It was pomp and pageantry as curtains fell at the 2018 edition of the Côte d’Ivoire International Badminton Championship.

Team Nigeria which entered for only 4 of the 5 events in the competition emerged overall winners with 3gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze to retain the title it won last year.

In the Mixed Doubles event, the pair of Clement Krobakpo & Dorcas Adesokan beat Chongo Mulenga & Evelyn Siamupangila from Zambia in 2 straight sets 21:9,21:15 to clinch Gold. It was same story in the Men’s Doubles event as the pair of Godwin Olofua & Anu Opeyori dominated the international pair of Perderson Mathias (Denmark) & Persson Jonathan (Germany) in 2 straight set 21:14, 21:19 in a keenly contested finals. The Women’s Singles finals was an all Nigerian affairs with Dorcas Adesokan beating Ruth Ebere 21:10, 21:12 in a more relaxed game. The only event that Nigeria failed to reach the finals was in the Men’s Single where Anu Opeyori lost narrowly to Adams Mendrak of the Czech Republic.

In total, 12 countries participated in the 2018 edition of the Côte d’Ivoire International which is one of the International series in the BWF calendar hosted in Africa. The participating countries were Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Belgium, Sweden, Maldives, Denmark, Jordan, Mexico, Czech Republic, Germany and Côte d’Ivoire the host country.

Nigeria’s participation in the competition would immensely boost the international ranking of the players especially Clement and Dorcas whom are both vying for a slot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.