The National Sports Commission (NSC) has congratulated 17-year-old swimming sensation Abduljabar Adama and the Nigeria Aquatics Federation following his historic silver medal in the men’s 50m butterfly event at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania.

Adama clinched silver with an impressive time of 23.64 seconds, finishing just 0.10 seconds behind Great Britain’s Dean Fearn, who took gold with 23.54 seconds,” the NSC said in a statement.

Its Director General, Bukola Olopade, on Sunday, hailed Adama’s achievement as a milestone for Nigerian sports.

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“Abduljabar Adama’s silver medal is a proud moment for Nigeria and for Africa. His hard work and talent have once again demonstrated that our athletes can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world,” he stated.

Olopade said that moments like this served as a reminder to the NSC to remain committed to providing the support and structure needed to nurture such talents, adding that the commission believes “this is only the beginning of many more international triumphs for him and Nigerian swimming”.

According to the statement, Adama first turned heads in the heats, where he recorded the second-fastest overall time (23.61) in a field of 116 swimmers across 12 heats.

“He then dominated the semifinals, winning his race with an improved time of 23.48 seconds before delivering a gallant fight in the final.

“This latest achievement adds to Adama’s growing list of accolades. Earlier in March, he turned heads at the 16th Africa Junior Swimming Championships in Cairo, Egypt, where he won three gold medals, one bronze, and set multiple records, including a new African Junior record in the 50m freestyle,” NSC added in the statement.