Nigeria’s Rafiatu Lawal delivered a stunning performance to give the country a golden start at the 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, winning three gold medals in the women’s 58kg weightlifting category.
Lawal dominated the event, lifting 98kg in the snatch and 122kg in the clean and jerk, for a combined total of 220kg — far ahead of Uzbekistan’s Niogora Abdullaeva who took silver, and Egypt’s Noura Essam, who settled for bronze.
The 28-year-old’s latest triumph adds to her growing list of achievements. Just last month, she made history at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Forde, Norway, becoming the first Nigerian to win three silver medals at a single world event.
Over the years, Lawal has built an impressive career as one of Africa’s most consistent weightlifters. Her previous accolades include:
- Gold at the 2019 African Games in Rabat,
- Gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,
- Gold at the 2023 African Games in Accra, and
- A commendable fifth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 6th Islamic Solidarity Games, running from November 7 to 21, bring together over 3,000 athletes from 57 countries, competing across 23 sports at premier venues in Riyadh.
Nigeria’s contingent features 46 members — 35 athletes and 11 officials — participating in seven sports: athletics, para-athletics, para powerlifting, weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, and taekwondo.
Adeshina Powers into Boxing Final
In boxing, Zainab Adeshina secured her spot in the women’s 51kg final after a gritty 4–1 points victory over Algeria’s Fatiha Mansouri in Sunday’s semi-final at The Promenade, Art Tower.
Representing the red corner, Adeshina started cautiously but gained momentum in the final round, landing cleaner punches and demonstrating sharper movement. Mansouri’s repeated fouls led to two official warnings from referee Chang Yu-Ling of Taiwan, resulting in crucial point deductions that tilted the contest in the Nigerian’s favor.
According to the judges’ scorecards, four of the five judges — from Egypt, Iraq, Slovakia, and Australia — awarded the bout to Adeshina, while only the Puerto Rican judge favored Mansouri. The Australian official scored all three rounds 10–9 for the Nigerian, giving her a clear 30–27 win, while the remaining judges returned 28–27 in her favor.
Adeshina’s spirited performance earned her a place in Monday’s gold medal bout against Tunisia’s Rabia Topuz. The 21-year-old had earlier triumphed in her quarter-final clash on Thursday before staging her impressive comeback in the semi-final.
She is part of Nigeria’s two-member boxing team, coached by Abayomi Oyeleye, alongside Ridwan Raheem, who competes in the men’s welterweight division.
