Mariam Bolaji has won Nigeria’s first medal at the ongoing Paris 2024 Paralympics after defeating Ukraine’s Kozyna Oksana 2-0 (21-9, 21-9) in 24 minutes in the SL3 para badminton broze medal match on Monday morning.
The win sees Bolaji become not only the first Nigerian but African woman to win a para badminton medal at the Paralympics.
It was a bittersweet moment for the 18-year-old whose ambition was to win a gold medal for Nigeria at the Games but her expectations were cut short after losing her semi-final game to a more experienced Xioa Zuxian 21-16, 21-17 from China.
The medal is a boost for the country who failed to secure a single podium finish at the Summer Olympics in August despite having a delegation of over 80 athletes.
Nigeria will be expecting to claim more medals when the parapowerlifting event begins on Wednesday.
