The third edition of the Ikoyi Club Badminton Classics ended with a first time experience for most of the winners.
The last time it held was 24 years ago, meaning that most of the players were not born when the tournament was last held in 1999. It turned a worthwhile experience with only ranked players eligible to participate.
In this case, only the first 16 ranked players were involved. It was a thriller from beginning to the end. The opening round was a round-robin leading to the quarter-finals which produced the usual suspects – Anuoluwapo Opeyori Juwon (Lagos), Hansen Bello (Oyo), Victor Ikechukwu (Rivers) and Aliyu A.Shehu (Niger) – who proceeded to the semi-finals in the Men’s Singles.
The Women’s Singles event was equally thrilling as Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan (Ogun), Ruth Chinenye Over (Edo), Sofiyat Arinola Obanishola (Rivers) and Deborah Ukeh Divine (Edo) were the survivors in the quarter finals who clichéd the semi-final berths.
At this stage, experience spoke loud as Juwon secured a comfortable win over Habeeb Temitope Bello (Oyo) 21-8, 21-7 (2-0) while Ikechukwu was able to overcome Shehu 21-18, 21-19 (2-0) to proceed to the title match in the Men’s Singles.
In the Woman’s Semifinals, Adesokan won over Ruth C.Ibere 21-13, 21-15 (2-0) while Obanishola triumphed over Divine 21-18, 21-10 (2-0) to book a spot in the final.
The title fights were titanic but Juwon (Lagos) was able to edge out Ikechukwu (Rivers) 23-21, 17-21, 21-11 (2-1) to win the Men’s Singles title.
In the Women’s Singles, Adesokan (Ogun) prevailed over Obanishola of Rivers to win the gold.
During the prize giving, awards and presentations that followed, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso was inducted into the Nigerian Badminton Hall of Fame as the first inductee in recognition of his unwavering dedication and invaluable contribution to the development of badminton in Nigeria and Africa.
One of the sponsors of the event, Mirror Homes Investment gave title documents for half plots of land in their estate in Lagos to each of the Men’s and Women’s singles winners.
President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, Francis Orbih, expressed his delight at the resounding success of the championship where over five million naira was shared in prize money in both the men’s and women’s events.
As he conveyed the appreciation and gratitude of the Badminton Federation under his leadership and of the players for this great support, Orbih reiterated the Board’s resolve to go the extra mile in making sure all avenues of development of the game and players are explored.