The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria(BFN), Francis Orbih, has expressed excitement over Abia Government’s huge investment in para-badminton.
Orbih, who spoke to newsmen in Umuahia, said that the state had set an unprecedented standard for the development of the game.
He expressed satisfaction with the level of organisation and participation at the 5th Abia National Open Para Badminton Championship, saying that the nation had never had it so good.
The championship which took place from July 14 – 17, at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, drew para-athletes from different states of the federation.
The BFN President appreciated Gov. Alex Otti for the huge investment in para-badminton, which is geared towards ensuring inclusivity not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa as a whole.
He said that the governor has invested so much money, including the procurement of accessible bus for wheelchair users and special mats for wheelchair players, being first of its kind in Africa.
“As a federation we are very happy with what has happened in terms of organisation, quality of the games and others and we hope that it will only get better.
“The world and African body, everybody is taking note for what Abia is doing for para-badminton,” the president said.
Meanwhile, the host state, Abia retained its number one spot by emerging as the overall winner of the 5th edition of the championship with 17 medals( five gold, five silver and seven bronze).
Plateau state took the second position with eight medals overall( four gold, one silver and three bronze), Ogun placed third with five medals (three gold and two bronze).
Kwara emerged fourth with three gold medals, whereas Imo completed the top five with nine medals overall (one gold, five silver and three bronze).
Others were Rivers in sixth position, winning three medals (one gold, one silver and one bronze), followed by Kebbi with one gold and one silver.
Delta won one gold to place eight, Akwa Ibom finished ninth with two silver, while Bayelsa went home with five medals (one silver and four bronze) to finish 10th.
The rest were Lagos State in 11th position with one silver and one bronze, Anambra State placed 12th with one silver.
Taraba finished in 13th position with one bronze medal while Ebonyi occupied the bottom of the table with no medal.
The 1st Abia Para Badminton International Championship is scheduled to take place from Sept. 30 to Oct.5, followed by the All Africa Para Badminton Championship from Oct. 6 to 12, to be hosted by the state.
(NAN)
