NO.1 seed, Brazilian Jonathan Matias, has won the men’s singles title of the sixth Lagos International Badminton Classics after defeating Pablo Abian of Spain 21-17, 21-19 in a tense final at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
On his way to the final over the weekend, Matias beat African No.1, Nigeria’s Anuoluwapo Opeyori, at the quarter-final stage.
Opeyoro was the first African player to reach the quarter-finals in the history of the championship.
In the men’s mixed doubles final, the pair of Jose Guevara and Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar of Peru overcame Slovenia’s Miha Ivancic and Petra Polanc 21-17, 21-15, while in the men’s doubles, Algerian pair Koceila Mammeri and Youcef Sabri Medel lost to India’s P.S Ravikrishna and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar 21-15, 21-14.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and a Council Member of the Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA), Francis Orbih, in his closing remarks said he was immensely excited and grateful for the federation to have successful hosted this edition of the Classics after a three-year break largely caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
Orbih thanked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State for his support towards the tournament and all other sponsors, especially Value Jet that gave their valuable support towards the successful hosting of the event.
He added that he was looking forward to bigger sponsorship and support next year.
Foreign players numbering 108 from over 30 countries, joined by 43 Nigerian players, participated in the Lagos International Badminton Classics, where they won some of the highest cash prizes in Africa and garnered points towards qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
