Photo Credit: Making of Champs/Instagram
Eniola Bolaji is the best women’s SL3 para-badminton player in the world right now. Not in Africa. In the world. The Badminton World Federation made it official on Tuesday, 17th February, when the latest rankings confirmed what her performances have been building towards for some time: Nigeria’s own Eniola Bolaji is World No. 1, and in reaching that position, she has become the first African athlete to ever do it in her category.
The ranking move came on the back of her silver medal finish at the 2026 World Para Badminton Championship in Bahrain, where she fought her way to the final before losing 2-0 to Japan’s Shino Kawai on Valentine’s Day. A loss in the final that still rewrote history. That result, combined with her title defence at the Egypt International in January, gave her enough points to dethrone Indonesia’s Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh from the top spot. And just like that, a Nigerian woman is sitting at the summit of a global sport ranking.
This is not Bolaji’s first time making history. At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, she became the first African to win a badminton medal at either the Olympics or the Paralympics, taking home bronze. What we are seeing now is the continuation of that arrival, carried out with consistency and serious competitive discipline.
Francis Orbih, President of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria, called it the biggest news of the year. He noted that Bolaji likely would have reached this milestone sooner had she competed in more tournaments in the previous year, and that her return to full form last season laid the groundwork for everything that has followed in 2026. “She regained full stability last season and has carried that momentum into this year, already featuring in two major tournaments with outstanding performances,” he said.
He also acknowledged the support of the National Sports Commission, the Abia State Government, and GIG Logistics in creating the conditions for her to compete and excel at this level.
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