From LAYI OLANREWAJU, Ilorin
Kwara’s Eniola Bolaji Mariam has become the first Nigerian and African to win Spanish Para Badminton International Championship 2024 and a gold medal.
She has been ranked World number 7 in the Women’s SL3 according to the World Para Badminton Governing Body.
She was discovered 4 years ago in Kwara State by Late Coach, Bello Oyebanji, and has continued to enjoy the support of the Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq-led Kwara State Government to conquer the world.
The Kwara-born player overwhelmed World number 6, Oksana Kozyna from Ukraine 2-0 to clinch the gold medal in the women’s SL3 at the 2024 Spanish Championship.
We celebrate this young lady who has joined League of Youths, making Kwara and Nigeria proud globally.
Meanwhile the Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has congratulated Kwara-born Nigeria’s star Mariam Bolaji on her gold medal win at the Spanish Para Badminton International 2024 in Toledo, Spain.
After a streak of superlative performances through the tournament, Bolaji walloped world’s fifth best badminton player Mandeep Kaur of India 2-0 to clinch the gold medal of the tournament.
Bolaji is also due to play at the Paralympic Games in Paris in July.
The Governor said the win has cemented the towering status of Bolaji as a global para badminton sensation with impressive records over the past years.
“These successive feats of Bolaji again underline the fact that disabilities exist only in our imagination. We are excited about the deserving successes of Bolaji whose talents, hard work, and focus have rightly earned her a choice place in global badminton community,” the Governor said.
Asking Bolaji not to relent in her determination to be at the top of her career, Governor AbdulRazaq also congratulated her managers as well as the Badminton Federation of Nigeria on the success.
The Governor said Bolaji’s feats send the signal to everyone, especially persons living with any form of disability, that hard work and determination can take them to the height of the world.
The Governor said the win brought to mind the death of another great talent Bello Oyebanji, a staff of the Kwara State Sports Commission who was Bolaji’s coach. Oyebanji, one-time Nigeria and Africa champion, lost his life on his way from Lagos after collecting visas for himself and Bolaji to travel to Spain in 2021.