Glasgow: Nigeria’s boxing medal hopes fades after Akintola’s early exit
By Uzor Odigbo
Team Nigeria’s hopes of winning a boxing medal at the ongoing 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, suffered another major setback on Saturday night as David Akintola crashed out in the opening round of the men’s 80kg event.
Akintola, regarded as one of Nigeria’s brightest prospects in the ring, was beaten 4-1 by Tanzania’s Yusef Lucasi Changalewa in their Round of 32 contest at the SEC Centre.
Akintola struggled to impose himself throughout the contest as Changalewa dictated the pace with sharper combinations, better movement and cleaner scoring punches.
The Tanzanian repeatedly found openings with well-timed attacks, leaving the Nigerian chasing the fight for long spells.
By the end of the three rounds, the judges overwhelmingly favoured Changalewa 4-1, underlining the Tanzanian’s superiority on the night.
The victory sent Changalewa through to the Round of 16, where he will face Kenya’s Robert Okaka.
The defeat leaves Nigeria’s boxing campaign hanging by a thread, with the country’s medal aspirations in the sport gradually fading after two successive first-round eliminations.
Akintola became the second Nigerian boxer to bow out at the first hurdle, following Ayomide Foly Hassan’s disappointing exit on Friday.
Hassan suffered a comprehensive 4-0 points defeat to Lesotho’s Refiloe in the men’s 70kg Round of 32 bout, ending his campaign before it could gather momentum.
With two of their leading contenders already eliminated, Team Nigeria now faces an uphill task to salvage its boxing campaign and keep alive hopes of securing a podium finish in the discipline.
Elsewhere in the men’s 80kg category, Uganda’s Alfred Ojok produced a dominant display to overpower Kilani Anitelea-Launiu of Niue 5-0, advancing to the Round of 16.
Ojok will next face England’s Dimaji Shittu in what promises to be one of the standout contests of the division.
