Sholademi Opens Up About the Obstacle That Led to Nigeria's Historic Archery Medal Count

Damilola Sholademi has opened up about a major obstacle that almost thwarted his campaign, which ultimately contributed to Nigeria's record-breaking seven medals at the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria.

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Nigeria's archers secured a spot on the podium in both barebow and compound categories, winning a total of one gold, five silver, and one bronze medal at the championships, which took place from 21 to 26 July and featured 138 archers from eighteen countries under the auspices of World Archery Africa.

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The gold medal was won in the women's barebow team event, where the trio of Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung, and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated the host team, Algeria, with a score of 5-3, claiming the title of African champions.

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In the men's compound team event, the team consisting of Aliyu Abubakar, Seun Oyeleke, and Damilola Sholademi defeated Algeria 205-183 in the semi-final, but narrowly lost to Mauritius 182-197 in the final, settling for a silver medal.

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According to Damilola Sholademi, Nigeria's most decorated archer and Technical Director of the Nigeria Archery Federation, the medal haul was the country's largest, attributing the success to years of training and the influence of the ARCH Archery Club and Shooters' Archery Club, which train military personnel on the Defence Archery team.

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Sholademi expressed his thoughts on the achievement, stating, "Honestly, we did well, this is our largest medal count, the best we have ever had was just three in Tunisia," and added, "We had trained them years before, and we have an excellent relationship with them."

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However, the Oyo State Archery Chairman revealed that his own campaign was nearly derailed after his equipment went missing at Algiers International Airport and could not be traced until after the championships had ended, forcing him to embark on a thirteen-hour road trip between three cities before he was eventually told to retrieve it from the same airport.

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Sholademi recounted his experience, saying, "I did not let it get to me, despite the physical and emotional trauma, I had to keep my gaze on what was at stake, and as the Team Manager, I could not afford to show that my resolve was broken, I had to show strength and courage."

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He also shared his experience of borrowing an unfamiliar bow to compete, saying, "Borrowing a compound bow that you are unfamiliar with a few minutes before shooting is like jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute."

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Sholademi added, "While I did not break my personal record, my silver medal reminded me that it is not the bow that makes the archer, rather, it is having the heart of an archer."

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The Nigerian archery team, now officially known as the Flames, included notable members such as Aliyu Abubakar, president of Shooters' Archery Club and coach of the national team, Kachollom Enyenihi of ARCH Archery Club, who leads the female archers, and Emmanuel Oyeleke, founder of Zen Archery Club, who won silver in the men's compound team event.