With the exit of Christiana Alabi, Abiola Adesope, and Kayode Alabi from the table tennis event of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Team Nigeria’s medal hope now rests on Isau Ogunkunle against Frenchman Maxime Thomas in the men’s Class 4 quarterfinals on Wednesday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Three Nigerian players exited the medal race on Tuesday as the country continues to struggle in the event in Paris.
In the men’s singles class 9, Abiola Adesope lost in straight set to his French opponent Lucas Didier by 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-6) in their round of 16 match.
Christiana Alabi fought very hard, particularly in the last two sets of her match, but lost to her Chilean opponent Tamara Leonelli by 3-1 (11-8, 11-5, 10-12, 12-10) in the round of 16 as well.
Alabi’s husband, Kayode Alabi, also bowed out after losing his quarter-final match against Thailand’s Rungroj Thainiyom in class 6.
The Asian player was too good for the Nigerian, winning the match 3-0 (7-11, 1-11, 6-11).
Nigeria’s campaign had started badly last week, with early exits in the mixed doubles.
So far, Nigeria’s only medal at the Games has been won by para-badminton player Eniola Bolaji, who claimed bronze on Monday.
She made history as the first African athlete to win a medal in para-badminton. She achieved the feat in the Women’s Singles SL3 category, defeating her Ukrainian opponent, Oksana Kozyna, in straight sets 2-0 (21-9, 21-9) to win Nigeria’s first Paralympics medal in Paris.
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