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African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier Entries

Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - 13:09 By Eric Olanowski

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (March 24) --- The fourth qualification event for the Tokyo Olympic Games, the African and Oceania OG Qualifier (April 2-4), kicks off next Friday. Over 150 athletes from 22 countries will attempt to finish top two in their respective weight classes and qualify their nations for the Olympic Games.

Freestyle
57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Josh FAILAUGA (ASA)
Raoul Brillant NGANJI (BDI)
Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY)
Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Mohamed Ismaele CAMARA (GUI)
Ethan Mikquin Tomapa AGUIGUI (GUM)
Chakir ANSARI( MAR)
Soufiane KABIL (MAR)
Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR)
Jakobo Tanki TAU (RSA)
Saber DRIDI (TUN)
Kossai AJIMI (TUN)
Hachem HASNAOUI (TUN)

65kg
Amar LAISSAOUI (ALG)
Mostafa REZAEIFAR (AUS)
Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
Aime Mbolalalaina Joel RAKOTONIAINA (MAD)
Otmane EL BAHJA (MAR)
Abdelwahad BADRI (MAR)
Amas DANIEL (NGR)
Cristian Etpison NICOLESCU (PLW)
Reynhardt LOUW (RSA)
Adama DIATTA (SEN)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)
Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN)

Reigning four-time African champion Ogbonna JOHN (NGR) will compete at 74kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

74kg
Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG)
Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA)
Ethan James THOMAS (AUS)
Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY)
Augusto MIDANA (GBS)
Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Rabii REGANI (MAR)
Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR)
Guy Robert DE LUMEAU JR (PLW)
Jaundre VAN RIEL (RSA)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Nolan Ili PULETASI (ASA)
Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS)
Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY)
Bedopassa Buassat DJONDE (GBS)
Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR)
Zander GERINGER (RSA)
Maher GHANMI (TUN)
Imed KADDIDI (TUN)
Sabri MNASRIA (TUN)

97kg
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Ariston Faamalosi BARTLEY (ASA)
Thomas John Mcglinchey BARNS (AUS)
Ulrich Elyse MANOUAN (CIV)
Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY)
Anas LAMKABBER (MAR)
Soso TAMARAU (NGR)
Martin ERASMUS (RSA)
Kamel JAWEDI (TUN)
Chiheb Eddine CHIHI (TUN)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)

125kg
Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)}
Tommy Dean JAMES (ASA)
Param Pal SINGH (AUS)
Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Ahmed SEREHALI (MAR)
Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA)
Thiacka FAYE (SEN)
Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)

Greco-Roman
60kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Josh FAILAUGA (ASA)
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Fouad FAJARI (MAR)
Abderrazak ROUINB I(MAR)
Romio Ricardo GOLIATH (NAM)
Mohamed Yassine HKIRI (TUN)
Salim HAMDI (TUN)
Mehdi JOUINI (TUN)

67kg
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR)
Gert Cornelius Johannes COETZEE (RSA)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)
Mohamed Amine MALHI (TUN)
Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)

Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR), the ten-time African champion, will compete at 77kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

77kg
Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Sunil SHARMA (AUS)
Wael Hamdy Mohamed ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR)
Richard FERREIRA (RSA)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)
Mohamed Aziz LANDOLSI (TUN)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Ariston Faamalosi BARTLEY (ASA)
Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY)
Aziz BOUALEM (MAR)
Khalid SAHLI (MAR)
Edward Louwis LESSING (RSA)
Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)
Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN)

97kg
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Tyler Talalemotu ILI (ASA)
Mohamed Ali Elsayed GABR (EGY)
Mohamed FAIQ (MAR)
Amadu O KAMARA (SLE)
Haikel ACHOURI (TUN)
Amir ALAWAD (UWW)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
Tommy Dean JAMES (ASA)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Choucri ATAFI (MAR)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)

Women's Wrestling
50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla MOHAMED (EGY)
Debora Valeria TURE (GBS)
Adijat Avorshai IDRIS (NGR)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)

53kg
Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG)
Irene SYMEONIDIS (AUS)
Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR)
Rckaela Maree Ramos AQUINO (GUM)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Elisa Emma Patricia RASOANANTENAINA NOMENJANAHARY (MAD)
Wissal EL GNAOUI (MAR)
Bose SAMUEL (NGR)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)
Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN)
Nour El Houda RAOUAFI (TUN)

57kg
Rayane HOUFAF (ALG)|
Nadine NDAYISHIMIYE (BDI)
Eman Essam Guda EBRAHIM (EGY)
Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI)
Mia Lahnee Ramos AQUINO (GUM)
Atika EL ASLA (MAR)
Ikram BEN HAMMOUDA (TUN)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)

