Nigeria bags three gold medals at African Taekwondo Championships

The Nigerian Taekwondo team

Nigeria has done well at the 2026 African Taekwondo Championships in Bamako, Mali. The country has now won seven medals in total, including three gold, one silver, and three bronze. This is part of the World Taekwondo-sanctioned G-4 tournament held at the Palais des Sports Salamatou Maiga, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

The latest gold medals came from the Poomsae event on Tuesday. Aderibigbe Faridah won gold in the Freestyle Poomsae category. She also paired with Salawudeen Abdulafeez to secure silver in the Pair Poomsae event.

Earlier in the competition, Haruna Usman won another gold in the Poomsae U-40 Male category. On Monday, Para-Taekwondo athlete Mathew Udom also made a mark by winning gold in the -57kg Kyorugi category.

Nigeria's bronze medals came from Joel Jordan in the men’s +87kg Kyorugi division, Chidinma Okoko in the women’s -62kg Kyorugi category, and Salawudeen Abdulafeez in the Poomsae U-30 Male event. Chidinma had a good run, defeating Mali’s Samake Goundo in the quarterfinals but lost in the semifinals.

Morocco was the big winner in the Kyorugi event, taking home eight gold medals and finishing as the overall champions.

Tayo Popoola, the President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, was pleased with how her team performed after they won their first gold. She encouraged them to keep pushing for more medals.

“I know you can do it, so I need some more,” she said.

“We are still competing in the Poomsae events and we hope to secure medals in various categories. I trust our Poomsae athletes to deliver and improve our position on the medal table.”

The athletes have responded well to the president’s call, and she will surely be happy with their efforts.