The Elite Development and Podium Board by the National Sports Commission (NSC) has lauded the performance of the country’s contingent to the 2025 African Senior Weightlifting Championships in Moka, Mauritius.
 
Team Nigeria, with just six weightlifters, topped the medals table with a total of 13 gold, four silver and one bronze medal. Tunisia was second with 12 gold, 21 silver and eight bronze, while hosts, Mauritius, finished third with nine gold, five silver and ten bronze medals. Egypt finished fourth with nine gold and two bronze, just as Cameroun, Algeria, Madagascar, South Africa and Ghana finished in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth positions in that order.
 
Speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, head of the board, Yusuf Ali said: “The NSC strategy of putting in place the Elite Development and Podium Board is paying off for Nigeria and I am very happy about it. The weightlifting team to the African Senior Championships in Mauritius had four of the weightlifters on the pool of Elite Development and Podium Board. If only six weightlifters from Nigeria can dominate Africa at the senior level, it shows we are on the right track.

“The days of packing over 20 athletes or more for a single competition and returning home without a medal is gone.”

The idea behind establishing the Elite Development and Podium Board is to target podium athletes ahead of major competitions, including the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. I commend the leadership of NSC for the foresight in putting the Board in place,” Ali stated.