Nigeria wins three gold medals at African Taekwondo Championships

The Nigerian Taekwondo team has achieved a significant medal haul at the 2026 African Taekwondo Championships held in Bamako, Mali. The athletes clinched three gold medals, one silver, and three bronze at the World Taekwondo-sanctioned G-4 tournament.

Freestyle Poomsae saw Aderibigbe Faridah claim a gold medal, and she later partnered with Salawudeen Abdulafeez to secure a silver in the Pair Poomsae event. Haruna Usman added another gold to Nigeria's tally in the Poomsae U-40 Male category. Para-Taekwondo athlete Mathew Udom delivered the first gold medal in the -57kg Kyorugi division.

Bronze medals were contributed 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. Morocco emerged as the overall champions, dominating the Kyorugi event with eight gold medals.

Nigeria Taekwondo Federation President, Tayo Popoola, lauded the team's efforts, stating, “I know you can do it, so I need some more.” She expressed confidence in the Poomsae athletes to further improve Nigeria's standing on the medal table.

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I know you can do it, so I need some more. 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.