Team Nigeria participated in the Para-Badminton and Para-Table Tennis events on Sunday, September 1st, the fourth day of the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Eniola Bolaji made history by becoming the first African Para-athlete to reach the semifinals of the Para-Badminton event at the Paralympics. She won her quarterfinal match in straight sets, defeating India’s Mandeep Kaur 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) to secure her place in the last four.
A few hours later, the African No.1 played her semifinal match against China’s Zuxian Xiao. She fought hard but lost 2-0 (16-21, 17-21), missing out on a chance to compete for the GOLD medal. Bolaji will be back on the court on Monday to play against Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna for the Bronze medal.
In the women’s Singles Para-Table Tennis Class 10, Faith Obazuaye lost her Round of 16 match against Wen Shiau Tian from Chinese Taipei. Tian won the match in straight sets with a score of 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 11-3) and moved on to the quarterfinals.
In the men’s event, Oluwafemi Alabi and Victor Farinloye both lost their matches. Alabi played in the Men’s Singles Round of 16 but lost to China’s Lian Hao, who won in straight sets 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-7). Farinloye competed in the Men’s Singles Round of 32, where he was defeated by Croatia’s Zohil Borna, also in straight sets (11-7, 11-7, 11-7).
