#WrestleAlexandria

African & Oceania OG Qualifier 2024 Entry List

Sunday, March 17, 2024 - 18:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (March 17) -- The second continental qualifier for the Paris Olympic Games will be held in Alexandria, Egypt. The African and Oceania OG Qualifiers will see 192 wrestlers from 33 countries competing to earn the 36 quotas for the Paris Games.

Beginning on March 22 with Greco-Roman, the tournament will offer the quotas to the winners of the semifinals in each of the six Olympic weight classes. Women's Wrestling will be held on March 23 and Freestyle on March 24.

The African and Oceania OG Qualifiers can be watched live on uww.org or the UWW App. Subscribe to UWW+ to get unlimited access.

Freestyle

57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Roland TAMBI NFORSONG (CMR)
Alexander BUCKMAN (CPV)
Gamal MOHAMED (EGY)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Thomas SANTIAGO (GUM)
Ben TARIK (MAR)
Younes LACHGAR (MAR)
Enozunimi SIMEON (NGR)
Daroa OLSSON (NRU)
Suraj SINGH (NZL)
Mika LEHMKUEHL (RSA)
Omar FAYE (SEN)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
KHALIL BARKOUTI (TUN)

65kg
Chouaib SAHRAOUI (ALG)
Manaceu NGONDA (ANG)
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Samuel DOHYA KALE (CMR)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM)
Gibriel CHOW (GAM)
Wotna NDOC (GBS)
Thierno DIALLO (GUI)
Ethan AGUIGUI (GUM)
Otmane EL BAHJA (MAR)
Stephen IZOLO (NGR)
Lowe BINGHAM (NRU)
Cole HAWKINS (NZL)
Cristian NICOLESCU (PLW)
Gaku AKAZAWA (SAM)
Sylvio DIATTA (SEN)
Sahid KARGBO (SLE)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)

74kg
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Ethan THOMAS (AUS)
Israel NIYONKURU (BDI)
Baki TCHANI (BEN)
Jacques MONTY MBOUGOU (CMR)
Joao  BARBOSA VICENTE (CPV)
Amr REDA (EGY)
Bacar NDUM (GBS)
John ROJAS (GUM)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Aime RAKOTONIAINA (MAD)
Rayanne ESSAIDI (MAR)
Oyeinkeperemo BRAVEMAN (NGR)
Linus VAN RENSBURG (RSA)
Mamadou DIOUF (SEN)
Khairiddine BEN TLILI (TUN)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS)
Cedric ABOSSOLO (CMR)
Matteo MONTEIRO FURTADO TRESSE (CPV)
Ahmed MAHMOUD (EGY)
Mohamed CAMARA (GUI)
Mark ONGUYESI (KEN)
Youssef AIT BOULAHRI (MAR)
Jean STE MARIE (MRI)
Harrison ONOVWIOMOGBOHWO (NGR)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Siny SEMBENE (SEN)
Imed KADDIDI (TUN)

97kg
Wali KEBIR (ALG)
Thomas BARNS (AUS)
Franck ANABA (CMR)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
Babacarr MBOGE (GAM)
Emmanuel OSEI SARFO (GHA)
Anas SAMIR (MAR)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Maulalo ALOFIPO (SAM)
Pape NDIAYE (SEN)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)

125kg
Hemza HALOUI (ALG)
Amoussou CAKPO (BEN)
Georges TCHADIE (CMR)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Issah FUSEINI (GHA)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Ashton MUTUWA (NGR)
Marcus CARNEY (NZL)
Justin VAN ZYL (RSA)
Modou FAYE (SEN)
Hamza RAHMANI (TUN)

Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) will be looking to earn a Paris spot for Algeria in GR 60kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Greco-Roman

60kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Latuf MADI (COM)
Moamen MOHAMED (EGY)
Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR)
Romio GOLIATH (NAM)
Daroa OLSSON (NRU)
Given SIKHOSANA (RSA)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Mohamed HKIRI (TUN)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Ando LEHTMETS (AUS)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR)
Lowe BINGHAM (NRU)
Cristian NICOLESCU (PLW)
Barend BADENHORST (RSA)
Gaku AKAZAWA (SAM)
Sahid KARGBO (SLE)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)

77kg
Abd OUAKALI (ALG)
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Sheng ZHANG (AUS)
Mahmoud ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Yassine CHEKLY (MAR)
Shafaihuuna BENHARD (NAM)
Dean VAN ZYL (RSA)
Sami SLAMA (TUN)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Roberto NSANGUA (ANG)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Wadii OUALAL (MAR)
Richard FERREIRA (RSA)
Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)

97kg
Fadi ROUABAH (ALG)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR)
Christiaan BURGER (RSA)
Maulalo ALOFIPO (SAM)
Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN)

130kg
Hemza HALOUI (ALG)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Marcus CARNEY (NZL)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) will lead a strong Nigerian team for the qualifiers. (Photo: UWW / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Juliana VALENCIA VELEZ (AUS)
Rosine NTSA ASSOUGA (CMR)
Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
Debora TURE (GBS)
Paulina DUENAS (GUM)
Emma WANGILA (KEN)
Victorine RASOARIMALALA (MAD)
Mercy GENESIS (NGR)
Matilda KOKERA (RSA)
Nourhene HEDHLI (TUN)

