Dakar 2026: Nigeria’s Beach Volleyball Duo Revive Medal Hopes as Kuti Records First Win
Oru Leonard
Nigeria’s beach volleyball duo of Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence have kept their medal hopes alive at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after securing a 2-0 victory over Egypt.
The pair recovered from their earlier 2-1 loss to Japan to defeat Egypt’s Marwa Mamdouh Salem Saleh and Karma Badawy 21-19, 21-11 on Sunday, recording their first victory in the competition.
The win has boosted Nigeria’s chances in the beach volleyball event as Bawa and Lawrence continue their quest for a place in the next stage.
In table tennis, Matthew Kuti also returned to winning ways, defeating Tunisia’s Youssef Aidli 3-1 in a men’s singles preliminary encounter to register his first victory at the Games.
Kuti, who lost his opening match 3-0 to Hong Kong’s Ho Ki Li, started strongly against Aidli, claiming the first two sets 11-8, 11-8.
Although the Tunisian fought back to take the third set 11-9, the African Youth Cup champion maintained his composure to win the fourth 11-7 and seal the match.
The Nigerian star now needs another victory to improve his chances of reaching the round of 16. He faces Italy’s Francesco Travesan in his final group fixture, where a win could secure his progression to the knockout stage.
However, it was a disappointing outing for Nigeria’s Favour Ojo, who lost 3-1 to Egypt’s Elbadawy Yara in the women’s singles.
Ojo won the opening set 11-9 but was unable to sustain her advantage, losing the remaining sets 9-11, 6-11, 9-11 to bow out of the singles competition.
With several events still unfolding, Nigeria’s contingent will be hoping to build on the positive results and improve its medal prospects as the competition enters another busy week in Dakar.
