Team Nigeria’s medal hope at the ongoing Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games may have shifted to track and field, after the nation’s two flagbearers in table tennis, Favour Ojo and Mathew Kuti, lost out in their single group matches. Nigeria’s beach volleyball also waved goodbye in the early hours of yesterday, losing their last game to the Netherlands. But Nigeria’s four swimmers (two male and two female) are still battling it out with their counterparts from other countries. The swimming event will end on November 6.

Despite the setback from table tennis and beach volleyball, Team Nigeria officials have great hope in athletics, which accounts for Nigeria’s largest contingent of nine athletes (five female and four male) at the Games.

Led by sprinter Rosemary Nwankwo, the athletics team has other promising stars, including Rita Chisom Ezeh, Treasure Omosiwe, Faith Ezechukwu, Praise Ugoh, Gift Bright, Obanla Ehuwa, Gift Oghenerunor and Godswill Nkemakolam.

At the inaugural edition of the Games, Singapore 2010, Nigeria recorded its best moment by winning a total of four medals made up of two gold, one silver and one bronze to be ranked 29th overall in the world. And at Argentina 2018 World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nigeria also got a total of four medals made up of one gold and three silver to finish in 48th position in the general medal table.

Athletics accounted for Nigeria’s gold medals at those two events.

For some of the officials, track and field might come to Nigeria’s rescue once again here in Dakar, if the athletes, particularly Rosemary Nwankwo, get their acts right.

“Being Team Nigeria’s captain, I won’t be surprised if Rosemary Nwankwo finishes on the podium due to the experience she has garnered at the World Relay in Botswana, as well as the African Senior Athletic Championships in Ghana,” Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, told The Guardian shortly before he left Dakar for Abuja.

Some members of the athletics team made their marks from the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA), a programme introduced by the NSC last year.

Meanwhile, table tennis star Mathew Kuti has said that even though he did not win any medal, he gave the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics the best he could.

“It’s sad that things couldn’t work out the way I planned, but to be sincere, I gave my best in this Youth Olympic Games. My dream was to be in the main chart and possibly fight for a medal for Nigeria, but it didn’t work out,” Kuti told The Guardian at the table tennis venue in Dakar.

“I will go back, look at where things went wrong and improve on my training and strategy for other events.”

Kuti raised Nigeria’s hope of a successful outing when he recorded he defeated Tunisia’s Youssef Aidli 3-1 in a men’s singles preliminary match. He had lost his opening game 3-0 to Hong Kong’s Ho Ki Li. But when it mattered most against Italy’s Francesco Travesan in his final group match, Kuti could not find his winning strokes as he waved goodbye to the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. (The Guardian)