Nigeria has booked a spot at the 2025 ITTF World Youth Championships in Romania after clinching the boys’ U-19 team title at the ongoing African Youth Championships in Lagos.

Competing at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall inside the Teslim Balogun Stadium, the Nigerian team showed remarkable resilience, staging a comeback from 0-2 down to edge Egypt 3-2 in a tense semifinal clash. They followed it up with another hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tunisia in the final.

Despite Tunisia’s Wassim Essid earning wins over Matthew Kuti and Abdulbasit Abdulfatai, Nigeria emerged champions thanks to Abdulfatai’s dominant 3-0 win over Mohamed Khaloufi in the decisive match. The victory marks Nigeria’s return to the continental summit after missing out in 2024. Egypt and Algeria shared the bronze medals.

In the girls’ U-19 category, Nigeria fell short in the final, suffering a 3-0 loss to Egypt, who secured their fourth consecutive title and the sole African ticket to the World Youth Championships in that category.

Egypt’s Mariam Younes opened with a 3-0 win over Aishat Rabiu, followed by a similar result from Habiba Elbasoumy against Favour Ojo. Kabirat Ayoola managed to take a set off Nour Zaki, but the Egyptian wrapped up the match 3-1 to complete the sweep. Madagascar and South Africa settled for bronze.

Elsewhere, Uganda made history in the U-15 girls final, securing their first-ever team gold at the African Youth Championships. They came from behind to beat Tunisia 3-2, with Patience Anyango delivering the decisive point in a 3-2 thriller over Mariam Brahimi. Egypt and Algeria took bronze.