Adama impresses in the pool despite semifinal exit at Commonwealth Games
Team Nigeria experienced a day of highs and lows at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with swimmer Abduljabar Adama producing a commendable performance by reaching the men's 50m freestyle semifinal before narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
The Nigerian national record holder announced himself in the heats with a strong swim of 22.67 seconds, finishing third in his race to secure a semifinal berth. His time ranked him 11th overall, behind Australia's Flynn Southam (22.03s) and England's Jacob Mills (22.40s) in the same heat.
Fellow Nigerian Clinton Opute came agonisingly close to joining Adama in the semifinals. Opute finished sixth in his heat in 23.15 seconds, ending the qualification rounds as the second reserve after narrowly missing the cut.
Adama later returned to the pool for the men's 100m butterfly heats alongside compatriot Colins Ebingha. Ebingha clocked 55.45 seconds to finish sixth in his heat, while Adama posted 55.81 seconds to place seventh, with both swimmers falling short of semifinal qualification.
The 50m freestyle semifinal marked Adama's third event of the day, and the Nigerian showed remarkable determination by improving his earlier time to 22.44 seconds. However, his effort earned him a sixth-place finish in Semifinal Two, ending his impressive run just short of the final.
Elsewhere, Nigeria's David Akintola exited the men's boxing competition after a hard-fought 4-1 split-decision defeat to Tanzania's Yusuf Lucasi Changalawe in the round of 32, with the Tanzanian progressing to the last 16.
There was also disappointment on the basketball court as Team Nigeria's women's wheelchair 3x3 side suffered a heavy 16-1 defeat to hosts Scotland, rounding off a challenging day for the country's athletes despite Adama's encouraging display in the swimming pool.
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