Quadri Yusuf completed a stunning repeat performance at the Prime Atlantic Squash Tournament, successfully defending both his Under-19 and Senior Men’s crowns by beating Shuaib Giwa in two tense five-set championship matches for a second straight year.
Key takeaways
- Yusuf retained both titles—Under-19 and Senior Men—by overcoming Shuaib Giwa in two separate finals.
- Both Men’s finals ended 3-2 in Yusuf’s favor, with the pair locked in extended, end-to-end tussles.
- Loveth Balogun narrowly won the women’s Under-19 final 3-2 over Zainab Ishola.
- Rofiat Abdulazeez defended the Senior Women’s title with a dominant 3-0 triumph against Misturah Durosinlorun.
- Yusuf said defending championships proved tougher than winning them the first time, praising how the rivalry and the sport have evolved.
Double defence for Yusuf
Quadri Yusuf came through to secure the Under-19 Men’s final and the Senior Men’s final, winning 3-2 against Shuaib Giwa on both occasions. The back-to-back victories mirrored what Yusuf achieved during the 2025 edition of the tournament, reinforcing his status as one of the event’s standout performers.
In the Under-19 decider, Yusuf and Giwa delivered another dramatic contest that swung through five sets before Yusuf found the decisive edge. He then repeated the same scoreline and the same outcome in the Senior Men’s final, completing the rare feat of winning both age-group and top-flight titles.
Women’s finals: Balogun edge, Abdulazeez dominance
The women’s Under-19 final produced a tight finish, with Loveth Balogun edging Zainab Ishola 3-2 in a match that stayed competitive throughout. Balogun’s win capped a closely fought contest in a category where margins were thin and momentum shifted repeatedly.
In the Senior Women’s division, defending champion Rofiat Abdulazeez continued to set the standard, defeating Misturah Durosinlorun 3-0. The straight-games result underlined her control in the match and confirmed her dominance in the tournament’s top women’s bracket.
Yusuf on the challenge of defending titles
Speaking after the final whistle, Yusuf described his double success as particularly meaningful. He explained that holding on to both titles was harder than capturing them for the first time, pointing to the extra pressure that comes with being the player everyone targets.
Yusuf said he was delighted to win both categories again, adding that the effort and sacrifices made across the year had been rewarded. He also noted that while winning a title can be demanding, defending it raises the difficulty further because opponents are always motivated to dethrone the champion.
He credited Giwa for pushing him to his limits in both finals, stressing that staying focused from start to finish was crucial. Yusuf also highlighted how satisfying the outcome felt because he could see how much all the players had improved, describing the upward trajectory of squash as a positive sign for the sport in Nigeria.
On his rivalry with Giwa, Yusuf said both players had developed significantly since the fiery encounters at the 2025 edition. He reflected that last year’s matches felt like a “battlefield,” with the players younger and more driven by emotion, while this year’s contests showed greater maturity, respect, and composure on court.
