The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AFRICAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP

  • Oborududu wins 8th African title; Adekuoroye, Adeniyi bag gold

    Oborududu wins 8th African title; Adekuoroye, Adeniyi bag gold

    Nine Gold medals and one silver medal has been won in the Senior Women’s Wrestling category of the 2018 African Wrestling Championship in Port Harcourt, Rivers State in a Nigeria female wrestlers dominated contest.
    Blessing Oborududu defeated Sambou Anta 14-3 in the 68kg to secure her 8th title on the continent.
    World Wrestling Silver medalist, Odunayo Adekuoroye claimed her 4th African title by defeating Cameroon’s Essombe Joseph Emilienne in the 57kg by technical superiority.
    Also, Commonwealth gold medalist, Aminat Adeniyi won her 4th title by defeating Tunisia’s Lilia Mejri 10-0 in the 62kg category.

    Read Also: Ukoro, Balogun Deliver Gold For Team Nigeria on Opening Day

    Another Commonwealth gold medalist, Ifeoma Nwoye also reclaimed her African title after missing last year’s edition by defeating Tunisia’s Faten Hammami in the 55kg.
    Former Juniors African champion, Bisola Makanjuola defeated  Egypt’s Eman Ebrahim in the 59kg.
    Two-time African champion,  Winnie Gofit beat Kenya’s Nthiga in 11 seconds in the 72kg to retain her title. Bose Samuel defeated Soro Tiemongo of Ivory Coast by pinfall in the 53kg.
     Miesinnei Mercy Genesis won her second African title by beating Algeria’s Kheira Yahiaoui 10-0 in the 50kg.
    Reuben Hannah also won gold in the 65kg by defeating Emily Mbogo of Kenya 10-0 to reclaim her African crown.
    The only silver medal in the Senior Women’s Wrestling was won silver after losing to Samr Hanza of Egypt in the final of the 76kg.
  • Nigeria leads with 15 medals at African Wrestling Championship 

    Nigeria leads with 15 medals at African Wrestling Championship 

    Nigeria has won a total of 15 medals (six gold, three silver and six bronze) in the Cadet Category event to lead the medals table in the opening day of the 2018 African Wrestling Championship holding at the  Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre in Port Harcourt.
    The gold medalists are Sunmisola Idowu Balogun (65kg), Tolu Ogunsanya (46kg), Yetunde Oluwatoyin (40kg), Cecilia James (68kg) and Mercy Adekuoroye (53kg) in the Women’s Wrestling, while the only gold medal in Greco Roman was won by Ukoro Peter (55kg).
    SportingLife reports that Nigeria have qualified in three Olympic weight classes (40kg, 53kg and 68kg) of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina later this year.
    In the Women’s wrestling 53kg, Mercy Adekuoroye, a niece to World Wrestling silver medalist, Odunayo Adekuoroye, defeated Soud Bouksir of Algeria 10-0 to secure the gold medal.
    In the 65kg, Sunmisola Balogun defeated Natasha Nabaina of Cameroon 5-4 in a tight final. She defeated Chaimae Taibi of Morocco 10-0  in the semi final after overpowering Natasha Nabaina 2-0 in the first round and South Africa’s Charmone Oosthuizen 11-0 in Round 2.
    Tolulope Ogunsanya won her gold by defeating Lamia Rtibi of Tunisia 10-0 in the 46kg weight class.
    Natasha Essien gave the country the only silver medal in the Women’s Wretling 73kg weight class, while Esther Kolawole (61kg), Esther Asaolu (43kg) and Aina Ohida (49kg) won bronze medals in the category.

    Read Also: Nigeria wins 2nd Africa Zone 2 Junior Swimming Championship

    In the Greco Roman, Ukoro Peter delivered gold for Nigeria by beating Omar Abdelaziz 4-0 in the final of the 55kg class. He defeated Lu Shawn Leonico of South Africa in the semi final. He defeated Linus Katujanda of Namibia 15-7 in Round One before beating Yassine Jaa of Morocco 8-0 in Round 2.
    Perediegha Ogidi won silver in the Greco Roman 48kg. He defeated Mervin Eixab of Namibia 9-3 in Round One but lost 6-4 to Mohamed Dridi in the second match.
    Ntem Moses Ifiok also won a silver medal in the GR 65kg class.
    In the GR 51kg, Damilola Gabriel Fayolemi defeated Yassine Chekly of Morocco in the bronze medal match. The other two bronze medals in Greco Roman were won by Yahaya Yahuza (92kg) and Ikechukwa Robinson (60kg).
    Egypt are second on the table with four gold, three silver and six bronze medals, while Tunisia are third with four gold, two silver and a bronze medal.
    Algeria are in the fourth position on the table with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals and are followed by Cameroon with two silver medals.
    South Africa are in the sixth position with one silver and four bronze medals, while Namibia won just one bronze medal to place seventh on the table after the Day One event of the championship.
  • Ukoro, Balogun Deliver Gold For Team Nigeria on Opening Day

    Ukoro, Balogun Deliver Gold For Team Nigeria on Opening Day

    Ukoro Peter handed Nigeria a surprise gold medal in the 55kg Greco-Roman event for cadet wrestlers on Day 1o of the 2018 African Wrestling Championships in Port Harcourt.

