Africa’s number one player, Dorcas Adesokan lived up to her billing as she made it to the final of the Rivers Governor’s National Badminton Championship, which will end tomorrow at the Alfred Diette-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.
Adesokan, who is representing Ogun State, will take on Edo’s Deborah Ukeh to determine who takes the top prize in the Women’s category. Adesokan beat Tosin Atolagbe 2-0 (21-7, 21-3) while Ukeh beat Zainab Alaba 2-1 (19-21,21-17, 21-18) to set up the final pairing.
In the men’s doubles former Africa’s top players, Ola Fagbemi and Jinka Efremu combined to beat to seeds Anu Opeyori and Godwin Olofua to book a place in the finals.
Apart from the men and women singles final, the women’s doubles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles will also take place today.
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, who has thrown his weight behind the championship, is expected to grace the finals. President of the BFN, Frank Orbih will lead his team to the championship.
Curtains will be drawn on the 2018 Mutual Benefits National Badminton championship which began early this week at the Mutual Benefits-Nigeria Police Badminton Hall inside the Nigeria Police College complex, Ikeja, Lagos.
The event will be climaxed by male and female singles finals.In the men’s final, Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Godwin Olufuwa both of Lagos state will be slugging it out for the top prize.To get to the final, Opeyori defeated Clement Krobakpor of Rivers state 2-0 in an exciting semi final duel that kept the spectators on the edges of their seats throughout the match.Olufuwa on the other hand produced the quality that makes him one of the best Badminton players in the country when he defeated Enjoh Aba also from Rivers state 2-0 in the semi final.
In the women’s singles final, it will be Dorcas Adesokan from Ogun state taking on Debora Uke of Edo State state.The men’s and women’s doubles were decided last night.
Speaking on the standard of the tournament, Tournament Director, Olumide Bamiduro said the standard was high and the participants were of very good conduct.
He praised the sponsors, Mutual Benefits for remaining steadfast with badminton.
“They have been our main supporters and we hope more corporate bodies will queue in and emulate them by supporting the sport. We appreciate their commitmen
Top seeds- Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Dorcas Adesokan – emerged the winners of the second edition of the Katsina Golden Star National Badminton Championship, which came to an end at the weekend.
Opeyori defeated Eneojo Abah 21-16, 21-19 in the men’s singles event, while Adesokan beat Deborah Ukeh 21-12, 18-21, 21-10 to remain top on the rankings and smile home with N150, 000 each.
Abah and Ukeh, who finished second also got N100, 00 each for their efforts, while joint third and fourth got N70, 000 each. The 5th to 8th place finishers (four) got 40,000 each, while the 9th to 16th (8 players got 10,000 each).
In the men’s doubles event, Opeyori partnered Godwin Olofua to beat the pair of Habeeb Bello and Usman Isiaq 21-11, 21-15 to cart home the top prize. In the women’s doubles event, Adesokan joined forces with Augustina Sunday to defeat the pair of Deborah Ukeh and Peace Orji.
In the mixed doubles, Abah and Orji combined to beat Ciroma Emmanuel and Zainab Alabi 21-11, 21-14.
Winners in the doubles event got 70,000 each, second place finishers got 45,000 each, while the joint third and fourth (four players) got 30,000 each. The 5th to 8th place finishers (eight players) got N15, 000.
Adesokan
In one of the major highpoints of the tournament, two of the junior players that went to Algeria for the Africa Youth Games made it to the quarter finals in the men’s singles event. The boys are: Daniel Christopher from Lagos State and Balarabe Umar from Bauchi State, Umar went on and made it to the semifinals of the championship.
Also from the girl’s junior team, Zainab Alabi from Kwara state made it to the semi-finals in the women’s singles.
President of the Badmiton Federation of Nigeria, Francis Orbih commended the players for putting up their best at the championship. He commended the junior players who gave a good account of themselves urging them to do better in subsequent championships.
