October 06, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, have been handed a challenging draw in their bid to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the group stage draw, Nigeria were placed in Group B alongside world number one, the United States, sixth-ranked Belgium and 20th-ranked Senegal. The qualifiers will take place in Belgium in February 2024.
Despite the difficult draw, D’Tigress will be hopeful of progressing to what would be their third-ever Olympics, having previously appeared at Athens 2004 and London 2012. Under coach Rena Wakama, Nigeria won a fourth consecutive African title in 2023 and made history as Wakama became the first female coach to claim the championship.
The US team arrive as defending Olympic champions, having won the last seven gold medals in a row at the Games. Belgium too are one of the top teams in women’s basketball. Senegal are the lowest-ranked side in the group at number 20.
To secure qualification, D’Tigress will likely need to finish as one of the top three teams in their group. It will require a monumental effort, but the Nigerians have proven capable of upsetting the odds.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
