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The president of the Nigeria Badminton Federation, Francis Orbih, has tipped Mariam Bolaji to finish on the podium in the women’s singles SL3 of the badminton event of the ongoing Paralympic Games in Paris, France, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Sharing his thoughts on the country’s outing at the quadrennial event with our correspondent at Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday, Orbih regretted the painful exit of Chigozie Jeremiah Nnanna following a narrow defeat to Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan in the men’s singles SL4 Group C tie on Thursday.
Bolaji outclassed Australia’s Celine Vinot 2-0 (21-8, 21-14) to progress to the next stage, while Nnanna suffered a 2-0 (21-12, 24-22) loss to his Indonesian opponents, with Orbih regretting the narrow loss.
“The two players did very well, but Nnanna couldn’t make it to the next stage, which he was close to doing because he lost narrowly to his opponent, with the second set ending 24-22. But Bolaji advanced after beating her opponent 2-0, and I trust her to go far in the competition and probably make a podium finish, said Orbih, a council member of the Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA).
Bolaji is revved up for a podium, looking to win a medal in honour of her late coach, Bello Rafiu Oyebanji, who died in a motor accident three years ago.
The confidence personified, who arrived in Paris as the name to beat in women’s singles SL3, having won six of her last seven tournaments, had a sound start at her first Paralympics, beating India’s Mandeep Kaur in straight games, and declared that she was in pursuit of a medal to dedicate to her late coach.
“This is amazing; it’s something I’ve dreamed of,” Bolaji said. “I was training for Tokyo 2020 in mixed doubles, but I lost my coach. So, it is an honour for me to be here.
“I’m happy because it’s a dream for me. It was my coach’s dream as well; he was the one who brought me up. I have to win the medal because I have to dedicate it to him.”
Bolaji has had a phenomenal run over the last year. She won the Uganda PB International, won a triple crown at the Africa Championships, and signed off 2023 with a title in Dubai. This year she continued in the same vein, beginning with a triple crown at the Egypt PB International. A surprise quarterfinal loss at the World Championships was the only one she would suffer in a year, for she bounced back with back-to-back titles in Spain.
One of the reasons behind her successful run has been her training stint with a club in Spain since November last year.
“I won the Uganda International in 2023, so BCA (Badminton Confederation of Africa) organised a camp, and my coach in Spain was invited to the Para badminton course, and she invited me to Spain,” Bolaji says.
“In Nigeria I have to take a cab from my house to the stadium, but in Spain I just have to walk two minutes to the stadium. I play with professional players at the club, so that has helped me. Sometimes we travel to other clubs to train and play.”
Despite going into the Paralympics as a favourite, Bolaji shows no sign of feeling the pressure and exudes confidence.
“I’m fully prepared, so the opening match was fine by me. The first game was very easy,” she said.
“I’m very confident because everyone in my category is afraid of me.” She then added after a hesitant pause, “And I’m afraid of them.”
