Archery: Sholademi shares challenges behind Nigeria’s medal success

Damilola Sholademi talked about the challenge that almost stopped him from helping Nigeria achieve a record number of medals at the 15th African Archery Championships in Oran, Algeria. Nigeria won seven medals, its best performance at the event ever.

Nigerian archers secured medals in both barebow and compound categories. They brought home one gold, five silver, and one bronze medal at the championships from July 21 to 26. The event had 138 archers from eighteen countries and was organized by World Archery Africa.

The gold medal came from the women’s barebow team event, where Faith Adekogbe, Mandu Eteidung, and Precious Fanny-Amun defeated Algeria 5-3 to become African champions.

In the men’s compound team event, Aliyu Abubakar, Seun Oyeleke, and Sholademi beat Algeria 205-183 in the semi-final. They narrowly lost 182-197 to Mauritius in the final and took home the silver medal.

Sholademi, who is Nigeria’s most decorated archer and Technical Director of the Nigeria Archery Federation, said this was the largest medal haul for Nigeria. He credited years of training and the support from ARCH Archery Club and Shooters’ Archery Club, which train military personnel on the Defence Archery team.

“Honestly, we did well. This is our largest medal count. The best we have ever had was just three in Tunisia,” Sholademi said.

“We had trained them years before, and we have an excellent relationship with them.”

But Sholademi revealed that his own campaign almost fell apart after his equipment went missing at Algiers International Airport. It could not be found until after the championships ended. He had to take a thirteen-hour road trip between three cities before he was finally told to pick it up from the airport.

“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. As the Team Manager, I could not afford to show that my resolve was broken. I had to show strength and courage,” he said. He mentioned he had to borrow a bow he was not used to for the competition.

“Borrowing a compound bow that you are unfamiliar with a few minutes before shooting is like jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute. 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,” he added.

Among the eighteen-athlete delegation were 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. The Nigerian archery team is now officially called the Flames.