Nigeria’s Falconets began their campaign in the 2023 African Games on a bright note with an emphatic 2-0 win over Morocco in Accra on Friday.
The victory was welcome relief for Team Nigeria after the Flying Eagles and the Table tennis teams suffered losses. The Falconets dominated the game and the pressurw led to Moroccan defender Fatima Bambara scoring an early own goal.
Yina Adoo made the game more comfortable for Nigeria just before half time with the second goal.
Morocco tried to get into the game in the second half but Nigeria held on for an impressive win.
Meanwhile, Team Nigeria’s quest for their first gold medal at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana suffered a double blow on Friday.
The country’s table tennis stars succumbed to the superior firepower of their Egyptian counterparts; losing in the finals of the men’s and women’s team events and having to settle for the silver medals like they did during the last edition of the African Games in Morocco.
In the men’s final, Omar Assar, Youssef Abdelaziz, and Mohamed El-Beiali maintained their perfect record, overcoming the Nigerian trio of Olajide Omotayo, Aruna Quadri, and Taiwo Mati.
Assar opened the match with a convincing 3-0 victory over Omotayo.
Abdelaziz then beat Quadri 3-1 before El-Beiali also triumphed 3-1 over Mati to secure a comprehensive 3-0 victory.
In the women’s event, Dina Meshref, Hana Goda, and Mariam Alhodaby proved too strong for Nigeria’s Offiong Edem, Hope Udoaka, and Fatimo Bello, securing a dominant 3-0 win to retain their title.
Meshref has spearheaded this Egyptian reign since dethroning Nigeria at the Maputo 2011 Games.
Nigeria used to be the dominant team in Africa claiming the women’s title seven times between 1978 and 2007.