As the Badminton Hall of Fame became the talking point of the 3rd Ikoyi Club National Badminton Classics that began yesterday, top seeds are not taking chances as they have qualified for quarter finals of the Championship.
Prominent among them is men’s singles top seed and Africa/ Nigeria No. 1, Anuoluwapo Opeyori(Lagos) and Ibrahim Udewu (Bauchi).
They qualified easily from Group A while Victor Ikechukwu(Rivers) and Habeeb Bello emerged from Group B.
Also through to the quarter finals is national Number 2 seed, Shehu Aliyu (Niger State) and Emmanuel Joseph (Rivers State).
In the women’s category, Nigeria’s top seed and Mutual Benefit Assurance Badminton championship defending champion, Ruth Ebere(Edo State) and seed 2, Deborah Ukeh (Edo State) are also through to the quarter finals.
Other women quarter finalists include, Naomi Tanko( Lagos), Sofiat Obanisola(Rivers), Jumoke Obasanmi (Lagos), Dorcas Adesokan (Ogun),Damilola Oyedepo(Oyo) and Aminat Ilori from Ogun State.
me, men’s singles top seed, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, said now that they have done with the group stage, the quarter finals is expected to be a tough challenge since is a knockout stage.
For the women’s top seed, Ruth Ebere, she said “anything can happen as far as it is a competition”. But come what may, winning is the only song on her lips.
Meanwhile, President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, Bar. Francis Orbih has commended Ikoyi Club Badminton section for stagging the classics scheduled to end on saturday 16 December 2023.
And assured that the Badminton hall of fame that will climax the classics on saturday is going to be bam as it is going to be the first of its kind in Nigeria
