African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 20:52 By Vinay Siwach

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (June 29) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), an Olympic silver medalist, has achieved remarkable feats on the wrestling mat.

At the African Championships in women's wrestling, the 34-year-old holds the record for the most gold medals, with 12. In Tokyo, she became the first African woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, making her one of the best among wrestlers who have wrestled on the mat.

However, on Wednesday, Oborududu stepped onto the sands for the first time and returned home with a gold medal at the 2nd African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Despite being a regular in Olympic wrestling at 68kg, Oborududu decided to represent Nigeria in Hammamet, where Beach Wrestling made its debut on the African Beach Games program.

Read: Traditional Wrestling Hotbed Senegal Dominates African Beach Games

While most victories in Beach Wrestling resemble Olympic wrestling, there are a few differences. In Beach Wrestling, a throw awards three points, ending the bout. If a throw is not executed, the bout continues for the stipulated three minutes. The wrestler who accumulates at least three points before their opponent is declared the winner.

Oborududu achieved this in three of her four bouts. She made her debut against Erica NGAKALI (CGO) in Round 1 and had no trouble defeating Ngakali 3-0 to secure victory via superiority.

In her next match against Patricia ELNOUR (SUD), Oborududu triumphed 3-1, advancing to the semifinal against Anta SAMBOU (SEN). Despite facing a challenge and giving up two points, Oborududu held on for a 3-2 victory, securing her spot in the final against Amy YOUIN (CIV).

Youin, who had not conceded a single point in the group stages and the semifinal, scored two points against Oborududu in the final. However, Oborududu used her experience and strength to defeat Youin 3-2, capturing Nigeria's first-ever gold medal in Beach Wrestling at the African Beach Games.

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) made a golden debut at African Beach Games in Hammamet. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

"Another gold in the bag!," Oborududu wrote on her Instagram. "Glory to God for yet another addition and new win in my career. This win is quite personal to me, as this is my first hand trying beach wrestling. I stepped on the sand with hope as usual. 'Well, I'm here to wrestle yeah, so let me give it my best shot like I always do on the mat' I said to myself. And guess what? I won gold in the ongoing African Beach Wrestling (Games), Tunisia 2023."

This marked the beginning of Nigeria's gold rush, as they went on to win two more gold medals in women's Beach Wrestling. The only weight class in which Nigeria failed to win gold was at 70kg, where Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) claimed the top spot.

Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) made a perfect run to the 50kg gold at the African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 50kg, Commonwealth Games and African champion Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) showcased her dominance, winning all her bouts without conceding a single point.

Geneisi, who had previously won the African Beach Championships in May, began with a 3-0 victory against Emma WANGILA (KEN) in Round 1. She followed it up with a similar scoreline, defeating Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) in Round 2. When Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG) withdrew due to injury in Round 3, Geneisi was declared the winner after three wins in the round-robin bracket involving five wrestlers.

Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN) secured two wins, earning the silver medal, while Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) won the bronze after defeating Wangila in the Round 3 bout.

Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) won the gold medal at 60kg at the 2nd African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Another African champion who won a gold medal was Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) in the 60kg weight class. While not as dominant as her compatriots, she managed to win gold with close victories.

Kolawole began with a 3-0 win over Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) but encountered difficulty in a 2-1 win against Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV) in Round 2. Mame SAMBOU (SEN) also put up a fight, but Kolawole emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline, securing her place in the semifinal. Emily WANYAMA (KEN) proved no match for Kolawole, who won 3-0 via a fall to advance to the final.

Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG) provided a formidable challenge in the final, but she was unable to overcome the 1-0 deficit. Kolawole secured the victory and the gold medal with a 1-0 scoreline.

Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) won the 70kg gold after beating Bea MEIRING (RSA) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Maintaining a clean slate, Goudiaby emerged as the champion in the 70kg weight class. Goudiaby only had to wrestle one bout to reach the semifinal, as her first opponent, Winrose ALIVISA (KEN), withdrew due to an injury sustained in a previous bout.

In the semifinal, Goudiaby prevented Faiza AOUALI (ALG) from scoring and won 2-0, securing her place in the final against Bea MEIRING (RSA), who defeated Olympian Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Meiring, however, struggled in the final against Goudiaby who won 3-0, a victory by superiority.

Both Nigeria and Senegal ended with 75 points each in the team titles. However, with two extra gold medals than Senegal, Nigeria was declared the team title winner while Senegal finished second. Algeria, with 47 points, finished third.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)
SILVER: Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE: Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)

60kg
GOLD: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG), 1-0

BRONZE: Mame SAMBOU (SEN) df. Emily WANYAMA (KEN), 3-1

70kg
GOLD: Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) df. Bea MEIRING (RSA), 3-0

BRONZE: Khadija JLASSI (TUN) df. Faiza AOUALI (ALG), 3-0

+70kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df. Amy YOUIN (CIV), 3-2

BROZE: Anta SAMBOU (SEN) df. Erica NGAKALI (CGO), via fall

#WrestleZagreb

U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 - 22:40 By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- Four months ago, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) seemed untouchable.

He had stunned Arena Zagreb with a victory over Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), eventually cruising to 86kg gold at the 2025 World Championships without conceding a single point.

On Wednesday, Valencia returned to Arena Zagreb, but the script flipped. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), a former world silver medalist at 79kg, blanked the world champion 11-0 at the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

While Valencia recovered to claim bronze, it was international debutant Parker KECKEISEN (USA) who rose to the occasion, taking gold after defeating Gamkrelidze.

