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The 18-year-old becomes the first African para-athlete to win a medal in Badminton Paralympic Games.
Eniola Bolaji has flown the Nigerian flag high, becoming the first African para-athlete to win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
Bolaji beat Ukrainian Oksana Kozyna in two straight sets (21-9, 21-9) in Para Badminton to clinch Bronze on Monday morning.
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Bolaji secured her spot in the last four by defeating India's Mandeep Kaur 2-0 (21-8, 21-9) in the women's singles SL3 quarter-finals.
However, the 18-year-old suffered defeat in the semi-final to a Zuxian (21-16, 21-17) before she bounced back to win bronze.
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After booking a spot in the semifinal, Bolaji said she was determined to win a medal in honour of her late coach, Bello Rafiu Oyebanji, who tragically passed away in a motor accident three years ago.
"This is amazing; it's something I've dreamed of. I was training for Tokyo 2020 in mixed doubles, but I lost my coach. So, it is an honour for me to be here," Bolaji shared.
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09:45 - 31.08.2024
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Team Nigeria will be aiming to surpass the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics record, where they won 10 medals.
Training with a club in Spain since November last year has been instrumental in Bolaji's development, "In Nigeria, I have to take a cab from my house to the stadium, but in Spain, I just have to walk two minutes to the stadium I play with professional players at the club, so that has helped me," Bolaji explained.
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