2 weeks ago
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Nigeria’s para-badminton player, Eniola Bolajii, will on Monday (today) compete for the bronze medal against Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna at the Paralympics in Paris, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Bolaji succumbed to a 2-0 (16-21, 17-21) defeat to China’s Zuxian Xiao in the women’s singles SL3 semi-finals on Sunday, ending her hopes of grabbing a gold in the event.
Earlier, she had become the first African para-athlete to make the semi-finals of the para-badminton event with a straight-set victory against India’s Mandeep Kaur in the women’s singles SL3 quarter-finals, winning 2-0 (21-8, 21-9).
After her quarterfinal win on Sunday, she expressed a strong desire to win the gold medal, but that is no longer going to be.
Bolaji expressed her determination to bring home the gold, writing on her social media page:
“I became the first African para-athlete to make the semi-finals of the para-badminton event at the Paralympics 2024. The story isn’t complete without the gold medal; that’s our destination. Nigeria to the world. Alhamdulillah,” she wrote.
The player and her compatriot Chigozie Nnanna have been blazing the trail in Paris, as they became the first African athletes to win a match at the Paralympics during the group stages.
Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years
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