“I must commend the players for the good job they have dome at the tournament. Their performance shows that the future of badminton is bright in Nigeria. The BFN will continue to partner sponsors who will invest in the development of the game and players.
“The junior players have also done well for themselves and hopefully, they will become the stars and ambassadors of the game in future,” Orbih added.
Meanwhile, Lagos State emerged the overall winners with two gold medals in the men’s singles and men’s doubles as well as a bronze medal in the men’s single. Ogun State was second with one gold medal.
Winners in the 4th Lagos International Badminton Classics will go home with more money as the prize money of the championship has been increased from $20,000 to $25,000 in this year’s competition.
The Classics will hold from hold from Wednesday to Saturday at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. The event is sponsored by the Lagos State Government and organised by the Lagos State Badminton Association with the President of Nigeria Badminton Federation Barrister Francis Orbih serving as the Chairman of Local Organising Committee (LOC).
No fewer than 22 countries had registered to participate in this year’s edition, some of which are Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Israel, Ivory Coast , Benin Republic, Czech Republic, India, Malaysia and Nigeria, the host country, while 193 players across the world will be competing, comprise 60 from Nigeria and 133 foreign players.
The price money had been raised from 20,000 dollars to 25,000 dollars in order to increase boost participations and competitiveness during the Classics.
While assuring fans of top-flight matches, Orbih said that an elaborate final ceremony would hold on the final day of the competition.
He said: “Nigeria is going into this tournament with impressive records from some of the top players. Nigeria won the Ivory Coast International Badminton Championships held in Abidjan between 21st and 24th of June with 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals. Nigeria’s Dorcas Adesokan, Afrca’s number one female player, won the Women’s Singles of the event, while the the duo of Anuoluwapo Opeyori and Godwin Olofua won the Men’s Doubles. Adesokan Dorcas and Clement Krobakpor won the Mixed Doubles.
Chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Dr Kweku Tandoh said the government of Lagos State has made all arrangements to ensure a smooth organisation of the Classics. He disclosed that the host, Lagos State, has 12 dependable stars among the players presented by Nigeria for the Lagos International Classics, top among them are Anuoluwapo Opeyori, and Godwin Olofua.
The National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) has donated sports equipment to 54 primary schools in Gombe State. The equipment donated are for basketball, badminton, football, handball, high jump, judo, athletics and volleyball.
The chief executive of NLTF Mr Habu Ahmed said the gesture was a follow-up to a similar one by the Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo who distributed sports equipment to 2,000 public primary schools nationwide on May 20.
He said, “While urging you to put the equipment to good use in your schools, you must ensure the safekeeping of the equipment so that they do not get stolen, as we have already alerted security agencies to apprehend any culprit who diverts these Federal Government materials.
“We don’t want to see any of these items in any market in Gombe State because they are not for sale. They are meant for the development of sports in the state. If you notice that the equipment is not in your school, ask your teachers: where is our sports equipment?”
Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo who was represented by his Deputy, Charles Iliya, reinforced the warning, adding that the administration will not accept any act that will compromise the proper development of its children.
An aspirant in the June 13 sports’ Federations election, Frank Orbih has called on the Badminton family to put acrimony and disagreement behind them and ensure that the right people are voted into office.
Orbih, who is aspiring to become the President of the Badminton Federation Nigeria (BFN) after serving once as the vice, urged candidate vying for elective offices to eschew bitterness and personal attacks and focus on issues that bothers on policies and programmes.
He said: I am appealing to the Badminton family that we put the acrimony, disagreements and disharmony of the immediate and historical past behind us. Let us eschew bitterness and personality attacks in our campaigns focusing instead on the real issues (policies and programs). It is just stating the obvious that campaigns and elections laced with venom, bitterness, hatred and acrimony will only lead to enmity and divisions once the process of elections are over.
“While I am quite aware that not everyone will necessarily support my aspiration and/or vote for me in the coming elections, as in any other election where there are multiple candidates, I plead nevertheless that we treat one another with utmost respect because we are all members of the same family, with eyes on the same goal,” he added.
