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Tag: Odunayo Adekuoroye

  • 2016 Rio Olympic Games: My confidence on the rise – Adekuoroye

    After claiming her first medal at the 2015 Wrestling Golden Grand Prix in Azerbaijan, Odunayo Adekuoroye believes the experience she garnered has helped to improve her confidence in readiness for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

    Having narrowly missed out from clinching gold medal after giving the eventual winner a tough challenge, 2015 World Championship gold medalist admitted that the mistake she made caused her highest medal in Baku.

    “I think I should have claimed the gold medal because when I fought the eventual winner, United States’Hellen Marolis in the quarterfinal, the fight was a bit close but I made an error and this gave her an edge over me despite scoring same points. I must also confess that taking part in tournament like this would help me in readiness for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil as most of the fighters I have been competing with are my possible opponents in Rio,” she told NationSport from Baku at the weekend.

    The African champion however, said that her confidence for the Olympic Games continue to grow with the kind of exposure she has been having even before the Rio Olympics. “I think I am gaining more confidence now and by the time the Olympics will hold, my confidence level would have been better than this,” she added.

    Adekuoroye, who will be taking part in the lucrative Indian League this month, is itching for more action in order to be at par with her foreign counterparts when it comes to exposure.

    To make the podium in Baku, Adekuoroye humbled European Games champion, Anjela Doroqan 10-0 to settle for bronze medal.

    Meanwhile, National coach, Purity Akuh, believes attending more tournaments would surely be the athletes in good frame of mind and mood for the Olympic Games.

    “I think our athletes need this kind of tournament to be able to gain confidence as well as to get the needed exposure for the Olympics qualifiers in Algeria come 2016,” Akuh, who will be accompanying Adekuoroye to India, told NationSport.

  • Adekuoroye, Oborududu get opponents for Wrestling Grand Prix

    Adekuoroye, Oborududu get opponents for Wrestling Grand Prix

    As the United World Wrestling (UWW)-organised Golden Grand Prix begins today in Azerbaijan, Nigeria’s flag bearers, Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborududu will get to know their opponents in the women’s 53kg and 68kg of the women’s freestyle event.

    The men’s freestyle events kick-start the championship at the Baku Sports Hall with winners in the eight events to be decided today, while the draw for the women’s freestyle event will be conducted today in the presence of coaches and leader of delegations to the competition.

    Nigeria’s coach to the tournament, Purity Akuh told NationSport from Baku that the athletes are eager to enter the ring as they intensify their training since touching down in the Asian nation on Wednesday.

    “The time in Baku is three hours ahead of Nigeria and it is a bit cold out here. But my athletes are used to this as we going for our second training later today. Everybody is fully ready and it promises to be explosive as the world’s best are here in Baku to test might with one another at the end-of-the-year championship,” Akuh said.

    Oborududu, 2012 London Olympic Games quarterfinal will be competing against top wrestlers likes Russia’s Valeria Lazinskaya, European Games champion; Ukraine’s Yulia Tkach , 2014 world champion; Belarus’ Maria Mamashuk, 2014 European runner-up and Latvia’s Anastasija Grigorjeva, who is double European champion.

    Like Oborududu, Adekuoroye will be battling for honours against 12 times world champion, Japan’s Saori Yoshida; and two-times runner’s up at the world championship, Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson and double Asian champion, China’s Zhong Xuechun.

    24 events will be competed for at the tournament taking place at the Baku Sports Hall with winner in each event carting home $10,000 while runner’s up gets $5,000. The third place athletes will get $2,000 each. For coaching the eventual winners, the coaches of the winners will get $2,000 for their efforts.

  • “We’re not going to make up numbers in Azerbaijan”

    “We’re not going to make up numbers in Azerbaijan”

    As the five-man Nigerian team departs today to Azerbaijan for the United World Wrestling (UWW)-organised Golden Grand Prix, African champion, Blessing Oborududu believes their presence in Baku would surely count.

      As the continent’s best ranked wrestlers, Oborududu and Odunayo Adekuoroye will represent Nigeria at the end-of-year UWW-organised Golden Grand Prix in Baku and they team is expected to be led by the Secretary General of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), Segun Oguntade as well as the hander of the team, Purity Akuh and a medical personnel.

      Oborududu, a quarter-finalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games will be competing in the 63kg of the women’s freestyle event while her compatriot, Adekuoroye will battle for honours in the 53kg of the women’s freestyle as well.

      A confident Oborududu told NationSport yesterday that she would be going to Baku to add up the number of participants as she is hoping to make it to the podium.

      “My target is to make it to the medal spot because I don’t just want to go there and make up the numbers. It is high time I asserted myself at global level because I have dominated the game in Africa and I must also prove myself at global stage,” she said.

      However, the 300 level undergraduate of the Niger Delta University will contend with top wrestlers likes Russia’s Valeria Lazinskaya, European Games champion; Ukraine’s Yulia tkach , 2014 world champion; Belarus’ Maria Mamashuk, 2014 European runner-up and Latvia’s Anastasija Grigorjeva, who is double European champion.

      Like Oborududu, Adekuoroye, who has already booked her place in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after finishing in third place at the 2015 World Championship, is optimistic that they can replicate the feat they achieved at the 2015 African Games in Baku.

      Like her compatriot, Adekuoroye will face a herculean task as she has to battle for laurel against 12 times world champion, Japan’s Saori Yoshida; and two-times runner’s up at the world championship, Sweden’s Sofia Mattsson and double Asian champion, China’s Zhong Xuechun.

      24 events will be competed for at the tournament taking place at the Baku Sports Hall with winner in each event carting home $10,000 while runner’s up gets $5,000. The third place athletes will get $2,000 each. For coaching the eventual winners, the coaches of the winners will get $2,000 for their efforts.

  • Nigeria risks sanction over absence from Wrestling Grand Prix

    Nigeria risks sanction over absence from Wrestling Grand Prix

    There are strong indications that Nigeria may be sanctioned by the United World Wrestling (UWW), if it fails to attend next week’s UWW-organised Golden Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.

    Being the end-of-the-year tournament organized by the world wrestling ruling body is expected to have the top four athletes in each weight categories with continental champions competing to have a share of the mouthwatering prize money for the top three.

    NationSport learnt yesterday that African champions, Nigeria’s Blessing Oborodudu and Odunayo Adekuoroye have been listed among selected athletes across the globe expected to compete at the three-day championship holding in Baku.

    Despite getting the approval of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to attend the tournament, the Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) is yet to secure the required fund to embark on the trip.

    It was leant that if Nigeria fails to make it to the tournament, the country will be fined and sanctioned by UWW and this might affect the country’s chances of qualifying more athletes for the Olympics.

    Being among the few athletes that were invited from Africa to compete at the championship, Adekuoroye and Oborodudu are also using the tournament to tune up for the Olympics Qualifiers holding in Algeria as well as the next African Championship in Alexandria, Egypt.

    Aside from being the African champion in the women’s 53kg freestyle, Adekuoroye qualified to take part in the tournament as being among the top four in the world in the weight category.

    Oborodudu qualified to take part in the competition following her triumph at the 2015 African Championship in the women’s 63kg freestyle.

    However, the recent development may deny these athletes to be part of the championship and wrestling federation has not been able to access the fund approved for the championship.

    24 events will be competed for at the tournament taking place at the Baku Sports Hall with winner in each event carting home $10,000 while runner’s up gets $5,000. The third place athletes will get $2,000 each.

    For coaching the eventual winners, the coaches of the winners will get $2,000 for their efforts.