Faye Njie, the first Gambian athlete to ever win a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, has told The Alkamba Times (TAT) that he hopes his medal will inspire a new generation of Gambians judokas.
The 28-year-old made history at the Birmingham Games on Tuesday when he won a silver medal after defeating his opponent in the -73kg men’s category.
Faye told TAT Sports from his base in Birmingham: “I hope this medal can work as an inspiration for the future generation of judokas in the Gambia. The bar has been set now, and they will put it higher and reach the gold medal.
“Today was a great day for me, as well as for the Gambia. It is always an honor to represent the country; bringing the medal back home is the best way to show it.”
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Bakary Badjie, who is also in Birmingham with the Gambian athletes, told TAT: “It’s an excellent win for Faye Njie and The Gambia. The Gambia last won a bronze in our first participation in 1970 (in the long jump).
“So while the wait has been long, the Ministry and the whole country are glad that Njie finally can end that and win a silver medal in Judo. We now look forward to more wins from athletes and Beach Volleyball.”
According to the Gambia National Olympics Committee, Judoka Faye Njie appeared in the 2022 Birmingham Games full of endurance, winning all his fights en route to a match for the gold medal against Daniel Powell of England.
“It was a match. Njie put his sweat, blood, and everything to become golden. The fight settled in the golden score where the British overcame the Gambian.
“This is Faye’s third major accolade for the West African nation – bronze in 2015 at the African Games, silver in 2021 at the African Seniors, and now silver at the Commonwealth Games,” the national Olympics body said in a statement while congratulating him.
Finland-based Judoka Faye Njie of Gambia won a silver medal at 2015 All African Games in Brazzaville. He qualified for the Rio Olympic Games based on the continental quota for Africa. The Gambian judoka narrowly lost to current Asian Games gold medallist Didar KHAMZA (KAZ) in his contest at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
