while the remaining judges returned close totals of 28–27.
Adeshina, who began her campaign with a quarter-final win on Thursday, now stands one bout away from delivering Nigeria’s second gold medal in boxing at the Islamic Games.
Team Nigeria at Riyadh 2025
Nigeria’s 46-member contingent, comprising 35 athletes and 11 officials, is participating in seven sports;
- Athletics,
- Para-athletics,
- Para powerlifting,
- Weightlifting,
- Wrestling,
- Boxing, and
- Taekwondo.
The sixth edition of the Islamic Solidarity Games, which runs from November 7 to 21, features over 3,000 athletes from 57 countries competing in 23 sports across world-class venues in Riyadh, celebrating unity and excellence across the Islamic world.
