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It’s been mixed feelings in sports for Nigeria as the year 2022 gradually winds down.
All major sporting competitions have systematically ended with Nigeria making some statements in some while it recorded a not so good outing in few others.
TNG brings you ten sporting moments of the year 2022.
Super Eagles at 2022 AFCON
The Super Eagles of Nigeria finished top of group D on a high after becoming the only team in the entire 24- team competition to proceed to the knockout stage with 9 maximum points. Nigeria defeated Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Sudan to achieve this feat in Garoua , Cameroon.
However, the unthinkable happened in the second round of the competition as the Super Eagles lost narrowly to the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia 1-0 in the second round to crash out of the competition very early.
Golden Eaglets’ WAFU Triumph
Two goals by striker Abubakar Abdullahi helped Nigeria to defeat Burkina Faso side 2-1 to win the WAFU-B U17 Championship at the Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana
But it was not a walk in the park for the Nigerians as the Baby Stallions provided tough opposition and anxious moments for their opponents.
Indeed it was the Burkinabes that threatened first and they almost raced into the lead in the fifth minute but Nigeria goalkeeper Richard Odoh produced a perfect save.
Nigeria became WAFU Champions for the fifth time in the region and this achievement was recorded in 2022.
Africa Youth Games Triumph
Cairo the capital of Egypt played host for the fourth All Africa youth games and team Nigeria excelled on many fronts.
Young athletes in the country with ages between 14-18 represented the country in Egypt and they did a yeoman’s job in far away Egypt.
The Nigerian contingent gave a good account of themselves at the competition.
Tobi Amusan’s World Record in Hurdles
Nigeria’s 100m female hurdler, Tobi Amusan took the world by storm after setting a world record in athletics.
Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete ever to win a gold medal and a world outdoor title.
She set a world record in 100m hurdles returning in 12.12secs to achieve the feat.
Amusan also won many gold medals in many athletic summits for the country earning herself the most prominent Nigerian athlete of 2022.
African 4x100m Record
Asides Amusan’s WR and AR of 12.12s, the women’s 4x100m quartet comprising Joy Udo-Gabriel, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Grace Nwokocha, also ran an AR of 42.22s for the fourth position at the World Championships in Oregon, which smashed the previous record of 42.39s set at Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.
They further took down the record at the Commonwealth Games, this time replacing Udo-Gabriel for Amusan, and they clocked 42.10s for the title.
Commonwealth Games Discus Champion
Chioma Onyekwere became the first Nigerian athlete to win a Commonwealth Games Discus title. She threw a Season’s Best (SB) of 61.70m for victory in the final, which also saw Obiageri Amechi win the Bronze medal.
Ese Brume’s consistent performances
Brume performed exceedingly well for Nigeria in the long jump event, she improved on her time at the World Athletics where she leapt to 7.00m for the first time in her career in international competitions.
Super Falcons AFCON 2022 outing
Nigeria’s Super Falcons went, saw but finished in the fourth position in this year’s AFCON tournament for women.
Super Falcons lost 5-4 on penalties to host Morocco in the semi-final encounter of the competition and later lost 1-0 to Zambia in the third place game to finish the women AFCON without winning a laurel for the first time in the competition’s history.
Rivers United’s League Triumph
Port Harcourt based football club became champions of the Nigeria Professional football League (NPFL) for the first time in the club’s history.
Although they missed out on representing Nigeria on the CAF Champions League platform, they however made it to the Confederations Cup.
Players and officials of Rivers United FC were conferred with the Governor’s Medal of Service (GMS) award by the state’s number one citizen, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday, December, 12 in Port Harcourt.
The event was held at the Banquet hall of the Government House Port Harcourt.
Rivers United won the Nigeria Professional Football League title last season, the first time in the history of the club.
National Sports Festival
The year 2022 ended with a spectacular hosting and staging of the National Sports Festival tagged Asaba 2022.
The competition provided platform for many young, agile and sharp athletes to be discovered.
Nigeria’s prospective podium finishers were discovered as so many athletes with potentials were discovered.
Delta state proved to be a sport loving state once again, by topping the overall medals table with 320 gold medals, 200 silver and 128 Bronze to amass a total of 628 medals in the competition.