The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has expressed excitement over Abia State government’s huge investment in para-badminton.

Mr Orbih spoke in Umuahia, on the sidelines of the grand-finale of the Fifth National Open Para-Badminton Championship held at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia.

He expressed delight that “Abia State has set an unprecedented standard for the development of the game.”

He also said that he was satisfied with the quality of the organisation and participation at the competition, saying that the nation had never had it so good.

The championship, which took place between July 14 and July 17, drew para-athletes from different states of the federation.

The BFN president said that Governor Alex Otti’s huge investment in para-badminton “is geared toward ensuring inclusivity not only in Nigeria, but also in Africa as a whole.”

He said that the governor invested much money, including the procurement of accessible bus for wheelchair users and special mats for wheelchair players, being the 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 of what Abia State is doing for para-badminton,” Mr Orbih said.

Meanwhile, the host state, Abia State retained its number one spot, emerging the overall winner of the competition with five gold, five silver and seven bronze.

Plateau State came second with four gold, one silver and three bronze, Ogun State placed third with three gold and two bronze.

Kwara State came fourth with three gold, while Imo State occupied the fifth position with one gold, five silver and three bronze.

Others were Rivers State, sixth position with one gold, one silver and one bronze, followed by Kebbi State with one gold and one silver.

Delta State won one gold to place eighth, Akwa Ibom State finished ninth with two silver, while Bayelsa State went home with 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 State finished in the 13th position with one bronze, while Ebonyi State occupied the bottom of the table, winning no medal.

The First Abia Para Badminton International Championship to be hosted by Abia is scheduled to hold from September 30 to October 5, followed by the All Africa Para Badminton Championship from October 6 to October 12, according to an official statement. 

(NAN