Kwara para-badminton star wins gold in Spain

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara state has congratulated Kwara-born Nigeria star, Mariam Bolaji, on her gold medal win at the Spanish Para-Badminton International 2024 in Toledo, Spain.

After a streak of superlative performances through the tournament, Bolaji walloped the world’s fifth-best badminton player, Mandeep Kaur, of India 2-0 to clinch the gold medal of the tournament.

Bolaji is also due to play at the Paralympic Games in Paris in July.

The governor, in a statement by his chief press secretary (CPS), Rafiu Ajakaye, said that the win has cemented the towering status of Bolaji as a global para-badminton sensation with impressive records over the past years.

“These successive feats of Bolaji again underline the fact that disabilities exist only in our imagination. We are excited about the deserving successes of Bolaji whose talents, hard work, and focus have rightly earned her a choice place in the global badminton community,” the governor said.

Asking Bolaji not to relent in her determination to be at the top of her career, Governor Abdulrazaq also congratulated her managers as well as the Badminton Federation of Nigeria on the success.

The Governor said Bolaji’s feats send the signal to everyone, especially persons living with any form of disability, that hard work and determination can take them to the height of the world.

The Governor said the win brought to mind the death of another great talent Bello Oyebanji, a staff of the Kwara State Sports Commission who was Bolaji’s coach. Oyebanji, one-time Nigeria and Africa champion, lost his life on his way from Lagos after collecting visas for himself and Bolaji to travel to Spain in 2021.