BFN boss says 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics a trailblazer

The 6th International Lagos Badminton Classics sets a new standard for African classics, according to Francis Orbih, President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria.

Mr. Orbih said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, adding that the tournament had reached notable milestones.

NAN reports that the 6th Final of the Lagos International Badminton Classics was held at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, from August 30 to September 2.

Jonathan Matias, a 22-year-old Brazilian, won the men's singles title, while the women's singles was won by Peru's Ines Lucia Castilo-Salazar, beating Lauren Lam of the United States for the title.< /p >

Mr. Orbih said it was the first time a Brazilian would win the competition after an Israeli duo, an Indian national and a player from Dubai won the previous classics.

He also noted that it was the first time that an African, and by extension a Nigerian, had played in the quarter-finals of an international badminton tournament, a spell broken by Africa's number one player, Anu Opeyori.

“The recently concluded International Badminton Classics show that the game is growing.

“This is the first time that an African from Nigeria, Anu Opeyori, has reached the finals of the international badminton classics quartet.

“With this result, it shows that there is hope for African and, of course, Nigerian players. We've had different winners, but it's also the first time a Brazilian has won.

“This victory shows the diversity and mixture of citizens who have come from all over the world to participate in the international badminton classics organized by Nigeria. The competition will continue to get bigger and better,” he said.

Orbih said the Lagos International Badminton Classics had been classified as a pre-qualifying competition for the Olympics; therefore, it would attract more foreign players.

“Lagos International Badminton Classics is now an Olympics qualifier and an international challenge sanctioned by the world body, so players will get more points by coming to play in Nigeria.

“The national challenge is the highest in the world, and Nigeria is the first to host such a challenge in Africa, and currently we have Uganda and Re-Union. The bigger the competition, the more countries we have interested in coming to play.

“The classics that just ended are pretty much the biggest right now, because we had 30 different countries in attendance. Although there were some challenges, we were able to solve them.

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“We were able to get sponsors and intervention from the Lagos State government. We still dream of building this classic as a brand and attracting sponsors,” he said.

NAN reports that PS Ravikshra and India's Sankar Prasad Udayakumar beat Algerian duo Koceila Mammey and Youcef Sabri to become winners of the men's doubles event.

Nigerians Abduhamid Waheed Musa and Daniel Philip, along with Jose Guevara and Diego Mini of Peru, tied for third.

In women's doubles, the Indian duo of Sirran Singhi and Ritika Thaker beat out the American duo of Lauren Lam and Paula Lynn.