Nigerian teenager Mariam Eniola Bolaji on Monday became the first player from Africa to win a medal in badminton at the Paralympic or Olympic Games.
The 18-year-old beat Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine 21-9, 21-9 to claim the para badminton bronze medal in the women’s SL3 category for players with moderate limitation of movement on one side of the body or in both legs, or missing limbs.
“I feel good,” she told RFI. “I’m happy because at least I’m going home with a medal. I’m really pleased.”
On Sunday, following her defeat to Zuxian Xiao in the semi-final, Bolaji held up a picture of her former coach Bello Rafiu Oyebanji, who died in a car crash in 2021 as she was preparing to play at the Tokyo Paralympics.
“I am dedicating the medal to him,” she said. “He will be proud of me because I’m going home with a medal.”
Nigeria’s Bolaji targets para badminton medal in Paris to honour dead coach
Learning from loss
Bolaji was one of the favourites to take the crown in her category, but admitted she had succumbed to the pressure during her semi-final.
“I learned a lot from the loss,” she said. “I was thinking about how to play my match today so that it would be easier for me.
“I was less emotional and I was calmer and much clearer about what I wanted to do.”
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