Mutual Benefits National Badminton Championships: Olufuwa Dethrones Opeyori As Adesokan Retains Title

November 22, 2018

31 1 minute read

It was exhilarating and an exciting moment for Dorcas Adesokan from Ogun State, after putting up a near perfect performance to shut out Tosin Afolagbe from Rivers state 21-15, 21-6 to win the women’s singles title of the 2018 Mutual Benefits National Open Badminton Championship concluded at the Police College, Ikeja on Saturday.

In the men’s singles final, Africa’s number one badminton player who was also the defending champion of the Mutual Benefits Badminton Championship, Anuoluwapo Opeyori lost in the final 2-0 to the new champion, Godwin Olufuwa, in an exciting match. In a post-match interview, the new men’s singles champion, Olufuwa, said he was overwhelmed by the outcome as Opeyori put up a wonderful performance which left him gasping for breath. “He is still the number one. The game was so tight. “We train together and I have a lot of respect for him.

We met at Katsina tournament and he defeated me in the quarter finals and went ahead to win the tournament. Last year, he beat me in the final of this tournament. But this year, I had to put in a lot of hard work to overcome him. I just won the West African University Games so coming down here with the same form gave me an edge.”

On her part, Adesokan praised the effort of her opponent. “She was wonderful because having just given birth, I did not expect to see her in the final. We met in last year’s final, so it was easy for me to handle her,” she said. Badminton Federation of Nigeria President Francis Orbih praised the combatants, saying the final was a good advertisement for Nigerian badminton.

The event is parts of Mutual Benefits’ strategic plans aimed at creating awareness about insurance in order to deepen insurance penetration in the country.