Adekuoroye Chasing Fourth African Crown

Friday, February 9, 2018 - 21:51 By Eric Olanowski

The 2018 African Senior Championships kick off tomorrow morning in Port Harcourt, Nigeria with over 150 wrestlers from 20 nations set to compete.

Freestyle (Saturday)
Three of the top-four 57kg placers from a year ago will head to Port Harcourt. Last year's champion Chakir ANSARI (MAR) and Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG), last year’s runner-up are set to compete at the same weight class again. Also competing at 57kg is fourth-place finisher from a year ago, Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR) who is looking to stop a back-to-back finals party.

PICTURED: Adama DIATTA (SEN)

Leading the charge for the 61kg and 65kg gold medals are a duo of multiple-time Olympians in Augusto MIDANA (GBS) and Adama DIATTA (SEN). Midana has wrestled in three Olympic Games and is looking to win the African championships for the seventh time. Diatta is a two-time Olympian and is looking for his eighth title.

At 70kg, Jean Bernard DIADIA (SEN), the three-time champion and last year's runner-up wants to get back to his winning ways and block the probable finals rematch between Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR) and Maher GHANMI (TUN).

A couple of young studs in Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN) and Fredylan MARAIS (RSA) are looking to capture titles at 74kg and 79kg.

Barraj is coming up to the senior-level to look for gold after winning the African junior championship a year ago. If he wants to win 74kg title, he'll have to go through defending champion, Mustafa ALI (SUD).

Down to 79kg, Fredylan Marais brought home a silver medal at last year's African Junior Championships. The 2018 African Championships will be Marais' first senior-level African Championship and only his second senior-level event ever.

At 86kg it’ll be a pair of third-place finishers will be vying for African gold. Melvin BIBO (NGR) was a third-place finisher at 74kg in 2016 while Imed KADDIDI (TUN) was the bronze medalist last year at 97kg.

After placing twice in Greco-Roman, Reda MOUENISS (MAR) will make the jump from Greco-Roman to Freestyle and try to win gold at 92kg.

PICTURED: Soso TAMARAU (NGR)

The 97kg weight category has been owned by Soso TAMARAU (NGR) for the past few years. Tamaru, the Olympian and returning champion is looking to win his third title. The two wrestlers who will be responsible for slowing Tamarau down will be Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) and Martin ERASMUS (RSA).

Fardj was last year's African junior champion, and Erasmus completed the African Championships last year with a silver medal.

Rounding out the battle for freestyle titles will be Sinivie BOLTIC (NGR) and African junior champion, Khaled Omr Zaki Mohamed ABDALLA (EGY) at 125kg. If the Olympian Boltic can capture gold this weekend, that would be his fourth gold medal but only his first since 2012.

Women's Freestyle (Sunday)
Women's freestyle has an opportunity to open up with back-to-back rematches of last year's finals.

At 50kg, 2016 Olympian Mercy GENESIS (NGR) will look to defend her title from a year ago where she defeated two-time African cadet champion, Sarra HAMDI (TUN) to take the title.

PICTURED: Maroi MEZIEN (TUN)

Moving to 53kg,Maroi MEZIEN (TUN), a 2012 Olympian, is on a quest to capture her fifth African championship gold medal. Bose SAMUEL (NGR) will be looking to even the score as last year Mezien got the best of her on her way to her fourth crown.

Christiana NWOYE (NGR) has an opportunity to better her second-place finish from last year. Looking to snatch the 55kg gold medal from Nwoye will be Faten HAMMAMI (TUN), the 2015 African cadet gold medalist.

The clear-cut favorite at 57kg is United World Wrestling's History Maker of 2017, Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR). If Adekuoroye, the 2017 world silver medal and 2016 Olympian can win this weekend, that’d give her four African championship gold medals to her name.

Bisola MAKANJUOLA (NGR), a runner-up last season will have to get through the experienced Safietou GOUDIABY(SEN) who is wrestling in her seventh African championship if she's going to want to win the 59kg title.

Tussling for the 62kg title will be Aminat ADENIYI (NGR) and Lilia MEJRI (TUN). Adeniyi is an Olympian and two-time African champion. Mejri, who won the African Championship bronze medal is no stranger to the big stage, as she was a world representative for Tunisia at the 2017 Junior World Championships.

African junior Champion Nour JELJELI (TUN) will have an opportunity to see how she stacks up against Olympian Amuchechi RUEBEN (NGR) for the 65kg title. Jeljeli's will be competing for the first time at a senior-level, while this will be Ruben’s (NGR) first time wrestling since the 2016 Olympic Games.

PICTURED: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)

Leading the race at 68kg is two-time Olympian Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR). The Nigerian team captain hasn’t suffered a loss at the African Championships since 2009 is on a mission to win her eighth African Championship.

Previous champions Winnie GOFIT (NGR) and Samar Amer Ibrahim (EGY) are the front-runners win crowns at 72kg and 76kg.

