A total of 108 foreign players from over 35 countries and 43 Nigerian players are set to compete in the upcoming Lagos International Badminton Classics. The tournament will take place at the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall in Lagos from August 30th to September 2nd, 2023.
So far, 37 countries have confirmed their participation, including Algeria, Azerbaijan, Australia, Austria, Benin Republic, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada and Czech Republic.
Other countries joining the competition include England, Equatorial Guinea, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Mauritius and Norway.
Nigeria will also be represented alongside Peru, Sri Lanka, Spain, South Africa, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, USA, and Zambia.
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The Lagos Classics has been variously described as the highest category of Badminton World Federation-sanctioned championship to be hosted by any African country.
The rating of the Classics also affords the participants, including Nigerian players, the opportunity to garner points towards qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics as well as improve their BWF World ranking.
The Badminton Federation President, Francis Orbih, in a statement, said the competition is staging a big comeback after being off the calendar for 3 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects.
