PARIS: Mariam Eniola Bolaji of Nigeria became the first African athlete to win a badminton medal at a Games - Olympics or Paralympics -when she clinched bronze in the women’s singles SL3 at the Paris Paralympics on Monday.
The 18-year-old beat Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna 21-9 21-9 to secure a podium finish three years after her coach, Bello Oyebanji, died in a road accident as she was preparing for the Tokyo Paralympics. It is also Nigeria’s first medal at the Paris Paralympics.