Gofit is down from 75kg where she won her first African championship a season ago and Ibrahim, the 2016 Olympian, is coming back to compete for the first time since 2016 where she won the 75kg title.

Greco-Roman (Sunday)
Two African powerhouses in Zied AITOUAGRAM (MAR) and Radhouane CHEBBI (TUN) lead the Greco-Roman entries.

Ait Ouagram, the two-time Olympian and last year's champion is the favorite to take home the 77kg crown. He is looking to bring his gold medal total into the double-digit mark, as he currently owns nine titles. The last time Ait Ouagram lost at the African championship was ten years ago when he walked away with the bronze medal.

Radhouane CHEBBI (TUN), the two-time Olympian and the three-time champion is favored to take home the 130kg title.

Two of the top-three finishers from a year ago return to 60kg in returning champion Anwar TANGO (MAR) and third-place finisher Abdennour LAOUNI (ALG).

At 63kg, one of the favorites will be Fouad FAJARI (MAR). The 2012 Olympian usually wrestles both styles, but this year he'll only be wrestling Greco. Another favorite at this weight will be Souleymen NASR (TUN) who was an African junior champion last year.

Ayoub HANINE (MAR), the two-time African Championships runner-up at the junior-level is looking to make a smooth transition to the senior-level. The 2018 African Championships will be Hanine's third time competing at the senior-level.

The two wrestlers competing for gold at 72kg are Aziz BOUALEM (MAR) and Emmanuel Chinonso NWORIE (NGR). A three-time world team member, Boulaem is wrestling in his eighth African championships. For Nworie, this will be his first time competing since 2016 when he was down at 66kg.

The three-headed race at 82kg is between Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), Ahmed Hassan Aly Mahmoud AHMED (EGY) and Tochukwu Micheal OKEKE (NGR). Azara won a junior world bronze medal and is the returning champion, Ahmed is an African junior champion, and Okeke took third place last year.

The battle at 87kg will be between two guys who are fighting to win their first African titles. Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) was a finalist from a year ago, and Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN) who finished in third place.

Two Olympians in Hemza HALOUI (ALG) and Choucri ATAFI (MAR) are expected to meet in the 97kg finals. Haloui is a four-time finalist with three of those being in Greco-Roman and one in Freestyle. Atafi will look to make the finals and best his trio of third place finishes.

ENTRIES
Men's Freestyle (Saturday)
57kg (6 Participants)
61kg (7 Participants)
65kg (8 Participants)
70kg (10 Participants)
74kg (8 Participants)
79kg (6 Participants)
86kg (8 Participants)
92kg (5 Participants)
97kg (6 Participants)
125kg (3 Participants)

Women's Wrestling (Sunday)
50kg (6 Participants)
53kg (3 Participants)
55kg (2 Participants)
57kg (2 Participants)
59kg (7 Participants)
62kg (2 Participants)
65kg (2 Participants)
68kg (6 Participants)
72kg (3 Participants)
76kg (3 Participants)

Greco-Roman (Sunday)
55kg (5 Participants)
60kg (5 Participants)
63kg (3 Participants)
65kg (3 Participants)
67kg (7 Participants)
72kg (2 Participants)
77kg (5 Participants)
82kg (6 Participants)
87kg (5 Participants)
97kg (6 Participants)
130kg (4 Participants)

#WrestleHangzhou

Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold

Friday, October 6, 2023 - 18:43 By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 6) -- Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) flips the medal a few times before claiming it as the "best medal and God gift."

The Mongolian has his Asian Games gold medal around his neck. He can't stop staring at it before finally agreeing to speak for the interview.

There is one more thing that he calls a God's gift to him -- underhook, the deadly move he has mastered to win wrestling bouts.

It's a move that needs timing, accuracy, and perfect execution, combined with power to be perfect. Tumur Ochir has performed the move numerous times in his career and won. But what he did on Friday in the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center was perfection. An underhook that brought down Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg gold-medal bout was so clean that even Amouzad, who is equally good at it if not better, failed to defend himself.

Once he got the four points, Tumur Ochir continued to punish Amouzad for weak defense from par terre, getting three gut wrenches to win the 65kg gold medal 11-1. This is Tumur Ochir's first gold at a championship or Games at the senior level.

The activity point for Amouzad was the only point that Tumur Ochir gave up in five bouts in Hangzhou, winning other bouts by blanking his opponents. He won three of those 10-0 and the semifinal against Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) via fall.

"God gave me this [move]," Tumur Ochir said. "My body is for wrestling. This is the most important thing for me."

The final in Hangzhou was a rematch of the Asian Championships final from Astan which Amouzad won 3-1. While Tumur Ochir failed to break Amouzad's defense in Astana, he worked it out on Friday.