Zahid VALENCIA (USA), red, tries to fight a gut-wrench against Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Valencia wasn't the only giant to fall during a chaotic Wednesday. Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) was pinned, and Asian champion Takara SUDA (JPN) left without a medal. Meanwhile, world champion Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) missed the top spot, and Georgios KOUGIOUMSTIDIS (GRE) saw his 86kg debut end in the opening round.

Despite the upsets, the United States dominated, winning four of the six available gold medals. Spencer LEE (USA), David CARR (USA), and Austin DESANTO (USA) joined Keckeisen atop the podium.

At 65kg, U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) continued his rise and captured the gold medal in a dominant fashion.

For Iran, the only gold medal came through Sina KHALILI (IRI) who outscored his opponents 42-3 in four bouts.

Parker KECKEISEN (USA) won gold medal at Zagreb Open, his debut international tournament. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Keckeisen's golden debut

While Zahid Valencia was the heavy favorite at 86kg, it was Keckeisen who stole the spotlight. Keckeisen flew under the radar to reach the final after a gritty 9-5 victory over Ali Savadkouhi (IRI).

In the final, Keckeisen entered as the underdog against Gamkrelidze. He maintained a 3-1 lead with under a minute remaining. The match defining moment came when Gamkrelidze scored a stepout and challenged the call, seeking two points instead of one. The lost challenge awarded Keckeisen an extra point, extending his lead to 4-2.

Despite a late stepout from Gamkrelidze with ten seconds left, Keckeisen held on to secure the gold.

With Gamkrelidze making it to the final, Valencia found his form in repechage and won bronze after pinning U17 world champion Abofazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI).

Spencer LEE (USA) scores a takedown before Roman BRAVO YOUNG forfeited the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Lee repeats, Carr shines

Lee repeated as the Zagreb Open champion with a strong performance, just like last year. After dominant wins over Azamat TSUKAEV (SRB) and Fuga SASAKI (JPN), Lee met Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) in the final.

The Olympic bronze medalist opened strong with a takedown and turn, but the match ended prematurely when Bravo-Young forfeited due to injury, handing Lee his second consecutive gold.

Bravo Young was clutching his tapped knee when he got up after the gut-wrench from Lee who helped the Mexican off the mat after enquiring about the injury.

At 74kg, Carr navigated a tactical final against 70kg world champion Aoyagi, who now wrestles at 74kg. Aoyagi led 1-1 on criteria after the two wrestlers exchanged activity points when he was placed on the 30-second activity clock for a second time.

His failure to score put Carr ahead 2-1 with 30 seconds remaining. A desperate late attack by Aoyagi allowed Carr to score a counter takedown, sealing a 4-1 victory.

In September, Carr missed out on a bronze medal bout at the World Championships after losing to Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) in the final five seconds, while Lee was eliminated after losing to Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM).

Austin DESANTO (USA) won the gold medal at 61kg in Zagreb. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Desanto recovers

At 61kg, Desanto recovered after a heartbreaking 11-11 loss to Reza MOMENI (IRI) in the opening bout of the Nordic bracket to win gold. Needing a big win against Aman, Desanto delivered a pin, earning five crucial classification points.

His total of 15 points placed him safely ahead of Momeni, who was mathematically eliminated from gold regardless of his final result against Giorgi GHONIASHVILI (GEO).

Ultimately, DeSanto secured the gold, while Aman took silver, despite being tied with Momeni at 13 points. Aman held the tiebreaker thanks to his head-to-head victory over the Iranian.

SUJEET (IND) tries to finish a takedown on Peyman NEMATI (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Sujeet wins gold

U23 World Champion Sujeet continues to demonstrate his growth on the international stage, capturing his second career Ranking Series gold medal.

Sujeet, who took gold in Budapest last year, secured two technical superiority wins over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to reach the final. There, he shut out Peyman NEMATI (IRI) with a disciplined 3-0 victory.

In the final, he was put on the activity clock in the first period but responded quickly with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. When Nemati was placed on the activity clock in the second period, Sujeet extended his lead to 3-0.

Following a series of scoreless scrambles, Sujeet successfully defended his lead until the whistle.

At 70kg, U23 World silver medalist Khalili put on a dominant display in his gold-medal match. Khalili overwhelmed Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), using a series of gut wrenches to secure a 10-0 technical superiority victory.

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Spencer LEE (USA) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), via inj. def. (4-0)

BRONZE: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Atish TODKAR (IND), 10-0
BRONZE: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) df. Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB), 4-1

61kg
GOLD: Austin DESANTO (USA)
SILVER: AMAN (IND)
BRONZE: Reza MOMENI (IRI)

65kg
GOLD: SUJEET (IND) df. Peyman NEMATI (IRI), 3-0

BRONZE: Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO) df. Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN), 11-6
BRONZE: Joseph MC KENNA (USA) df. Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA), 4-1

70kg
GOLD: Sina KHALILI (IRI) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO), 10-0

BRONZE: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ian PARKER (USA), 6-3
BRONZE: Caleb HENSON (USA) df. Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 5-4

74kg
GOLD: David CARR (USA) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 4-1

BRONZE: Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA) df. James GREEN (USA), via fall
BRONZE: Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) df. Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO), 10-0

86kg
GOLD: Parker KECKEISEN (USA) df. Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) df. Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), via fall
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Mukul DAHIYA (IND), 6-5

African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

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U.S. Wins Four Golds at Zagreb Open; World Champ Valencia Stunned