By Amaechi Agbo
As the Lagos International Badminton Classics came to a close at the weekend, tournament number one seed, Brazilian Jonathan Matias defeated Pablo Abian of Spain 21-17, 21-19 in a tension soaked men’s singles final to win the 6th edition of the Classics at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Hall, Teslim Balogun stadium, Lagos.
Matias enroute the final beat African number one player and Nigeria’s Anuoluwapo Opeyori at the quarter finals stage and it’s on record, that this is the first time an African player which incidentally is a Nigerian will get to this stage in the history of the championship.
In the Men’s Mixed Doubles Final, the pair of Jose Guevara and Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar of Peru overcome Slovenia Miha Ivancic and Petra Polanc 21-17, 21-15 while in the Men’s Double, Algerian Koceila Mammeri and Youcef Sabri Medel could not withstand the fire powers of Indian P.S Ravikrishna and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar who won 21-15, 21-14.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and a Council Member of the Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA) Barrister Francis Orbih in his closing remark said he was immensely excited and grateful for the federation to have successful hosted this edition of the Classics after a three-year break majorly caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath.
However, Orbih thanked His Excellency, Babajide Sanwoolu, the Governor of Lagos State for his immense support towards the Lagos International Badminton Classics and all other sponsors especially Value Jet that gave their valuable support towards the successful hosting of the event. Like Oliver Twist, he added that he is looking forward to a bigger sponsorship and support next year, he concluded.
108 foreign players from over 30 countries and joined by 43 Nigerian players participated in the Lagos International Badminton Classics fiesta where they won one of the highest prize money in there podium finish in Africa and as well garnered points to aid their qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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