Get Guardian on GooglePamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence brought joy to Team Nigeria’s camp at the ongoing Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a 2-0 victory over Egypt’s Marwa Mamdouh and Karma Badawy in the Women’s Beach Volleyball Preliminary Phase yesterday, which was Day 2 of the competition.
The Nigerian pair bounced back from their loss on Saturday, and looked to build on their winning momentum when they took on Italy’s Margherita Coretti and Micol Lafuenti later yesterday.
In table tennis, Team Nigeria’s Ojo Favour, in her second singles match on Sunday, lost 1-3 to Egypt’s Elbadawy Yara despite winning the first match 11/9.
The Nigerian who had earlier lost her first singles match to her opponent from Czechia, could not sustain her momentum in the next three games, losing 9/11, 6/11 and 9/11 to wave goodbye to the Youth Olympics, though she still has a game to play.
A day after losing in the mixed doubles event, Nigeria’s duo of Kuti Matthew and Ojo Favour started their campaign in the group stage of the singles yesterday also on a losing note.
The defeats notwithstanding, officials of Team Nigeria are optimistic of overcoming the early setback as the competition progresses.
The President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, told The Guardian that it is still early in the Games, adding that the young Nigerian athletes will discover their winning formula as the Games progresses.
The fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic sporting event hosted on African soil, got underway in Dakar on Saturday.
In Table Tennis Mixed Doubles, Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo fell 3:1 to Thailand in the Round of 16.
Both pairs shifted focus to their singles events yesterday. Their performance were not too good in their first group matches, as Kuti went down 0-3 (11-4, 11-4, 11-3) to LiKi Ho of Hong Kong, while Ojo Favour suffered 1-3 defeat 11/7, 13/11, 9/11, 9/11 to Kogot Hanka of Czechia.
The Secretary General of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Olusoji Akanmu, told The Guardian at the venue yesterday that he expects them to improve in their next two matches and qualify for the main action.
For the President of Africa Table Tennis Federation, Enitan Oshodi, Nigeria’s young table tennis players need financial support to excel at major championships.
“Maybe, if Kuti has more financial support back home, he shouldn’t have gone to play in Saudi Arabia. I just hope he will rediscover himself and make progress in this Youth Olympic Games,” Oshodi said.
Sprint sensation, Rosemary Nwankwo was Team Nigeria’s flagbearer during Saturday’s opening ceremony in Dakar.
