Nigeria bags three golds at African Taekwondo Championships

The Nigerian Taekwondo team

Nigeria’s medal count at the 2026 African Taekwondo Championships in Bamako, Mali, has reached seven. The country won three gold medals, one silver, and three bronze at 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 partnered with Salawudeen Abdulafeez to claim silver in the Pair Poomsae event.

Earlier in the competition, Haruna Usman secured the second gold in the Poomsae U-40 Male category. Para-Taekwondo athlete Mathew Udom won the first gold in the -57kg Kyorugi category on Monday with a strong performance.

Nigeria’s bronze medals were earned by 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 defeated Mali’s Samake Goundo in the quarterfinals but lost in the semifinals.

Morocco was the top team in the Kyorugi event, winning eight gold medals and finishing as overall champions.

Nigeria Taekwondo Federation President, Tayo Popoola, shared her happiness with the team’s performance after they won the first gold. She encouraged them to aim 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 stepped up as the president expected, and they surely made her proud with their performances.