Nigeria’s D’Tigress defeat world No.3 Australia to claim first win at Olympics in 20 years

The D’Tigress of Nigeria has claimed their first win at the Olympics in 20 years after defeating the Opals of Australia in their first match at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

Nigeria defeated Australia 75-62  at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Monday, July 29.

Nigeria led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter, and the lead was extended to 41-28 by half-time.  Australia bounced back after the break, winning the third quarter 19-10, but Nigeria claimed the victory in the fourth quarter, winning 24-15 and sparking wild celebrations in their technical area.

Before today’s game, the four-time African champions had never won a single game at the Olympics in their previous two appearances.

It’s the team’s first win in an Olympic match since Athens 2004 when they defeated South Korea in an inconsequential classification game after crashing out.

The Australians were listed as third on the competition’s power ranking, while Nigeria was named 12th.