22-year-old Brazilian Matias wins 6th Lagos Badminton Classics
In an epic final at the 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics, a 22-year-old Brazilian, Jonathan Matias, on Saturday, defeated Pablo Abian of Spain, to clinch the Men’s Singles final title. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the final matches of the 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics were played at the Molade Okoya Thomas […]
6th Lagos Badminton Classics
In an epic final at the 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics, a 22-year-old Brazilian, Jonathan Matias, on Saturday, defeated Pablo Abian of Spain, to clinch the Men’s Singles final title.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the final matches of the 6th Lagos International Badminton Classics were played at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
Matias who defeated Nigeria’s Anu Opeyori in the quarter-final enroute the final, in an interview with NAN, said he was happy to win his first major international title.
“This title means a lot to me, this is my first time winning an international classic tournament in my career.
- 2022 flooding: Farmers decry exclusion from N1.5bn relief materials
- Natives’ forum sets agenda for Wike
“I love the atmosphere here and the fans didn’t bother me. I just focused on what I want to do and put everything behind.
“The hall was quiet in my mind as I was playing my game and wasn’t thinking about the crowd.
“I worked hard and trained for this event and here I am as the champion. I hope to continue from this to other medals, especially at the Olympics,” he said.
NAN reports that Fabio Caponio of Italy and Dmtny Panarin of Kazakhstan were joint third.
For the Women’s Single, Ines Lucia Castilo-Salazar of Peru defeated Lauren Lam of USA for the title, while Rachel Darragh of Ireland and Juliana Vaiana Viera of Brazil were joint third.
The final had in attendance various dignitaries and stakeholders of the badminton in Nigeria like the Chairman of Lagos. State Sports Commission (LSSC), Mr Sola Aiyepeku, and President of Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) Francis Orbih, among others. (NAN).