Nigeria’s Eniola Bolaji has made history as the first African to reach the final and win gold at a major para badminton international championship.
Bolaji achieved the feat by beating Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna 18-21, 21-14, 21-18 at 2021 Spanish Para Badminton International Championship which ended on Sunday in Cartegena, Columbia.
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Competing in the Female Standing 3 (SL3) category, she lost the first game 18-21 but fought back to win the last two games – 21-14, 21-18, clinching a record-breaking gold medal at the tourney.
With the victory, Bolaji has also qualified for World Para Badminton Championship scheduled to hold in October in Japan.
At the medal presentation ceremony, a minute of applause was held to remember coach/player, Bello Oyebanji, who died in a ghastly accident while trying to secure his visa for the tournament.
Late Oyebanji discovered, trained, and mentored the new Spanish international champion before he met his untimely death.
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According to President of Badminton Federation of Nigeria, Frank Orbih, Bolaji’s victory is just a test of the great prospect of para badminton in the country if given the necessary support and attention.
He said;
History was made today in African and Nigerian para badminton with this record-breaking and setting performance by Eniola Bolaji.
She has become the first Nigerian and African to get to the finals and go on to win a gold medal in any para badminton international championship. It is a huge consolation for the badminton family that Coach Bello Oyebanji did not die in vain.
Orbih added;
It is a very emotional one for us. It shows that with consistency and resilience, the results will always come; she played in an international tournament for the first time with a great and amazing performance of winning gold in the Single SL3 event and qualifying for the World Para Badminton championship in Japan come October.
