Team Nigeria suffered opening-day defeats in women’s Beach Volleyball and Table Tennis at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
The fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games are taking place in Senegal from October 31 to November 13, marking the first Olympic sporting event hosted on African soil. Nigeria is represented by 19 athletes, including 12 women and seven men, across six sports. Sprinter Rosemary Chigozie Nwankwo carried the country’s flag at the opening ceremony at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio.
Nigeria opened its women’s Beach Volleyball campaign with Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence losing 2-1 to Japan’s Auru Kato and Mei Nakagawa in a Pool D preliminary-phase encounter at Saly Beach West, Court 3.
The Nigerian duo lost the opening set 22-20 but responded with a 21-11 victory in the second to force a decider. However, Kato and Nakagawa secured a 15-12 win in the final set to complete their victory after 52 minutes of play.
Nigeria sit third in Pool D with one point, behind Italy and Japan, while Egypt are fourth. The top two teams in each pool and the two best third-placed sides will advance to the Round of 16, with the remaining third-placed teams entering the lucky loser round.
In Table Tennis, Favour Ojo and Mathew Kuti exited the Mixed Doubles competition following a 3-1 defeat to Thailand’s Thitaphat Preechayan and Kulapassr Vijitviriyagul in the Round of 16.
The encounter at the Dakar Expo Center saw the Thai pair take the opening game 11-6 before Ojo and Kuti responded with an 11-9 win to level the contest. However, the Nigerians lost the next two games 11-3 to bow out of the competition.
Both players will return to action in the singles events on Sunday, November 1. Ojo is scheduled to face Czechia’s Hanka Kodet in the Women’s Singles Preliminary Round, while Kuti will take on Hong Kong’s Ho Ki Li in the Men’s Singles Preliminary Round.
Image: Simon Bruty for OIS/IOC
