The Lagos International also known as ''Lagos International Badminton Classics'' is an annual open international

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

tournament held in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. This tournament established since 2014, organized by the Lagos State Badminton Association (LSBA) and

Badminton Federation of Nigeria The Badminton Federation of Nigeria is the national governing body that oversees and manages affairs related to the sport of badminton in Nigeria. The federation was formed in 1998. The body is affiliated to the Badminton Confederation of Africa ...

. The tournament sanctioned by the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...

(BWF) and

Badminton Confederation of Africa The Badminton Confederation Africa (BCA) (formerly known as Badminton Confederation of Africa) is the governing body of badminton in Africa. It is one of the 5 continental bodies under the flag of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). It now has ...

(BCA), and has grade as

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

level with the total prize money $15,000. The classics is expected to help Nigerian players to improve their world ranking as well as play against some of the top rated players in the world, and it is also an opportunity to showcase the positive side of Lagos and Nigeria. It is also an intervention programme of the Lagos State Government, it is a series of international open sporting events geared towards attracting the best continental and global sports talents to the shores of the region. The Lagos State Government believes that the tournament is part of series of international sports events that will bring world stars to the state.

Tournament

The first tournament was held at Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, in

Yaba, Lagos Yaba is a suburb located on Lagos Mainland, Lagos in Lagos State, Nigeria. There are several federal government institutions in the area, which include Queen's College, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, the Yaba College of Technolog ...

, and categorized as

with the total prize money $15.000. A total 162 athletes from 15 countries drawn at the competition. The winners of the first edition were

Misha Zilberman Misha Zilberman ( he, מישה זילברמן, russian: Миша Зильберман; born 30 January 1989) is an Israeli badminton player. He competed for Israel at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Summer Olympics. He also won a bronze medal at the 2 ...

of Israel and

Jeanine Cicognini Jeanine Cicognini (born 14 November 1986) is a Swiss badminton player who now represents Italy. Cicognini won her first Swiss senior title at age 16 and has since won the award seven more times. Biography In 2005, she won the silver medal at the ...

of Italy in the men's and women's singles;

Andries Malan Andries Malan (born 20 October 1994) is a South African badminton player. In 2014, he competed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2015, he won double titles at the All-Africa Games by winning men's and mixed doubles event. Achi ...

and

Willem Viljoen Willem Abraham Viljoen (born 5 March 1985) is a South African badminton player. He competed for South Africa at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. At the All-African Games, he has collected 2 golds and s ...

of South Africa in the men's doubles; then the host country pairs won the women's and mixed doubles, represented by

Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan (born 5 July 1998) is a Nigerian badminton player. Career In 2014, she won bronze medals at the African Championships in the women's singles and mixed doubles event, and silver medal in the mixed team event. In June, she ...

Maria Braimoh Maria Hajara Braimoh (born 19 January 1990) is a Nigerian badminton player. She was part of the national team that won the gold medals at the 2007 and 2011 All-Africa Games. Braimoh competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. ...

, and

Enejoh Abah Eneojo Joseph Abah (born 16 February 1990) is a Nigerian badminton player. Abah hails from Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. He started playing badminton in 2003. He was selected to represent Nigeria in an international tournament in 2005 at ...

Tosin Damilola Atolagbe Tosin Damilola Atolagbe (born 4 July 1994) is a Nigerian badminton player. Achievements African Championships ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed doubles'' BWF International Challenge/Series ''Women's singles'' ''Women's doubles'' ''Mixed ...

. The second edition was held from 15 to 18 July 2015, attracted at least 28 countries, and the host country represented by 80 players. The Vice-President of Nigeria Badminton Federation who also doubles as Chairman LSBA, Francis Orbih, said that this tournament is an initiative borne out of the need to create an international competition for home grown talents who don’t participate in international tournaments. Lagos State Governor,

Akinwunmi Ambode Akinwunmi Ambode (born 14 June 1963) is a Nigerian politician who served as Governor of Lagos State from 2015 to 2019. He was a civil servant for 27 years and a financial consultant before running for public office. Ambode ran for office of th ...

, gave the commitment at the finals and closing ceremony will continue to sponsor this tournament. At the end of the tournament, India clinched three title in the men's singles, men's and women's doubles, Czech Republic won the women's singles, and Poland in the mixed doubles. In 2016, This tournament failed to hold due to the economic recession facing the country. The third edition then held between 25 and 29 July 2017, at the Molada Okoya Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere. The prize money has increased to $20,000, and attracted 75 men's and 36 women's athletes.

Previous winners

Performances by nation

References

{{Reflist

External links

Lagos State Badminton Association
Badminton tournaments International sports competitions in Lagos Badminton tournaments in Nigeria Recurring sporting events established in 2014 2014 establishments in Nigeria