62kg
Amel HAMMICHE (ALG)
Berthe Emilienne ETANE NGOLLE (CMR)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Fatma INOUBLI (TUN)
Khouloud EL OUNI (TUN)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)

68kg
Enas Mostafa Youssef Khourshed AHMED (EGY)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anta SAMBOU (SEN)
Lilia MEJRI (TUN)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
No. 2-ranked Samar HAMZA (EGY) highlights the entries at 76kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

76kg
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

#WomensWrestling

After tears, Yanan Sun wants to come back with a smile

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 - 06:09 By

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-- by Xinhua sportswriters Wang Chujie, Huang Haoran

NANCHANG, South China (April 26) -- Tears streamed down Yanan SUN's (CHN) face as she knelt in the center of the mat. It was August 7, 2021, and the women's freestyle wrestling 50kg final at the Tokyo Olympics had just ended. In less than two minutes, Sun had lost the match due to a small mistake that cost her dearly.

When asked by reporters if she would continue to train for the next Olympics after the match, she couldn't give a definitive answer. At the time, she faced many challenges, including injuries, age, and younger competitors vying for her spot.

In early spring 2023, Sun returned to China's national women's wrestling team after nearly a year of recovery from knee surgery.

"When I make up my mind, all the difficulties or challenges seem to be no problem."

The Rio Olympic bronze medalist and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist has embarked on her journey to prepare for the Olympics once again.

To better prepare for the upcoming Asian Championships, the Chinese team relocated in mid-March to train in Nanchang, where the national youth team also trained at the same time.

Perhaps seeing the youthful faces, Sun thought of her own inexperienced self. She, who hasn't updated her personal social media for a long time, posted a photo of herself participating in the Asian Youth Wrestling Championships in 2010 with the caption, "Enjoying time with passion makes time more meaningful."

"This is the first international competition I participated in," Sun said. "Seeing this photo and recalling the scene from back then, although it has been 13 years, the passion in my heart for wrestling has never changed."

She shared this photo to encourage herself to leave behind everything from before and start anew.

Yanan SUN (CHN)Yanan SUN (CHN) is a bronze medalist from the Rio Olympics as well. (Photo: (Xinhua)

Last May, Sun underwent surgery for a bilateral anterior cruciate ligament and has been absent from various international competitions for nearly a year before her return to the national team.

She, however, is only able to undergo physical rehabilitation training. It will take some time before she can resume normal mat-specific technique training and return to matches.

"Rehabilitation training is quite painful," Sun said. "It's about repeatedly stimulating it [the knee], and the mat-specific technique training is not systematic, which can cause some anxiety."

She admitted that she is facing significant challenges but said optimistically that, once she makes up her mind, she will stick to it.

"Yanan is now fully committed to rehabilitation, and it's an exciting challenge to help her recover as soon as possible," said Frenchman Guillaume Defois, fitness coach of the Chinese national wrestling team. "I am in full confidence in her own capacity."

The support of her family also fuels Sun's perseverance.

During the days of being away from the wrestling arena, Sun had her wedding, and her husband Ridong ZHANG is also an accomplished Chinese wrestler.

Most of the wife and husband's conversations revolve around wrestling, and they both understand the meaning of persistence for a dream.

"He is a Greco-Roman wrestler, and I am a freestyle wrestler," she said. "Our events have similarities and differences. We often have intense discussions analyzing opponents or during training breaks.

"My husband is very supportive of me. I also want to seize the opportunity to continue pursuing my dreams. Although it is my own goal, it cannot be achieved without the support of my family and the team."

Yanan SUN (CHN)Yanan SUND (CHN) and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) compete during the 50kg final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. (Photo: Xinhua / Xu Zijian)

When asked about her international rivals, Sun said that wrestling is a traditional strength of Japan and Japanese wrestlers often start at a younger age which helps them better understand the sport.

"We also have our own advantages in overall physical fitness and absolute strength, and we must have confidence in ourselves," Sun added.

In 2024, the 31-year-old Sun will strive to step onto the Olympic stage for the third time.

"When I debuted at Olympic Games at Rio 2016, I was a bit naive and forgot to celebrate after I won the bronze medal," she said. "And in Tokyo, though I improved to win a silver, I couldn't help shedding tears of disappointment.

"If I have the chance to continue chasing my dreams in Paris, I hope to leave the Olympic stage with a smile on my face," Sun said.

(Note: This article was orginally published by  Xinhua News Agency. It can be read here)