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Olufua Godwin, Zainab Momoh emerge winners at maiden Lagos South West badminton championship

By Samuel Ifetoye
12 December 2016   |   2:04 am
Olufua Godwin and Zainab Momoh at the weekend emerged winners in the men’s and women’s singles of the maiden Lagos State Governor’s South West Badminton Championship ...
Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Deji Tinubu (second right); Winner of Men’s Singles, Olofua Godwin of Lagos (third right), and others during presentation of medals at the maiden Lagos Governor’s South West Badminton Championship held in Lagos…during the weekend.

Chairman, Lagos State Sports Commission, Mr. Deji Tinubu (second right); Winner of Men’s Singles, Olofua Godwin of Lagos (third right), and others during presentation of medals at the maiden Lagos Governor’s South West Badminton Championship held in Lagos…during the weekend.

Olufua Godwin and Zainab Momoh at the weekend emerged winners in the men’s and women’s singles of the maiden Lagos State Governor’s South West Badminton Championship held at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba.

The tournament, which featured all states from the western region of the nation, saw Olufua, who represented Lagos State, defeated Oyo State’s Habeeb Bello 2-1 21-18, 11-21, 21-16 in a very exciting battle. In the women’s cadre, Momoh of Team Oyo’s subdued her Team Ogun’s opponent, Atologbe Tosin, in 21-18, 17-21, 21-17).

In the Under-15 event, Roland Okunola from Ekiti won gold medal in the boys’ singles category, while Alade Omolade from Ogun State carted the gold medal in the girls’ cadre.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Sports, Mr. Deji Tinubu, who applauded the tournament, believed the state was on the right track.

“This is a developmental competition designed to know how our players are making progress. With what I saw here in the finals, I believe we are on the right tracks, as we plan to take the game to the next level,” he said.

In his assessment of the championship, the Director General of LSSC, Mr. Adewunmi Ogunsanya, said the game of badminton has developed rapidly in the state. He said the idea behind the effort of the state was to produce younger players that would take over from ageing ones.

“Lagos State still plans to organise many tournaments in the coming days ahead to unearth more promising players. Our intention is to discover them at their young age and then give them necessary the backing in order to bring out the very best in them,” he said.

Chairman of the Lagos State Badminton Association and Head of Southwest associations, Mr. Francis Orbih, said he was satisfied with the standard on display at the championship.

He commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s for his backing of the championship, which hosted 120 players across the Southwest of the country.

He, however, pledged to build on the success of the three-day championship.

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