Nigeria bounced back from a disappointing outing in the women’s singles as four home pairs advanced to the mixed doubles quarter-finals at the 9th Lagos International Badminton Classic.
Key Highlights
Four Nigerian pairs booked places in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.
Ruth Ebere, Nigeria’s highest-ranked women’s singles player, was eliminated by India’s Surya Tamiri.
Seven Nigerian players crashed out in the women’s singles Round of 32.
The Lagos International Badminton Classic is being held at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The tournament is scheduled to end on Saturday.
The tournament is taking place at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Nigeria Institute of Sports, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, with players from Nigeria and several other countries competing across different categories.
Nigeria endured a difficult outing in the women’s singles, with seven players exiting the competition at the Round of 32 stage.
Among those eliminated was Ruth Ebere, Nigeria’s highest-ranked player, who lost to India’s Surya Tamiri.
Tolulope Oluwadamilola, Kadijat Emiola, Ifeoluwa Ojo, Precious Oluwagbotemi, Peace Jonah and Naomi Tanko also failed to progress after losing their respective matches.
The hosts, however, recovered strongly in the mixed doubles, producing four successful pairings to reach the last eight.
Victor Ikechukwu and Kadijat Emiola were the first Nigerian pair to secure a quarter-final place after defeating Uganda’s Ray Nsubuga and Tracy Naluwooza 21-18, 21-12.
Saidu Aliyu and Christiana Obasanmi also advanced after their Indian opponents, Sai Pratheek and Srinidi Narayan, conceded a walkover.
Kayode Abdulateef and Cynthia Feranmi booked another quarter-final spot after overcoming Ghana’s Ofori Acheampong and Racheal Quarcoo 21-15, 23-21.
The most dramatic Nigerian victory came from Usman Afolabi and Zainab Alabi, who recovered from losing the opening set to defeat the United Arab Emirates-Australia pairing of S. Munnangi and Stret Yellapragada 14-21, 21-13, 21-17.
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Meanwhile, top seeds Dhruv Rawat and Mannesha K advanced to the quarter-finals with a bye.
Uganda’s Muzafaru Lubega and Gladys Mabazi also progressed after defeating Nigeria’s Akinsola and Aminat Ilori.
Ghana’s Lesllie Addo and Jennifer Eduam secured their quarter-final berth by defeating Nigeria’s Daniel Oyinlola and Samantha Oluwatunmise.
India’s S. Kanapuram and Radhika Sharma completed the quarter-final line-up after defeating Nigeria’s Aliyu Shehu and U. Ukeh.
The strong performance in the mixed doubles gives Nigeria a chance to challenge for honours at the Lagos International Badminton Classic despite the early setbacks in the women’s singles.
The ninth edition of the tournament continues at the National Stadium in Surulere, with players battling for honours in the various categories.
