Nigeria’s team at the just concluded All Africa Senior Badminton Championship in Cairo has won seven medals in Cairo, Egypt.
The number one badminton player in Nigeria, Anuoluwapo Opeyori clinched his fifth African title and the third in back-to-back succession. Anuoluwapo had previously won the All Africa Senior Championships Men’s Singles title in Port Harcourt, the All Africa Games MS title in Morocco in 2019, the All Africa Senior Championships MS title in Uganda 2022, the All Africa Senior Championships in South Africa 2023 and now in Egypt 2024.
Nigeria’s male team in the team event lost to Algeria in the Finals even after securing the first two of five games to settle for a silver medal. The Nigeria Women’s Team won the bronze medal losing to the Ugandan Women’s team. In the Individual event, Anuoluwapo Opeyori stormed through to the finals by beating compatriot Victor Ikechukwu 21-13, 19-21, 21-9 to rekindle an old rivalry with Mauritian Georges Julien Paul where he again asserted his dominance by beating Paul 23-21, 11-21, 21-16 to take the coveted MS crown for the third time in a row and his fifth African title.
The new pair of Yunusa Momoh Godwin Olofua made the country proud by beating the duo of Mauritius players, Melvin Appiah and Tejraj Pultoo 21-17, 21-15 to reach the Finals. They lost to Africa’s number one pair of Algeria’s Kociela Mammeri and Sabri Medel losing 12-21, 8-21 to clinch the Silver in the Men’s Doubles event. In the Women’s Doubles, Nigeria’s Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan paired with a new partner, Sofiyat Obanishola lost to Ugandan’s Husina Kobugabe and Gladys Mbabazi 21-18, 19-21, 18-21 after fighting gallantly in the Semifinals to get a spot on the podium for the bronze medal.
In the Mixed Doubles event, the pair of Aliyu Alhaji Shehu and Deborah Ukeh-Divine lost the Semifinal match to the Host Nation Team, Egypt 9-21, 12-21 (0-2) to take the bronze medal for their efforts. In total, Nigeria was able to take home an impressive total of 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals in all the doubles categories. The President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, Francis Orbih, Esq, expressed his appreciation for the performance of the Team Nigeria contingent and lamented the loss in the Finals of the Men’s Team events saying that “we were so close after getting the first 2 games in our favour, but we understand that in games as in life, anything can happen. We are grateful to and appreciative of our players and their performances”, Francis said.
He also appreciated the Minister for Sports Development, Hon John Enoh for the Ministry’s support for the team. He promised that the board would continue to support players in all categories and at all levels. The Nigeria Badminton Team will begin preparation for the upcoming badminton event at the All Africa Games which will be held in Ghana from the 3rd of March to the 10th of March 2024.
