22 of the 70 players that will represent Nigeria at the 2017 Lagos International Badminton Classics are undergoing intensive training under national coach, Samson Egbeyemi in readiness for next week’s tournament holding at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Three other coaches assisted Egbeyemi during the camping which started this week and they are Abass Adamu, Maria Omonehin and Adewale Olasunkanmi with Abaj Enejoh being one of the top national players in the Lagos camp.
The NationSport learnt yesterday that over 70 players are expected to represent Nigeria at the International Classics and they are expected to be in top form for the championships and this was what necessitated the camping. Aside from the players in Lagos, others are in Abuja and Plateau warming up for the championships.
This year’s tournament witnesses an increase in prize money from $15,000 to $20,000 and the tournament serves off on Wednesday July 26 to 29 with top players from Israel, India, Italy and Egypt expected to grace the championships.
According to the Chairman of Lagos State Badminton Association and President elect of the national body, Francis Orbih, the classics would attract a great assemblage to best players in the world and it’s a unique platform for Nigerian players to compete for honour and at the same time improve their individual ratings.
“This is the third edition of the classics and prize money is the highest to be won on the continent of Africa. Several top world class players from the countries participating will be on hand to display their prowess on the court later this month.
“I will want to advise all Nigerian players to make best use of this platform provided by Lagos State Government coming especially in the wake of economic recession facing the nation today,” he remarked.
The other participating countries are Israel, India, Italy, Egypt, Uganda, Cameroon, Ghana, Republic of Benin, Sri Lanka and Portugal.
The chairman explained that the highest ranked players for the tournament are Masha Zilberman (48) of Israel, Subhalan Dey (73) from India and Rosano Maddaloci (152) from Italy. In the ladies section are Hadia Ann (86) from Egypt, Grace Gabriel and Dorcas Adenekan (298) both from Nigeria.
The Badminton Classics was introduced in 2014 but failed to hold last year due to the economic recession facing the country.