NIGERIA FANNING INTEREST IN BADMINTON AT HOME

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) -- Although football is Nigeria's first preference, badminton, which is ranked sixth in that country, is slowly but surely firing up the interest of its people.

To boost the interest of its citizens, Nigeria also organises national
badminton tournaments annually. Such a move will only spur the significant
growth of the game in the near future.

"We have six training centres for badminton and seven zones for us to
play...thus, I think we are not facing any obstacles right now," Fagbemi
Olaoluwa, the country's first singles player for the Thomas Cup team, told
reporters here Monday.

He said the team was funded by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Sports for
development of badminton in the country, adding that the ministry also sponsored
their expenses incurred for the Thomas and Uber Cup championships.

On the delay in arriving for the ongoing championships, Olaoluwa, 26, said
it was caused by a missed flight enroute to Abuja from Lagos.

Second singles player Adamu Ibrahim, 26, expressed disappointment over the
delay as he missed the chance to play with Malaysia's top singles player
Lee Chong Wei.

"We are not happy at having missed out the first game. However, this will be
a lesson for us to be prepared for the next tournament," said Ibrahim, who
played in the 1999 World Badminton Championship in Denmark, and hoped to become
a badminton coach.

When the tournament ends, both players intend to go on a shopping spree in
the city.

-- BERNAMA