Nigeria’s Zainab Adeshina has advanced to the final of the women’s 51kg boxing category at the ongoing Islamic Games in Saudi Arabia. She defeated Algeria’s Fatiha Mansouri 4–1 on points after three tough rounds on Sunday. Ok see
The fight took place at The Promenade – Art Tower venue, where Adeshina showed great determination to recover from a slow start and win the match.
According to the official report, four of the five judges from Egypt, Iraq, Slovakia, and Australia scored the fight in favour of Adeshina. Only the judge from Puerto Rico sided with Mansouri.
Although Adeshina lost the first two rounds on most scorecards, she made a strong comeback in the final round, landing several clean punches that troubled her opponent. Mansouri was also penalized twice by the referee, Chang Yu-Ling from Taiwan, for breaking the rules, leading to point deductions that helped Adeshina secure victory.
The Australian judge scored all three rounds 10–9 for Adeshina, giving her a total of 30–27, while the other judges gave closer scores of 28–27.
Adeshina’s third-round performance was the key to her win, as she used quick footwork and better control to dominate the fight. The 21-year-old boxer will now face Tunisia’s Rabia Topuz in Monday’s gold medal match.
Her journey to the final began with a quarter-final victory on Thursday, followed by her semi-final win on Sunday.
Adeshina is part of a two-member Nigerian team led by coach Abayomi Oyeleye.
The other boxer, Ridwan Raheem, is competing in the welterweight division. The team arrived in Saudi Arabia last Monday for the sixth edition of the Islamic Games, which runs from November 7 to 21.