Once he got the underhook, Tumur Ochir positioned his left arm on Amouzad's biceps. A little adjustment and he launched the throw, using a little pull of Amouzad's left arm. He then transitioned it into a gut wrench and effortlessly turned Amouzad three times.

"In the second round, Amouzad was slowly getting tired and that is when I thought that I could perform this move. It was my chance to score," he said.

Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) scores against Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Amouzad's conditioning was also in question at the World Championships in Belgrade where he was the defending champion. He finished fifth after suffering a loss to eventual champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and Shami MAMMEDOV (AIN).

In Hangzhou, Amouzad's first bout against Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB) made it more evident that the weight loss could be hampering his performance on the mat. Amouzad fell behind against Rakhmonov thrice before putting up a 12-6 win using counters. Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) then pushed him to the brink but he held on for a 2-1 win and booked a spot in the semifinal against BAJRANG. The underhook defense worked perfectly against Bajrang who was returning to international competition for the first time in 13 months. Amouzad got a huge four and then added a double-leg lift for another four to win 8-1 to enter the final.

The World Championships were disappointing for Tumur Ochir as well. He was the returning bronze medalist but finished 19th this year after suffering a close loss to Haji ALIYEV (AZE). The loss impacted Tumur Ochir significantly but he recovered from it to push himself at the Asian Games.

"At the World Championships, I lost and it made me feel very bad for a long time," he said. "But in the 10 days after that, I recovered from everything and I got the gold medal and I am really happy. I felt extremely disheartened after the World Championships."

As he failed to win a medal or finish in the top five at the World Championships, Tumur Ochir will have to try an Olympic quota for Mongolia at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek next year. With no Asian country qualifying at the World Championships barring Iran, it would be a tough ask.

"I will train hard and try my best," he said. "I will need to prepare for the Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek. I am researching about everyone who will be there."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) won the gold at 57kg, Japan's first in Freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The second Freestyle gold medal at the Asian Games on Friday was won by former U23 world champion Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) as he defeated Chongsong HAN (PRK) in the final. The gold medal ended Japan's 13-year wait for an Asian Games champion in Freestyle. Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN) was the last Asian Games champion in 2010.

Yonemitsu, who was in Hasegawa's corner in Hangzhou, himself had ended Japan's 16-year-long wait for a gold medal in the Asian Games after the 1994 edition.

Hasegawa, 27, was in control of the final from the opening whistle and mostly kept Han under check in the 7-3 win. Han was close to scoring on a few occasions but Hasegawa managed to defend the attacks.

"At the end, there were many times I nearly gave up points," he said. "At that time, I panicked a bit. I could hear [my coach]. I'm the type who listens to the coach, when I hear him, it calms me down. [Hearing to the coach] is not the biggest reason [for the win], but it was a big plus for me."

However, Hasegawa remained unsatisfied with his performance despite winning the gold medal.

"I'm not really that happy," Hasegawa said. "My feeling is that if it weren't for the great deal of support I received, I wouldn't have been here at all. Every time coach {Kenichi] Yumoto is in my corner I can wrestle relaxed. He told me to stay calm. When things get tough, he would shout advice, like the opponent is getting tired, or give it all to the end. I could clearly hear him and that spurred me on."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) defeated Asian champion AMAN 12-10 in the 57kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yumoto's advice came in handy in the semifinal against Asian champion AMAN as Hasegawa won 12-10 despite building a 6-1 lead at the break.

Aman stormed back with a takedown and increased the pace of the bout which challenged Hasegawa. But the Japanese was up for the challenge and countered Aman's single-leg attacks with takedowns.

He had earlier beaten Minghu LIU (CHN) and Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) 7-0 and 10-0 in the opening bout and quarterfinals.

A product of the Nippon Sports Science University, Hasegawa is employed by San-Ei Transportation along with the World Championships bronze medalist in Greco-Roman 77kg Nao KUSAKA (JPN). Both train full-time at the NSSU campus despite being employed.

"Kusaka got the ball rolling by taking third at the World Championships," Hasegawa said. "Unlike other companies, they really watch out for us. The president is always available and people are calling us. I think I'm really blessed."

In the bronze medal bouts, Asian champion Aman scored a 11-0 technical superiority win over Minghu LIU (CHN) to claim his first Asian Games medal at just 19 years of age. The second bronze medal was won by Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) as he defeated Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2.

At 65kg, Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) put up an impressive display against defending champion and four-time world medalist BAJRANG to win 10-0. The blanking meant that Bajrang will finish without a medal at an international tournament for the first time since 2017.

Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) claimed the other gold medal as he broke Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ) to win 11-6.

The 65kg medalists at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) df. Chongsong HAN (PRK), 7-3

BRONZE: AMAN df. Minghu LIU (CHN), 11-0
BRONZE: Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) df. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2

65kg
GOLD: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), 11-1

BRONZE: Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. BAJRANG, 10-0
BRONZE: Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) df. Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ), 11-6

Adekuoroye Chasing Fourth African Crown

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Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold