Nigeria, March 29 -- The ongoing South West Games in Lagos have thrown the spotlight on archery, a sport gaining rapid popularity in Nigeria.

The event has made history by featuring archery as a competitive sport for the first time in regional games, with young athletes as young as nine years old participating.

Emmanuel Oyeleke of Zen Archery described the occasion as "historical" and a significant milestone for the sport's growth in Nigeria.

"This is historical. If you've been following archery for a long time, this is the first time we are having archery as a regional event. This means growth, it means development as a sport," Mr Oyeleke said.

"Having youngsters-nine, ten, eleven years old kids here competing for their states-gives ...