Nigeria continued its impressive showing at the 2026 African Taekwondo Championships in Bamako, Mali, increasing its medal tally to seven with three gold, one silver and three bronze medals at the World Taekwondo-sanctioned G-4 tournament taking place at the Palais des Sports Salamatou Maiga, Trybal News reports.
The latest medals came from the Poomsae events on Tuesday, where Aderibigbe Faridah delivered a standout performance to win gold in the Freestyle Poomsae category. Faridah also combined with Salawudeen Abdulafeez to secure a silver medal in the Pair Poomsae event.
Haruna Usman added another gold medal to Nigeria’s tally after emerging victorious in the Poomsae U-40 Male category, while Para-Taekwondo athlete Mathew Udom had earlier claimed the nation’s first gold medal with a dominant display in the men’s -57kg Kyorugi division.
Nigeria’s bronze medals were won by Joel Jordan in the men’s +87kg Kyorugi category, Chidinma Okoko in the women’s -62kg Kyorugi division, and Salawudeen Abdulafeez in the Poomsae U-30 Male event.
Okoko impressed on her way to the podium, defeating Mali’s Samake Goundo in the quarterfinals before narrowly missing out on a place in the final after her semifinal defeat.
The strong performances from the Nigerian contingent came after Nigeria Taekwondo Federation President, Tayo Popoola, challenged the athletes to deliver more medals following the country’s first gold medal success.
I know you can do it, so I need some more,” Popoola 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 athletes responded in impressive fashion, with the Poomsae team making a significant contribution to the country’s overall medal haul and reinforcing Nigeria’s growing reputation on the continental stage.
Meanwhile, Morocco emerged as the dominant force in the Kyorugi events, winning eight gold medals to finish as overall champions of the competition.
