Nigeria’s Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence bounced back in their beach volleyball journey at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games with a win over Egypt on Sunday.
The Nigerian duo defeated Marwa Mamdouh Salem Saleh and Karma Badawy 2-0 (21-19, 21-11) in their Pool D match at Saly Beach West in Senegal.
Bawa and Lawrence kept their cool to win a tightly contested first set 21-19. They then dominated the second set 21-11, marking their first win in the tournament.
This win was a strong reply to their earlier loss, where they fell 2-1 to Japan’s Auru Kato and Mei Nakagawa on Saturday.
In that match, the Nigerians lost the first set 22-20 but came back to take the second 21-11. Unfortunately, they lost the final set 15-12.
Nigeria is in Pool D with Japan, Egypt, and Italy. The teams are playing in a round-robin format to secure spots in the knockout stage.
The top two teams from each of the six groups, along with the two best third-placed teams, will move straight to the Round of 16. The other four third-placed teams will fight for the last two spots.
Bawa and Lawrence were set to play Italy’s Margherita Coretti and Micol Lafuenti in their last preliminary match later on Sunday. This match is vital for their chances of moving forward.
The beach volleyball event has 24 teams and runs from October 31 to November 4, with the medal matches happening on the last day.
The victory over Egypt boosts the Nigerian pair's confidence as they aim to reach the knockout rounds.
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