    The youngster from Bauchi State defeated Omar Adel Abdelazi of Egypt, 4-0 in final.

    “I feel very glad and happy about it,” he said, after his victory.

    “It was awesome but enjoyable because Greco-Roman is enjoyable to me.

    “I feel very glad and by the grace of God, I know I can be the best.”

    Lu Shawn Leonico KOK of South Africa settled for bronze after overcoming Namibia’s Linus KATUJANDA, 4-0.

    Read More: Nigeria leads with 15 medals at African Wrestling Championship

    In the 60kg weight class, Ikechukwu Robinson of Team Nigeria won bronze after subduing Tunisia’s Medhi Dheker, 8-0 while Ahmed Merikhi of Algeria won gold in that class by beating  Zeyad Emadeldin Helmi Yakout of Egypt, 8-3.

    In the Women’s Wrestling (WW), Sunmisola Balogun also wrote her name in gold, beating Natasha Nabaina of Cameroon, 5-4 in the final of the 65kg, to hand Team Nigeria her second goal medal of the day.

    Balogun came from behind to secure the victory in a keenly contested encounter.

    Meanwhile, Aina Ohida overcame Farida Arabi, 5-4 to land bronze in the 49 kg weight category while Zineb Ech Charki of Morocco claimed the gold medal after defeating Egyptian Fatem Ahmed, 5-5 by criteria.

    In the 43kg, Esther Asaolu also won another bronze for Nigeria to increase her medal tally to five.

    “I tried my best to win the gold but unfortunately I couldn’t,” Asaolu said.

    “I thank God for helping  me win gold for my country.”

    By virtue of their performance, the likes of Balogun, Asaolu and Ohida have qualified for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina later this year.

    Speaking on the development, President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali said the athletes are on the verge of achieving the target set by the Federation.

    “I think they did well, all the athletes wrestled with a lot of guts,” he said.

    “We have four Olympic slots from the cadet girls. That’s unbelievable!

    “I remember the last time we were able to go with one girl to the (Youth) Olympics.

    “We have set a target of achieving about 5 or 6 slots, and it looks like we are on course.”

    Action continues on Thursday with more cadet and junior wrestlers taking to the mat. The competition ends on Sunday, 11th February, 2018.

  • S’Africa names 38 for African wrestling Championship

    S’Africa names 38 for African wrestling Championship

     

    The South Africa Wrestling Federation (SAWFCC) has named 38 wrestlers that will represent the nation at the 2018 Africa Wrestling Championships scheduled to hold at the Alfred Diete Spiff Sports Complex, Port Harcourt, from February 7-11th.

    Team South Africa athletes will do battle in the Cadet, Junior and Senior weight categories.

    According to a list made available  to NationSport by Chairperson South Africa Wrestling Federation Coaches Council (SAWFCC), Nico Coetzee, the team includes Cadet Team comprising Men’s Freestyle (9), Greco Roman (7) and Female Wrestling (1), with Nico himself as coach, Bartlett Shirley Augusta as Team Manager, while Giliomee Willem Johannes and Villet Charles are referees.

    The Junior Team comprises Men’s Freestyle (6) and Greco Roman (6), with De Wet Elizabeth as team Manager, while Herzog Kurt Beat and Geldenhuys Matheüs Johannes will serve as coaches.

    The Senior Team has Men’s Freestyle (6) and Greco Roman (3) wrestlers with with Nico Coetzee as coach and Bartlett Shaun Harold as Team Manager.

    Nico, who informed NationSport that the South African wrestlers are well prepared for the competition, said the cadet team will arrive on the 5th while to the junior and senior teams will arrive the country on the 6th and 7th.

    “The South African Wrestling work according to an approved multi-year preparation plan. We have various National training camps during the year with weekly National training sessions as well.  We also have some international tours during the year for the different age groups.

    On the team’s target in terms of medal haul, Nico said, “This varies depending on the three cadets, juniors and seniors team. We have young teams and we set fair but realistic targets for medals in each weight category.”

