Nigeria stops Egypt from winning all titles at ITTF Africa Youth Champs

Nigeria stopped Egypt from winning all the team events at the 2026 ITTF Africa Youth Championships. A strong comeback led by Quadri Atunwon helped Nigeria win gold in the boys’ U-19 category on Wednesday in Accra, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

The defending champions seemed set to lose their title after trailing 2-0 against Egypt in the final. But they fought back to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory, stopping the North Africans from taking all four team titles.

Egypt took the early lead by winning the first two matches. This left Nigeria with a tough task ahead.

Sultan Agunbiade started the comeback by defeating his Egyptian opponent. This brought Nigeria closer at 2-1. Then Matthew Kuti, who had lost a tight 3-2 match to Yassin Gaber earlier, bounced back. He won 3-1 against Abdelmalk Elsayed, leveling the match.

This set up a winner-takes-all showdown between Atunwon and Gaber. Atunwon raced to an 8-2 lead in the deciding fifth game. But Gaber made a strong comeback to tie the score at 8-8. He then earned two match points at 10-8.

Atunwon showed great calm under pressure. He saved both match points and edged a thrilling finish 16-14. This victory secured Nigeria’s boys’ U-19 title.

Despite this loss, Egypt still ruled the team events. They took home the other three titles available.

Nigeria’s boys’ U-15 team, who were also defending champions, faced a tough 3-2 semi-final against the hosts Ghana. However, they lost 3-0 to Egypt in the final.

Ahmed Elsabbagh started strong for Egypt with a straight-sets win over Marvelous Joseph. Then Asser Sameh beat Usman Ayoola. Finally, Hussein Eyad completed the sweep with another 3-0 win against Samson Joshua.

Egypt also won the girls’ U-15 title, beating Tunisia 3-1. They had lost this title to Uganda in 2025.

The North Africans finished their strong showing by winning the girls’ U-19 event. They defeated Algeria 3-0 to defend their title successfully.

While Egypt left with three of the four available trophies, Nigeria celebrated their boys’ U-19 title. Atunwon’s memorable comeback stopped Egypt from taking all the championships.