Eniola Bolaji wins Nigeria's first medal at the ongoing Paris Paralympics in badminton

TEAM Nigeria has picked up its first ,medal at the ongoing Paris Paralympics 2024 after Eniola Bolaji made history as the first African athlete ever to win a badminton medal at the tournament.

Early this morning, Eniola secured a bronze medal in para-badminton in the women’s singles SL3 category. She did so by defeating her Ukrainian opponent, Oksana Kozyna, in two straight sets of 21-9 and 21-9 to the delight of the travelling Nigerian contingent.

Although Bolaji had her sights set on gold, she fell short in the semi-final yesterday, losing in two straight sets 16-21 and 17-21 to China’s Zuxian Xiao. However, she redeemed herself by clinching the bronze earlier today and will be going home with a medal.

Bolaji’s journey has been nothing short of historic as earlier in the tournament, she made headlines by becoming the first African to reach the semi-finals in Para-badminton at the Paralympics. At the main Olympics, Team Nigeria finished rock bottom, not winning any medal at all throughout the tournament, so getting on the table at the Paralympics is a huge relief.