The fortunes of judo in Nigeria continue to decline as the country’s four-man contingent returned without a medal from the 46th African Judo Senior Championships held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Despite a grueling two-day road trip to participate in the continental tournament, the Nigerian team failed to reach the podium. Michael Agbo (66kg) and Sadik Abubakar (73kg) competed in the Men’s division, while Kafayat Azeez (57kg) and Irene Ejiroghene (+78kg) represented Nigeria in the Women’s event. Agbo managed a 7th-place finish in his weight division, but the others were eliminated in the first round.
As the tournament concluded on Monday, April 28, Egypt showcased a strong performance, particularly on the second day of individual competition and in securing the mixed team title.
On the first day of the championships, seven titles were contested. Morocco claimed two gold medals, with Soumiya Iraoui retaining her -52kg title for her fifth continental gold by defeating Algeria’s Faiza Aissahine in the final. Hassan Doukkali secured Morocco’s second gold in the -73kg category, overcoming Tunisia’s Aliddine Ben Chalbi.
Other gold medals on day one were distributed among several nations: Egypt’s Youssry Samy won the -60kg, Tunisia’s Oumaima Bedioui triumphed in the -48kg, Angola’s Edmilson Pedro took the -66kg title, Guinea’s Mariana Esteves won the -57kg, and South Africa’s Jasmine Martin claimed gold in the -63kg.
Day two saw Egypt deliver an overwhelming performance, securing three of the seven gold medals on offer. Abdelrahman Abdelghany won the -81kg, while Abdalla Abdelsamea defeated his compatriot Omar Elramly in an all-Egyptian final for the -100kg title. Mohamed Aborakia added a third gold for Egypt in the heavyweight +100kg division.
Other gold medals on day two went to Madagascar’s Aina Laura Rasoanaivo Razafy (-70kg), Morocco’s Achraf Moutii (-90kg), Guinea’s Marie Branser (-78kg), and Tunisia’s Siwar Dhawedi (+78kg).
The championships concluded with the mixed team competition on Monday, April 28. Egypt emerged victorious, defeating fierce rivals Algeria in a thrilling final that ended 4-3. The decisive point came in the golden score period, when Safa Soliman defeated Meroua Mammeri to secure Egypt’s win. Bronze medals went to Angola and Tunisia.