Team Nigeria ended the opening day of competition at the 2026 Commonwealth Games second on the medal table after winning three gold and three silver medals in Glasgow on Friday.
All six medals came from para powerlifting, where Esther Nworgu, Folashade Oluwafemiayo and Riluwan Idris won gold, while Roland Ezuruike, Esther Oyema and Rita Ferdinand claimed silver.
Australia topped the standings with six gold, two silver and five bronze medals. Nigeria’s three gold medals placed them ahead of hosts Scotland, who won two gold and two silver, and England, who finished fourth despite collecting eight medals. The table is ranked by the number of gold medals won. Glasgow 2026 medal table
Para powerlifters deliver six medals
Ezuruike opened Nigeria’s medal account with silver in the men’s lightweight event after lifting 185kg to score 153.9 points.
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The Nigerian finished level with England’s Mark Swan, but Swan was awarded gold after his coefficient score proved superior when calculated to two decimal places. Malaysia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin took bronze with 153.5 points.
Nigeria did not have to wait long for their first gold as Nworgu dominated the women’s lightweight competition.
She broke the Commonwealth Games record twice before finishing with a successful 123kg lift and 119 points. Oyema lifted 125kg and scored 115.5 points to take silver, completing Nigeria’s first one-two finish of the Games.
The medals in para powerlifting are decided using a coefficient system that adjusts each athlete’s lift according to body weight, rather than the heaviest lift alone.
Oluwafemiayo and Ferdinand then produced another Nigerian one-two in the women’s heavyweight event, with both athletes setting world records in their respective weight categories.
Oluwafemiayo broke her own +86kg world record with a 172kg lift before improving it to 175kg on her final attempt. The Team Nigeria captain scored 134.8 points to retain her Commonwealth title.
Ferdinand lifted 158kg to establish a new +79kg world record and scored 128.2 points to secure silver. Glasgow 2026 confirmed that both Nigerians set world records during the competition.
Idris completed Nigeria’s medal haul by winning the men’s heavyweight title with a 208kg lift.
Competing at a body weight of 86kg, he opened with 200kg before improving to 208kg to score 132.8 points. His final attempt at a Games record of 212kg was unsuccessful, but he had already done enough to secure Nigeria’s third gold.
England’s Matthew Harding won silver with 131 points, while India’s Jhandu Kumar claimed bronze with 130.9 points. The official Games report confirmed the podium.
Historic basketball win, early exits elsewhere
Nigeria recorded mixed results outside para powerlifting.
The men’s 3×3 basketball team began their campaign with a historic 21–17 victory over the Cayman Islands, Nigeria’s first Commonwealth Games win in the discipline.
They were subsequently beaten 21–15 by Australia before closing the day with a 21–10 defeat to New Zealand, leaving them with one victory from their opening three matches.
In swimming, Clinton Opute finished sixth in his men’s 200m individual medley heat in 2:15.40 and did not progress.
Nigeria also suffered two boxing eliminations. Ayomide Foly Hassan lost 4–0 on points to Lesotho’s Refiloe Thai, while Abdulramon Abdulwahab was beaten 5–0 by Uganda’s Nuhu Batte. Both Nigerians exited in the round of 32.
Despite those setbacks, Nigeria finished the opening day behind only Australia, with two world-record holders and six medals secured before several of the country’s leading medal prospects begin their campaigns.
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