Nigerian brothers Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori and Funsho Opeyori are determined to end Africa’s Olympic badminton jinx in Paris.
As African badminton champion Anuoluwapo prepares to make history, he can draw inspiration from his journey of overcoming the odds.
Despite being born in an informal settlement in Lagos, the 27-year-old has risen to win four continental singles titles, more than any African man before.
What makes Opeyori’s achievement even more impressive is that he comes from a country without a single badminton-designated facility. Nonetheless, he now hopes to become the first African to progress in the Olympic men’s singles competition.
“My target is to get to the quarter-final because once I’m able to win one game, I believe that will be a big upset for everyone and I should be able to achieve more than that,” Opeyori said during an interview with BBC Sport Africa.
Not once since badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992 has an African man reached the next round, even though South Africa’s Jacob Maliekal managed to win a game in the group stages of the 2016 Games. Meanwhile, the continent’s record is marginally better in the women’s game, with Egypt’s Hadia Hosny reaching the second round in 2008.
Despite the weight of history, Opeyori – who has won Africa’s last three singles titles and the African Games title earlier this year – is approaching the 2024 Games with confidence.
“Technically-speaking, I’m not under pressure because I’ll be facing people that are very good. So they should be the ones under pressure because I’m coming for them. So it is a battle that I am taking to them.”
Opeyori’s journey to the top of African badminton started in an unexpected fashion, as he was originally playing Nigeria’s favorite sport at the time.
“I was playing football with my friends when the coach saw us,” he explained as he walked around the Rowe Park sport complex in Lagos. “I think he had very good insight because we were just normal kids playing football. But he introduced the game to us and immediately that he gave me the racket, I bonded with it.”
Despite having neither a racket nor shoes, with Opeyori borrowing both, a love for badminton was born. Any hopes of rapid progress were stymied by the limited badminton facilities in Nigeria.
“It will amaze you to know that in Nigeria, we don’t have a single badminton facility – not one,” said Francis Orbih, president of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria. “In most public places, what you have is a multi-purpose hall. So when basketball has a two-week program, badminton can’t train, and that is a huge drawback.”
A trip to Asia in 2018 changed Opeyori’s career, says Orbih. After attending a two-month training camp in Indonesia, a country that boasts eight Olympic badminton golds (and 21 overall), Opeyori won the first of his record four African men’s singles titles.
Having won the last three on offer, the African champion is now tipped to make his continent proud at the Olympics. “If anyone is going to be able to break the jinx, it’s him – he has the capacity to do it,” said Orbih. “He is disciplined, hardworking, and passionate about the game, and that is what has brought him to where he is and kept him there.”
Before stepping onto the badminton court, Opeyori had been conducting menial jobs near his Lagos home, such as bricklaying, to get by. He was supported by the money raised from selling provisions by his mother, Funke, who was delighted by his career change.
“When he told me he wanted to play badminton, he was not aware that I used to play the sport,” Funke, a former amateur player, told BBC Sport Africa. “Anytime he travels for competition, I am always happy and support him by fasting and praying because I am excited my son is so fortunate.”
“It means badminton runs in the blood,” said Opeyori.
His career has become a family affair after his elder brother, Funsho, set aside his own badminton abilities nearly a decade ago to both train and fund his sibling.
“I gave up my dream because I saw good potential in him,” said Funsho. “I’m excited because he is African number one and I’m very confident that he is going to break the jinx at the Olympics.”
Opeyori played at the last Olympics in the doubles, suffering a first-round exit. He will be one of just two African men in the badminton singles, along with Georges Julien Paul of Mauritius. Fellow Mauritian Kate Foo Kune and South Africa’s Johanita Scholtz will contest the women’s singles.
Despite the traditional Asian dominance of the sport, Opeyori is relishing the challenge. “I’m coming with good confidence and making the nation proud is my aspiration – and the whole of Africa also.”
Anuoluwapo Juwon Opeyori will begin his quest to make history at the Paris 2024 Olympics in Group N against Li Shi Feng (China) and Tobias Kunezi (Switzerland) in the group stage.
Pictures: Courtesy,X
