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Nigeria’s Matthew Kuti and Favour Ojo have been eliminated from the table tennis event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after suffering defeats in their respective final preliminary-round matches.
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Ojo suffered her third defeat in a four-player group against her Hong Kong opponent, while Kuti missed out on qualification for the men’s singles knockout stage after losing 3-0 to Italy’s Francesco Travesan.
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Only two of the 15 African players who started the table tennis competition, Algeria’s Tania Morice and Egypt’s Abdelmalk Elsayed, remain in contention as they seek to match or surpass Ojo Onaolapo’s quarter-final achievement at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
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Despite his early exit in Dakar, Kuti heads into the competition with an impressive record, having won four of Nigeria’s five major table tennis tournaments and become the first West African player to successfully defend the men’s singles title at the 2025 West African Table Tennis Championships.
November 3, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s deputy captain, Matthew Kuti, and teammate, Favour Ojo, played their final matches in the table tennis event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal after losing their respective final preliminary-round fixtures.
Earlier in the day, Ojo was defeated by her Hong Kong counterpart, suffering her third loss in a group of four players. Only the top two players in each group advanced to the knockout stage.
Kuti, who was one victory away from securing a place in the men’s singles knockout stage, lost 0-3 to Italy’s Francesco Travesan, joining the list of African players eliminated in the opening round of the competition.
Out of the 15 African players who began their quest for podium finishes in the table tennis event, only Algeria’s Tania Morice and Egypt’s Abdelmalk Elsayed remain in contention.
Both players will be aiming to match or surpass the quarter-final achievement recorded by Nigeria’s Ojo Onaolapo at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.
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In the men’s singles, Algeria’s Aylan Goudjil, Benin Republic’s Ganiou Abdourahaman, Senegal’s Amador Ferrer, Tunisia’s Youssef Aidli, and Uganda’s Joseph Sebatindira were all eliminated in the preliminary round.
In the 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 have also exited the tournament following defeats in the preliminary stage.
Kuti has won four out of five major table tennis tournaments in Nigeria. His recent victories include the 10th Elicris Table Tennis Cup and the Molade Okoya-Thomas Cup.
He emerged as the first West African player to successfully defend the men’s singles title at the 2025 West African Table Tennis Championships.
