Nigeria’s Badminton star, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, crashed out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing his second consecutive match against China’s Li Shi Feng 2-0 in a Group N encounter.
Opeyori started his Olympics campaign on a sad note when he lost his first match against Switzerland’s Tobias Kuenzi 2-0 (20-22, 14-21)on Tuesday.
It was not a straightforward victory for Li Shi Feng as Opeyori gave him a tough run. The first set ended 21-17 in favour of the Chinese.
Opeyori bounced back in the second set with an impressive performance to lead 11-7 before Li Shi Feng fought back to win 21-17 to end his Olympics campaign in the first round.
He is Nigeria’s only representative in Badminton and his exit ends Nigeria’s chances of winning any medal in Badminton.
Opeyori is delighted with the opportunity to showcase his talent at the Olympics.
He said, “I am so impressed with my performance; I gave a good account of myself in the men’s singles playing against one of the best players in the world. The Olympics gave me an opportunity to get exposed properly and I am wishing myself all the best.”
Opeyori joins the table tennis quartet of Aruna Quadri, Fatimo Bello, Offiong Edem and Omotayo Olajide to crash out of the Paris 2024 Olympics.