Team Plateau continued their impressive showing at the 9th National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State, with three more medals on Day 4, bringing their total haul to ten.
The highlight of the day came from Para Powerlifting, where Joy Haruna powered her way to the top of the 45kg class with a 52kg lift, clinching Plateau’s second gold medal of the Games. Earlier, her teammate, Sunday Wakilly, earned bronze in the men’s 49kg category with a 54kg lift.
In Golf, Azi Isaac secured silver in the ECLECTIC event after a stern contest, finishing with a 78 Gross—just two points behind Lagos. Rotmwagyi Monday will also battle for bronze today in the female ECLECTIC.
However, it was a mixed day for the state across other sports. In team events, Plateau’s female hockey side bowed out after a 4-0 defeat to Lagos, while the football team crashed out following a 3-0 loss to Abia, despite earlier defeating Adamawa 1-0. The beach volleyball team also lost 2-0 to Kaduna but will look to bounce back against Osun.
There was disappointment in boxing, as Micah Elijah was disqualified due to being overweight, despite his knockout win the previous day. In Kokowa, both Zanang Chioma and Stephen Vincent fell short after a series of tough matches.
Taekwondo also brought heartbreak, with medal hopefuls Iverson and Yeipyeng halted—Iverson by injury and Yeipyeng by a Delta opponent. Tennis saw contrasting fortunes, with Alex Barnas narrowly losing to Lagos, while Bernard Caleb advanced to the next round after defeating Kwara. In the female category, Badsheba lost to Bayelsa.
In darts, Williams Glory advanced past Lagos but was stopped in the round of 16 by Abia, while Princess, Shedrack Samson, and Destiny Kinbar also fell short. Squash provided no breakthrough, with Plateau losing in both male and female singles.
Despite the setbacks, Plateau closed Day 4 with one gold, one silver, and one bronze. This brings their medal tally to 10 (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 4 Bronze), a strong sign of determination and resilience from the state’s athletes.
Looking ahead to Day 5, Plateau athletes will compete in Para Powerlifting, Darts, Golf, Gymnastics, Cycling, Judo, Badminton, Tennis, and Chess, as the hunt for more medals continues.