    CADET TEAM

    Freestyle

    Jantjies Decan Lukeem (45KG)

    Booysen Fernando (48 KG)

    Jansen Van Vuuren Rubin (51 KG)

    Myburgh Leon Charles (55 KG)

    Lehmkuhl Mika (60 KG)

    MacGregor Xander Pieter (65 KG)

    Van Zijl Arno (71 KG)

    De Lange Nicolaas Johannes Steyn (80 KG)

    Kilian Heinrich Dirk (92 KG)

    Greco Roman

    Botha Riehan (45 KG)

    Kok Lu-Shawn Leonico (55 KG)

    Fuls Ulrich (65 KG)

    De Wet Eric John (60 KG)

    Van Niekerk Willie Crowther (71 KG)

    Erasmus Lourens (80 KG)

    Brown Mundell (92 KG)

    Female Wrestling

    Oosthuizen Charmone (65 KG)

    Coach: Coetzee Nico

    Team Manager: Bartlett Shirley Augusta

    Referees: Villet Charles and Giliomee Willem Johannes

    JUNIOR TEAM

    Freestyle

    Van den Berg Hermanus Nicolaas (57 KG)

    Nortjé Frederik Cornelius Johannes (61 KG)

    Rossouw Francois (65 KG)

    Bartlett Matthew Trevor (74 KG)

    Kriel Johannes Jacobus (86 KG)

    Le Roux Gabriel Jacobus (92 KG)

    Greco Roman

    Ludik Jacques (55 KG)

    Smit Cornelius Johannes (63 KG)

    Coetzee Xander (67 KG)

    Van Den Berg Ruben Arend (72 KG)

    Grobler Machiel (77 KG)

    Lessing Edward Louwis (87 KG)

    Coaches: Herzog Kurt Beat and Geldenhuys Matheüs Johannes

    Team Manager: De Wet Elizabeth

    SENIOR TEAM

    Freestyle:

    Combrinck Jan Louwrens (57 KG)

    Louw Reynhardt (65 KG)

    Coetzee Gert Cornelius Johannes (61 KG)

    Marais Fredylan George (79 KG)

    Janse Van Rensburg Hein Jakobus (86 KG)

    Erasmus Martin (97 KG)

    Greco Roman

    Chochi Given (55 KG)

    De Beer Johannes Lodewikus (77 KG)

    MacGregor Lawrence Anthony (82 KG)

    Coach: Coetzee Nico

    Team Manager: Bartlett Shaun Harold

  • AFRICAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Victorious wrestling team returns with 10 medals

    AFRICAN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP: Victorious wrestling team returns with 10 medals

    NIGERIA Wrestling team returned to the country yesterday after winning 10 medals (four gold, three silver and three bronze) at the just concluded African Wrestling Championships in Alexandra, Egypt, in the female freestyle and male freestyle categories.

    The team led by President of the wrestling federation, Daniel Igali arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at 2pm.

    The just concluded African championship is a prerequisite to the Olympic qualifications scheduled for March 30th to April 4th in Algeria.

    In female freestyle, seven-time African champion, Blessing Oborodudu, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth gold medalists, Odunayo Adekuoroye and Aminat Adeniyi won gold medals apiece, while silver medals were won by Anambra duo of Rosemary Nweke and Nwoye Ifeoma (who is the first Nigerian to win a gold medal at the commonwealth) and 2015 All Africa Games silver medalist Blessing Joy Onyebuchi (75Kg) settled for bronze.

    In the male freestyle, 2014 Commonwealth bronze medalist and captain, Daniel Amas (65Kg) won Nigeria’s only gold after humiliating Abdelhamid Aly of Egypt by 13-2 points, while 2014 Commonwealth silver medalist, Ebikewenimo Welson bowed in the final to Senegalese Adama Diatta,  settling for silver whilst Melvin Bibo (74Kg) Soso Tamara (97Kg) also won a bronze for the nation.

    2015 All Africa Games gold medalist, Mercy Genesis was defeated by Senegalese wrestler, Isabelle Sambou in round 1 and Egyptian Mona Elsayed EL Basyo (Round 5) before overpowering Kheira-Chaimaa Yahiaoui of Algeria in Round 3 by 8-0.

    President of the wrestling federation, Daniel Igali who expressed satisfaction with the performance of the wrestlers, assured the mistakes noticed during the championship will be corrected before the Olympic qualifier.

    “The team really did well and I am satisfied with their performance. I like the decision making of lots of them. Obviously most of them have not competed for six months, there was some rustiness. But it’s really good, we can correct some of the mistakes we made and I think we will make an appreciable impact in Algiers,” Igali told SportingLife.