Team Nigeria capped their outing in the second edition of the African Beach Games in the Tunisian city of Hammamet, with a fourth-place finish in the overall medal ranking.
Nigeria bagged a total of 12 medals – six gold, three silver and three bronze to finish as the best country from the West African region, behind Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
Nigeria stamped their authority in the Beach Wrestling events where they scooped three gold medals. Mercy Genesis won the women’s 50kg, Esther Kolawole also won the women’s 60kg and 12-time African champion Blessing Oborodudu took the gold medal in the women’s 70kg class.
Nigeria also made its international debut in Teqball and they made a memorable impression by winning a gold and two silver medals in the event.
AirBadminton mixed team of Oluwadamilola Oyedepo, Simeon Akinsola, Kayode Samuel and Zainab Momoh won another gold as well as the mixed doubles’ partnership of Oluwadamilola Oyedepo and Kayode Samuel.
Algeria emerged as the overall winner with a total of 34 medals – 15 gold, seven silver and 12 bronze while the host country Tunisia follow closely with a total of 39 medals – 13 gold, 12 silver and 14 bronze.
Morocco took the third position with 21 medals which comprises eight gold, 10 silver and three bronze.
The African Beach Games which took place between June 27 and June 30 also served as qualifiers for the World Beach Games billed for Bali, Indonesia from August 5-12, 2023.