Kuti, Ojo Exit Table Tennis Event at 2026 Youth Olympics Games

Nigeria's Matthew Kuti and teammate Favour Ojo concluded their table tennis competition at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal after both suffered defeats in their preliminary round matches. Ojo lost her third match of the tournament to Hong Kong player, falling short of advancing to the knockout stage. Kuti was also eliminated, having lost to Italy's Francesco Travesan 0-3 and failing to reach the men's singles knockout round.

Of the 15 African players who started in the event, only Algeria's Tania Morice and Egypt's Abdelmalk Elsayed are still in contention to reach the quarter-finals. Both players aim to emulate Nigeria's Ojo Onaolapo, who reached the quarter-finals at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Meanwhile, in the men's singles event, Algeria's Aylan Goudjil, Benin Republic's Ganiou Abdourahaman, Senegal's Amador Ferrer, Tunisia's Youssef Aidli, and Uganda's Joseph Sebatindira were all knocked out in the preliminary round.

In women's singles, Egypt's Yara Elbadawy, Ghana's Joanita Borteye, Madagascar's Tina Andriantahina, Senegal's Marieme Diallo, Tunisia's Ela Saidi, and Uganda's Jemimah Nakawala also exited the competition after preliminary stage defeats. Top Nigerian tennis players are now racing to participate in the remaining three tournaments to qualify for the ProvidusUnity Bank Tennis Masters, with Daniel Adeleye and Bright Emmanuel among those focusing on securing spots in the prestigious event.