Beach Volleyball Keeps Nigeria's Medal Hopes Alive at Dakar 2026

Posted : 04 November 2026

Nigeria's quest for medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games received a boost after the beach volleyball team secured a place in the quarter-finals, despite setbacks in table tennis and swimming.

The Nigerian duo booked their place in the last eight with an impressive straight-set victory over Thailand, winning 21-16, 21-13 to sustain their hopes of reaching the podium.

The victory was a significant achievement for the players and their coach, Super Kay, as Nigeria advanced into the knockout phase of the beach volleyball competition.

However, the country's campaign in table tennis suffered a setback, with Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo exiting after losing their respective final preliminary-round matches.

Kuti, Nigeria's deputy captain, needed a victory to reach the men's singles knockout stage but lost 0-3 to Italy's Francesco Travesan.

Ojo also failed to progress after suffering defeat against her Hong Kong opponent, recording her third loss in a four-player group.

Under the competition format, only the top two players in each group qualified for the knockout rounds.

Their elimination leaves Algeria's Tania Morice and Egypt's Abdelmalk Elsayed as the remaining African representatives in the table tennis competition.

In swimming, Nigeria's Kashope Obatoyinbo and Tobiloba Omolola Akinsanmi ended their respective 100m freestyle campaigns without reaching the next stage.

Obatoyinbo, 16, finished fourth in Heat 7 of the men's event in 53.81 seconds, placing 29th overall among 73 competitors.

The young swimmer, who enjoyed the support of his mother throughout the competition in Dakar, will return to the pool on Wednesday for the men's 50m freestyle event.

Akinsanmi, meanwhile, finished fifth in her women's 100m freestyle heat after clocking 1:03.33, ending her participation in the event.

Although the swimmers failed to advance, their participation offered valuable exposure and experience against international opposition.

With table tennis and the women's 100m freestyle campaigns concluded, attention will now shift to beach volleyball, where Nigeria remains in contention for a podium finish.

The quarter-final qualification provides the Nigerian contingent with renewed encouragement as the country's young athletes continue their pursuit of honours at the multi-sport competition in Senegal.

Beach Volleyball Keeps Nigeria's Medal Hopes Alive at Dakar 2026

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