Essid, Younes Shine as Inaugural Africa Youth Cup Ends on a High in Lagos

Top seed Wassim Essid capped off his Nigerian campaign in style by securing the boys’ U-19 singles crown at the maiden ITTF Africa Youth Cup, the Babatunde Raji Fashola Cup, with a commanding straight-sets win over Nigeria’s Muiz Adegoke on Tuesday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Sport360NG reports.

The Tunisian, currently ranked as Africa’s leading youth male player, bounced back from his earlier loss in the ITTF Africa Youth Championships final, where he fell 4-1 to Egypt’s Badr Mostafa, to dominate the Cup final 4-0.

Essid’s journey to the title wasn’t without challenges, as he was pushed to the limit in the quarter-finals by Nigeria’s Abdulbasit Abdulfatai before edging a tense 4-3 victory.

Speaking after the win, Essid described the result as a satisfying way to conclude his two-week stay in Nigeria, which began with the WTT Contender Lagos (July 22–26) and continued through the African Youth events (July 27–August 5).

On the girls’ side, Egypt’s Mariam Younes continued her fine form by clinching the U-19 title, defeating compatriot Nour Zaki in a 4-0 rout. The triumph adds to her successful title defence at the ITTF Africa Youth Championships just days earlier.

Algeria’s Tania Morice also impressed, overcoming a two-set deficit to beat Uganda’s Jemimah Nakawala 3-2 and win the girls’ U-15 title. The victory builds on her earlier success in Lagos, where she won the U-15 crown at the Youth Championships.

In the boys’ U-15 category, Uganda celebrated gold as Joseph Sebatindira dispatched fellow Ugandan Sharif Nsereko 3-0, underlining the East African nation’s growing influence in the sport.

The tournament drew 76 players, 45 boys and 31 girls, representing 14 countries across the continent, all vying for honours and valuable ITTF ranking points, with results set to be reflected in next week’s global standings.

The Africa Youth Cup, sanctioned by the International Table Tennis Federation, saw the introduction of a new trophy named in honour of former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, acknowledging his contributions to sports development across Africa.