TheCable

For a year that reaped bountifully for Nigerian sports, 2022 also produced some of the country’s lowest moments in recent memories.

Moments of despair that brought pain to the hearts of Nigerians who love sports.

From Super Eagles’ absence in Qatar 2022 to the end of Nigeria’s domination in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and another doping scandal in athletics — disappointing moments abound.

Below are six of those deep-sighing moments in Nigerian sports in 2022:

Super Eagles’ World Cup miss

Barely a month after a disappointing quarter-final exit at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Super Eagles dumbed another painful loss on Nigerians. A bigger pain. They missed out on the Qatar 2022 World Cup to Ghana on away goal rules.

A goalless draw in Kumasi was followed by a one-all second-leg encounter in Abuja.

The result at the Moshood Abiola stadium aggravated fans who invaded the pitch after the match and damaged facilities.

Ministry denying D’Tigress World Cup chance

In the list of the most controversial moves in the Nigerian sport clime in 2022, the decision of the ministry of sports to withdraw the country from international basketball competition stands tall.

Before the self-ban, D’Tigress were billed to represent Nigeria at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Australia from September 22 to October 1, 2022.

The team had been drawn into Group B alongside Australia, Japan, France, Canada, and Serbia.

The development forced FIBA to replace Nigeria with Mali in the competition, denying D’Tigress a tournament they have toiled and qualified for.

The ministry, however, reversed the ban, but the consequence had already been done.

Grace Nwokocha’s drug test

Nigeria’s accomplishment at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) is the country’s best in sporting competition in recent years. Yet as the gold rush and excitement were settling, news filtered in that Grace Nwokocha, a sprinter, had failed a doping test.

The 21-year-old was among the Nigerian women’s 4x100m relay team that won the gold medal in the competition.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) handed her a provisional suspension, banning her from the sport until the investigation has been fully conducted and the verdict communicated.

Nigeria’s gold medal in the women’s 4x100m relays stands on thin ice alongside Nwokocha.

Isreal Adesanya and Kamaru Usman’s loss

A double loss for Nigeria in the UFC as both Isreal Adesanya and Kamaru Usman lost their belts in 2022.

The first was Usman’s defeat to Leon Edwards, losing the UFC welterweight title he has kept since 2019.

The “Nigerian Nightmare” surrendered to a vicious head kick in the fifth round that had him flat on the canvas, blinking.

A few months later, Adesanya also had his middleweight title snatched from him in a similar fashion.

The “Last Style Bender” was taken out by Alex Pereira in the last round of a bout he was dominating.

Anthony Joshua’s double defeat

Oleksandr Usyk completed his double victory over Joshua in 2022.

The British-Nigerian failed to revenge his 2021 defeat to the Ukrainian and reclaim the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles.

A split decision ensured Usyk kept his newly won belts, sending Joshua further down the pecking order in boxing.

Nigerian athletes convicted for wire fraud in the US

In November, two Nigerian athletes were convicted in the United States for their part in a “complex fraud scheme.”

The US attorney’s office of the southern district of Mississippi said Emmanuel Ineh, the long jumper, and Toluwani Adebakin, the sprinter, pleaded guilty to charges of “sending thousands of illicitly obtained proceeds to fraudsters in Nigeria as part of a larger mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.”

Ineh represented Nigeria at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games where he won silver while Adebakin is a 200m and 400m runner.

Both defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on February 15, 2023, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

It is believed that they risk at least ten years in prison.