The winner of Nigeria’s first gold medal of the ongoing Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan was quite emotional while speaking to the media immediately after her podium finish.
Tijani Latifat said, “I’m so happy and glad for what I just achieved. I promised to bring home the gold and I thank God for helping me bring this gold home this year.
“I am dedicating this Gold medal to my humble and hardworking coach who is always pushing and motivating me. He keeps me on my toes and makes me stay focused.”
Tijani won Nigeria’s first gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics after out lifting her opponents in the weightlifting finals.
The Ogun State native prevailed in the 45kg category on Thursday after she lifted 107kg to overcome the challenge from Zhe Cui, China weightlifter, who won silver after lifting 102kg.
Justyna Kozdryk of Poland earned bronze with a further kilogram behind her Chinese rival after a pulsating exchange of weights.
The 39-year-old Tijani had previously won silver at the Rio 2016 event.
Yakubu Adesokan, her compatriot, however, failed to make the podium in the men’s 49kg weight category.
Adesokan finished fourth and narrowly missed the medal after lifting 155kg, which failed to match Parvin Mammadov of Azerbaijan’s 156kg lift.
A final attempt of 161kg was unsuccessful as Adesokan failed to lift it.