Tag: World Sambo Championships

Nigeria will make its second appearance at the 2025 World Sambo Championships, scheduled to take place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, between  November 7 and  9.

Organized by the Fédération Internationale de Sambo (FIAS), the World Sambo Championships are the premier global event for both Sport Sambo and Combat Sambo, including the Blind Sambo (SVI1 category).

Representing Nigeria this year are Fatai Balogun, Samuel Kekere and Sodiq Ajibade, competing in the Combat and Blind Sambo categories.

Balogun will compete in the men’s 88kg Combat Sambo, while Kekere, who made history in 2024 as the first African to compete in Blind Sambo at the World Championships, returns to the global stage in the men’s 64kg Blind Sambo.

Ajibade, making his debut, will represent Nigeria in the men’s 98kg Blind Sambo, aiming for a podium finish.

Expressing his excitement ahead of his second outing, Kekere praised FIAS for its support and commended Sheriff Hammed, Vice President and General Secretary of the Sambo Association of Nigeria, for his instrumental role in facilitating the team’s participation.

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The three-day championship will feature top sambists from around the world, with competitions across Sport Sambo (men and women), Combat Sambo (men and women), and Blind Sambo (men, SVI1 category).

The total prize fund for the 2025 edition stands at $341,000, with equal prize money across all disciplines:

Gold medallists receive $4,000; Silver medallists get $3,000 while Bronze medallists will pocket $2,000

In Sport Sambo, athletes will compete in groups with repechage from the finalists, while Combat Sambo will be contested without repechage.

Additionally, President of Sambo Association of Nigeria, Loveth Howell and Sheriff Hammed are expected to attend the World Congress.

Nigeria is poised to make history as the first African country to present a blind athlete at the 2024 World Sambo Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

For the first time, Blind Sambo has been included in the championships, and Nigeria will be represented by Samuel Oladele Kekere, the only blind athlete from Africa expected to compete.

Kekere, an orange belt Judoka from Lagos State, began his journey in combat sports four years ago, and he will compete in the men’s SVI-1 class (totally blind athletes), joining his counterparts from around the world.

Kekere’s participation has been confirmed by Roman Novikov, Chairman of the FIAS Commission for Athletes with Disabilities, and Sheriff Hammed, the Vice President and General Secretary of the Sambo Association of Nigeria, who sees this as a ground-breaking opportunity.

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Kekere will compete in the men’s 64kg category, while James Chegwam and Chairy Jatau will also represent Nigeria in the main event from November 8 to 10 at the Zhaksylyk Ushkempirov Martial Arts Palace in Astana. Athletes from 80 countries will vie for 31 medals over the three-day tournament.

Supported by Samsideen Ajala, Chairman of the Lagos State Road Transport Employee Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Nigeria’s contingent departed on November 6 aboard Turkish Airlines, filled with optimism about returning with medals.

An excited Kekere described this as a lifelong dream, expressing confidence in his chances of winning Nigeria’s first medal at the games. Jatau, the World Beach Sambo Champion, hopes to replicate her success in Morocco earlier this year.

 “We are going there to make our country and families proud. We know it won’t be easy, but we are ready for the challenge,” Jatau said.