Orbih stated that of the traversing the nooks and crannies of the country in the course of his campaign he has come across some of the friendliest and most wonderful people in the badminton family. “Imagine the abundant opportunities we have available to us to lift the game in Nigeria beyond our wildest comprehension if only we can all come together as one to making positive contributions towards the growth and development of the game in the country. Indeed, the vistas of opportunities that abound are limitless.
“I am campaigning to be the President of a united Badminton family and not a divided house and, to this extent, I request that we all leave behind those things that have divided us over the years and focus on the more glorious future ahead of us – the positive things that will foster unity among us,” he added.
ADEMOLA Olaniyan has emerged the winner of the second Segun Ogunsola Badminton Tournament hosted by the prestigious Ibadan Tennis Club after defeating Otunba Sola Omole with a two straight winning in a best of three game-formats during a final game played on Thursday at the badminton section of the club.
The captain of the section, Otunba Sola Omole who head the committee that organized the event and also played in the final of the tourney described the games of badminton as a very good way of keeping a fit and healthy body.
“Engaging in this game has been a wonderful experience, and I must say that it’s quite rewarding, despite losing I’m still very happy that I could play in the final. This is not forgeting the many successes that we recorded in this year’s edition”, Omole noted.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Bolakale Ayo, in Ilorin on Thursday said that the ministry has approved the release of Tunde Kazeem to oversee the Badminton World Federation Developmental Project Shuttle Time.
The Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) had recently appointed Tunde Kazeem, National Coordinator for Badminton World Federation Developmental Project Shuttle Time.
The appointment was contained in a letter dated March 14, addressed to the Kwara Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development.
The letter also requested the ministry to release Kazeem to oversee the Shuttle Time Programmes in Kwara, Katsina and Ekiti states beginning from March 20 to March 24.
He will also attend a workshop for all Shuttle Time National Coordinators in Africa, scheduled to hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from Friday, April 1 to April 4.
Kazeem is the Kwara Director of Sports and the chairman Nigeria Directors of Sports forum.
The Shuttle Time Project is a programme aimed at ensuring the game of Badminton becomes a core subject in schools curriculum all over the world.
Danlami Senchi, the President of Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), on Thursday said he was optimism his team would make Nigeria proud at the upcoming 11th All-Africa Games (AAG).
Senchi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the team would come out victorious given their wealth of experience.
“We have given them (the players) all that they require. So, it is up to them to make the country proud.
“But I believe they will make the country proud. I have a lot of confidence in the players, they have lot of potentials and they are committed and experienced.
“So, I believe that we are going to return to our number one spot in African badminton,’’ he said.
Senchi said he would be expecting from the team nothing less than winning medals for the country.
He however commended the National Sports Commission (NSC) for its support to the development of sports in Nigeria.
“The NSC has been very supportive in the sport’s development and the Director-General, Al-Hassan Yakmut, is adequately driving the sector forward.
As part of the second anniversary of Hoffnung Sports Foundation (HSF), an inter-school badminton tournament was organized in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital and it ended in grand style with winners emerging in various categories.
This year’s event witnessed large turnout with over 70 students taking part in the two-day competition held at the Alake Sports Centre in Ogun State.
In the overall medal haul, Folarin Dalley beats Ijemo Titun High School, Ifeoluwa College, Leverage College and Samuel Wilson School to the titles.
The tournament was organized by HSF in conjunction with Good Mother Initiative for students with the aim of unearthing talents.
The competition was also used to remember a key member of HSF known as Easy, who passed on last year. Akinsola Simon was the cynosure of all eyes as he was exceptional in the competition.
The final was attended by Chairman of Gateway United FC and former Director of Sports, Ogun State Sports Council, Tunji Onatolu, as well as the current, Director of Sports, Ogun State Sports Council, Adebayo Faleti, who represented the Ogun State Ministry of Youth and Sports including principals and teachers of the participating schools.
