- Nigeria won seven medals at the African Taekwondo Championships.
- Team Nigeria secured three gold, one silver and three bronze.
- Aderibigbe Faridah and Haruna Usman starred in Poomsae events.
Nigeria’s medal tally at the 2026 African Taekwondo Championships in Bamako, Mali, has risen to seven after the country’s athletes secured three gold medals, one silver, and three bronze medals at the World Taekwondo-sanctioned G4 tournament.
The championship, taking place at the Palais des Sports Salamatou Maiga, has seen Nigerian athletes deliver impressive performances across both Kyorugi and Poomsae events.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that
The latest medals came from the Poomsae competition on Tuesday, where Aderibigbe Faridah clinched gold in the Freestyle Poomsae category. Faridah also partnered with Salawudeen Abdulafeez to win silver in the Pair Poomsae event.
Earlier, Haruna Usman secured another gold medal for Team Nigeria after emerging victorious in the Poomsae U-40 Male category.
Nigeria’s first gold medal of the championship was delivered on Monday by Para-Taekwondo athlete Mathew Udom, who produced a dominant performance to claim the top prize in the men’s -57kg Kyorugi category.
The country’s bronze medals were won 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.
Okoko reached the semifinals after defeating Mali’s Samake Goundo in the quarterfinals before narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
Despite Nigeria’s impressive showing, Morocco emerged as the dominant force in the Kyorugi competition, winning eight gold medals to finish as overall champions of the event.
Speaking after Nigeria claimed its first gold medal, President of the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, Tayo Popoola, expressed confidence in the team’s ability to secure more podium finishes.
“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 Nigerian athletes responded positively to the challenge, adding more medals to the country’s tally and further strengthening their position at the continental championship.\
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