Nigeria’s para-badminton player, Mariam Eniola Bolaji, on Monday (today) won bronze medal after beating Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna 21-9, 21-9 at the Paralympics in Paris.
Bolaji succumbed to a 2-0 (16-21, 17-21) defeat to China’s Zuxian Xiao in the women’s singles SL3 semi-finals on Sunday, ending her hopes of grabbing a gold in the event.
Earlier, she had become the first African para-athlete to make the semi-finals of the para-badminton event with a straight-set victory against India’s Mandeep Kaur in the women’s singles SL3 quarter-finals, winning 2-0 (21-8, 21-9).
After her quarterfinal win on Sunday, she expressed a strong desire to win the gold medal, but that is no longer going to be.
The player and her compatriot Chigozie Nnanna have been blazing the trail in Paris, as they became the first African athletes to win a match at the Paralympics during the group stages.
