Nigeria’s deputy captain, Matthew Kuti, is one win away from securing a place in the knockout stage of the men’s singles table tennis event at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games taking place at the Dakar Expo Centre in Senegal.

Kuti and his compatriot, Favour Ojo, were eliminated in the mixed doubles round of 16 after suffering defeat to their Thai counterparts on the opening day of competition on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

In the men’s singles event, Kuti was drawn in Group C alongside Youssef Aidli of Tunisia, Li Ki Ho of Hong Kong, and Francesco Travesan of Italy, with the top two players advancing to the knockout stage.

Kuti endured a difficult start to his campaign, falling 3-0 (11-4, 11-4, 11-3) to Hong Kong’s Li, whose pace and attacking play proved too much for the Nigerian.

However, the African Youth Cup champion bounced back in style with a 3-1 (11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7) victory over Tunisia’s Aidli, setting up a decisive clash against Italy’s Travesan today, Monday, 2 November.

Meanwhile, Ojo was unable to recover from her opening-group defeat, losing 3-1 to Egypt’s Yara Elbadawy. The result marked her second group-stage loss, ending her hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds.

Despite the challenges, Kuti remains upbeat about his chances of reaching the next stage.

“It has not been easy for us here in Dakar because everybody is at their best and we are all aiming for the knockout stage. I hope I can raise my game against the Italian,” said the 2026 African Youth Cup champion.