(Photo: GNOC)
By Landing Ceesay
Gambian Judo sensation, Faye Njie has made history for the country, qualifying to the final of the Men’s -73kg at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, after booking a place in the semi-finals earlier today.
“Fighting for Gold, Faye Njie will eventually become the first Gambian to win a medal greater than bronze in the Commonwealth Games. We are in the men’s -73kg final Birmingham 2022,” GNOC wrote on Facebook.
It is the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games that the Gambia qualified to the final. So far, the former British colony has never won a Silver or Gold medal at the games, following years of its participation.
Certainly, Faye Njie would end the medal deadlock for the Gambia at the Commonwealth Games, as he would either win a Silver or Gold medal in the final of the men’s -73kg Judo.
However, in the first round of the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, the Gambian Judoka, after 3 minutes 53 seconds by Ippon [a fighting technique in Judo], lost to Makhmadbekov from Tajikistan in October.
Despite the loss, he remained Gambia and Africa’s number 2 in 73kg.
Njie was one of the four athletes who represented the Gambia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
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