It was exhilarating and an exciting moment for Dorcas Adesokan from Ogun State, after putting up a near perfect performance to shut out Tosin Afolagbe from Rivers state 21-15, 21-6 to win the women’s singles title of the 2018 Mutual Benefits National Open Badminton Championship concluded at the Mutual Benefits Nigeria Police Badminton Hall at the Police College, Ikeja on Saturday.
In the men’s singles final, Africa’s number one badminton player who was also the defending champion of the Mutual Benefits Badminton championship, Anuoluwapo Opeyori lost in the final 0-2 to the new champion, Godwin Olufuwa in an exciting match that will linger on the minds of spectators for a long time to come.
In a post match interview, the new men’s singles champion, Olufuwa said he was overwhelmed by the outcome as Opeyori put up a wonderful performance which left him gasping for breath.
“He is still the number one. The game was so tight.
“We train together and I have a lot of respect for him. We met at Katsina tournament and he defeated me in the quarter finals and went ahead to win the tournament. Last year, he beat me in the final of this tournament. But this year, I had to put in a lot of hard work to overcome him. I just won the West African University Games so coming down here with the same form gave me an edge.”
On her part, Adesokan praised the effort of her opponent. “She was wonderful because having just given birth, I did not expect to see her in the final. We met in last year’s final, so it was easy for me to handle her.”
Badminton Federation of Nigeria President Francis Orbih praised the combatants, saying the final was a good advertisement for Nigerian badminton.
“We want to make the game popular and attract more fans. It is when they see games like this that they would be compelled to come out again next time.”
Biyi Ashiru of Mutual Benefits Assurance, sponsors of the tournament expressed satisfaction with the organization and standard of the tourney.
“We at Mutua Benefits Assurances believe in improving the lives of the youth by empowering them the best way possible. And this is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility. We are happy that our efforts are yielding fruits.”