Mariam Bolaji of Nigeria on Sunday in Paris, France lost her semi-final clash against Zuxian Xiao of China in the para-badminton competition at the ongoing 2024 Paralympic Olympic Games in Paris.
NaijaOnPoint.com.ng (NOP) reports Bolaji had defeated Mandeep Kaur of India 21-8 21-9 in the quarter-finals to became the 1st African Para-athlete to make the semifinals of Para-Badminton event at the Paralympics, raising hope.
She, however, put up a good showing, but lost the semifinal match, losing to Xiao in the women’s Singles SL3. Bolaji came very close to making the final, but lost 2-0 (16-21, 17-21) to miss out on a chance to compete for a gold medal.
She had on Thursday in the group stage beaten Kaur 21-8 21-14 in a Group B match, while she followed up with another group win on Friday. Then she beat Celine Vinot of Australia 21-8 21-14 also to win the group and head into the last eight stage.
She will return to the court on Monday, facing Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna in the Bronze medal match.