Team Nigeria have endured a mixed start to the table tennis competition at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with Favour Ojo eliminated from the women’s singles event while Matthew Kuti remains in contention for a place in the knockout stage.
Ojo’s campaign ended after she suffered defeats in both of her opening group matches, losing 3-1 to Hanka Kodet of Czechia before falling by the same scoreline to Egypt‘s Yara Elbadawy.
Her disappointment continued in the mixed doubles event, where she partnered Kuti but failed to advance beyond the round of 16.
The Nigerian pair lost 3-1 to their Thai opponents, bringing their campaign in the event to an end.
Kuti keeps Team Nigeria in contentionWhile Ojo has exited the competition, Kuti remains in the hunt for qualification after recording one victory and one defeat in his opening two group matches.
The Nigerian began his campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Hong Kong’s Li Ki Ho, who dominated their encounter.
However, Kuti responded in his next match with a 3-1 victory over Tunisia‘s Youssef Aidli to register his first win of the competition.
The 18-year-old took control early, winning the opening two games 11-8 and 11-8. Aidli fought back to claim the third game 11-9, but Kuti regained his composure to close out the contest with an 11-7 victory in the fourth.
The result kept his hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive ahead of his final group fixture.
Trevisan test awaits KutiKuti will face Italy’s Francesco Trevisan in his final group match, with qualification for the knockout rounds at stake.
Only the top two players in the group will advance, leaving the Nigerian with little room for error as he seeks to secure his place in the next stage.
His victory over Aidli offers encouragement ahead of the decisive encounter, although he will need another strong performance to progress.
Beach volleyball pair bounce backElsewhere, Nigeria’s women’s beach volleyball duo of Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence responded to their opening defeat with a 2-0 victory over Egypt on Sunday.
The win provided a timely boost for Team Nigeria as the country’s athletes continued their respective campaigns in Senegal.