Team Nigeria recorded mixed results in Beach Volleyball and Table Tennis on Day 2 of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday, www.aclsports.com reports.
In Beach Volleyball, Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence bounced back from their opening-day defeat with a 2-0 victory over Egypt’s Marwa Mamdouh Salem Saleh and Karma Badawy in their Pool D encounter at Saly Beach West.
The Nigerian pair secured a narrow 21-19 win in the opening set before dominating the second 21-11 to claim their first victory of the competition.
However, Bawa and Lawrence could not maintain their winning momentum, going down 2-0 to Italy’s Micol Lafuente and Margherita Coretti in their second Pool D match of the day. The Italians won both sets 21-15 and 21-16 to leave Nigeria with two losses in three matches.
In the Table Tennis Men’s Singles preliminary stage, Mathew Kuti lost 3-0 to Hong Kong’s Li Ki Ho, with game scores of 4-11, 4-11 and 3-11.
Kuti bounced back in his second Group 5 match, defeating Tunisia’s Youssef Aidli 3-1. The Nigerian won the first two games 11-8 and 11-8 before Aidli claimed the third 11-9. Kuti then sealed the victory with an 11-7 win in the fourth game.
Meanwhile, Favour Ojo also had a difficult day in the Women’s Singles preliminary stage. She first lost 3-1 to Czechia’s Hanka Kodet, with game scores of 7-11, 13-11, 9-11 and 9-11, before falling by the same margin to Egypt’s Yara Elbadawy later in the day.
Ojo took the opening game 11-9, but Elbadawy levelled the contest with an 11-9 win. The Egyptian then won the next two games 11-6 and 11-9 to secure a 3-1 victory.
Team Nigeria’s Day 3 schedule on Monday, November 2, features Omolola Akinsanmi and Kashope Obatoyinbo in the 100m Freestyle at 11:08 am and 11:44 am respectively, Favour Ojo in Table Tennis at 12:10 pm, Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence in the Volleyball Round of 16 at 3:00 pm, and Mathew Kuti in Table Tennis at 5:15 pm.
Image: ITTF Africa
