Badminton Players Optimistic Of Winning Medals … All African Games

Some national badminton players have expressed optimism of a good performance at the All Africa Games scheduled for Mozambique in September.

In separate interviews with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the players said that their optimism stemmed from their recent performance in some international competitions.

Tidesports source recalls that Nigeria attended the All Africa Badminton Championships from May 6 to May 15 in Marrakech, Morocco, and the Kenya Badminton Open in from June 23 to June 26.

One of the players, Olaoluwa Fagbemi, said that Nigeria had always been among the top three in Africa and he was certain that they would do well in Mozambique.

“We have always been among the top three in Africa, I know we will move up the rung at the Games,” he said.

According to Fagbemi, the international competitions we attended in the months of May and June have also honed their skills.

Grace Nathaniel, another player, said that with the training received in camp in Abuja, the selected players to the Games were sure of nothing less than three gold medals.

“I am sure that with all the preparation and the competitions we have attended, the shortlisted players will do well in Maputo,” Nathaniel said.

She said that the National Sports Commission (NSC) had been of tremendous support to the players in camp.

Enejo Abah solicited the support and encouragement of Nigerians for the contingent to the Games for them to excel.

He noted that the major contender with Nigeria was Egypt, adding that with the right strategy, Team Nigeria would surpass them.

“The major competition with Nigeria is Egypt and I am sure that with the right tactics we will conquer them when we meet,” he said.