53kg
Chahinez RABAH (ALG)
Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG)
Jessica LAVERS MCBAIN (AUS)
Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV)
Miriam NGOE WASE (CMR)
Shaimaa MOHAMED (EGY)
Mia AQUINO (GUM)
Elisa RASOANANTENAINA NOMENJANAHARY (MAD)
Zineb ECH CHABKI (MAR)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)

57kg
Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG)
Irene SYMEONIDIS (AUS)
Natacha NABAINA (CMR)
Louji YASSIN (EGY)
Rckaela AQUINO (GUM)
Malala SOLONIAINA (MAD)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Ester ABRAHAM (NAM)
Kara LE ROUX (RSA)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)

62kg
Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG)
Nachi MASUDA (AUS)
Gloria NIYONKURU (BDI)
Lec ANDE (CAF)
Grace ABONA NKOUMOUDIE (CMR)
Angelina RODRIGUES MIRANDA (CPV)
Gharam ASKAR (EGY)
Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI)
Laralei GANDAOLI (GUM)
Eunice MBURU (KEN)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Minette KRUGER (RSA)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)

68kg
Kawiyatou ISSIFOU (BEN)
Blandine NGIRI (CMR)
Samah ABDELLATIF (EGY)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Tayla FORD (NZL)
Uilau TARKONG (PLW)
Bea MEIRING (RSA)
Patricia ELNOUR (SUD)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)

76kg
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Pelagie WILITA (CMR)
Arianna XAVIER (CPV)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Jemima NYARKO OFORI (GHA)
Hannah RUEBEN (NGR)
Patricia ELNOUR (SUD)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

#WrestleZagreb

In 68kg debut, Blades suplexes her way to gold

Saturday, February 8, 2025 - 06:55 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 8) -- Kennedy BLADES (USA) may have changed her weight class but there was no change in her style. Wrestling at 68kg, down from 76kg in which she won the Paris Olympics silver medal, Blades won the gold medal at Zagreb Open Ranking Series on Friday.

READ MORE: Blades shines, Jafarov injured

In a round-robin bracket which had four bouts for each wrestler, Blades was a notch above the rest as she secured two falls and two victory via superiority with none of the four bouts going to the second period.

Blades had moved from 76kg to 68kg for this tournament and is expected to remain at this weight class for the Los Angeles Olympic cycle.

"I feel really good," Blades said about the weight cut. "I ate the night so I'm just happy that I have a lot of energy still, and I was able to use my power, even though same day weigh-in. I'm feeling great."

Kennedy BLADES (USA)Kennedy BLADES (USA) completes a suplex over Karolina POK (HUN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Blades began the day with a fall over Kendra DACHER (FRA) and another over world bronze medalist Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) before Noémi SZABADOS (HUN) became the victim of her pace. Blades' moment of the day came in the Round 5 in the evening session when she launched a near-perfect suplex against Karolina POK (HUN). She was awarded five points for the suplex.

"I feel like a lot of people overlook wrestling," she said. "So I just want to make it as exciting as possible, and if I can do a big move or make it like, oh, then I just go for the big move."

The move over Pok reminded wrestling fans of the beautiful suplex Blades performed over Catalina AXENTE (ROU) at the Paris Olympics in the first bout itself. Blades went on to win the silver medal, and five months later she has captured her first Ranking Series gold medal using the same move.

"I've just been with my college team at University of Iowa," she said. "After Olympics, I only took about two weeks off because I was like I have college season. So I eased into it. I've just been competing and training hard and I just feel very prepared for what's to come."

At 68kg, Amit ELOR (USA) is the Olympic champion but with a new Olympic cycle, it is expected that she will be at 72kg before moving around to decide which weight class is beneficial for her. Blades hinted she will remain at 68kg for the World Championships.

"Honestly, I'm still deciding what I want to do," Blades said. "But I just feel really good at this whole tournament. I know it was plus two kilos, but I mean, I weighed like 68.9kg and I was like hydrated. So I'm like I'm fine. We'll see. I feel like it might be the move, so I just have to talk to my coaches, I'm going to figure some things out."

The U.S. won another gold medal at 62kg as Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA) won three bouts in the round-robin bracket, keeping a clean slate.

Nwachukwu was in trouble of finishing second as former world champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) was winning 2-0 with less than 20 seconds left. However, Nwachukwu got a takedown and a turn to win the bout and confirm her gold medal.

In an all Azerbaijan final at 59kg, Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) defeated Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 4-2, winning the gold medal.

Greco-Roman also began on Friday and Iran had a forgetful day in office. Treating the Zagreb Open as a trial for the Asian Championships, Iran had brought multiple wrestlers in various categories.

But it failed to win gold medal in the two Greco-Roman weight classes in action on Friday and drew a blank at 67kg.

U20 world champion Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI) dropped his semifinal against Valentin PETIC (MDA) 6-1 and then lost his bronze medal bout. Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) stopped Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI), 10-1, in the other semifinal.

Joergensen capped off his day with a stunning 9-1 win over Petic in the 67kg to win the gold medal.

At 63kg, U23 world silver medalist Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN) dominated the field and defeated Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), via fall in the final to win the gold medal.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

59kg
GOLD: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), 4-2

BRONZE: Micheala BECK (USA) df. Mariana CHERDIVARA (MDA), via inj. def.

62kg
GOLD: Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)
SILVER: Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
BRONZE: Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)

65kg
GOLD: Dinara KUDAEVA (AIN)
SILVER: Eniko ELEKES (HUN)
BRONZE: Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)

68kg
GOLD: Kennedy BLADES (USA)
SILVER: Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
BRONZE: Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)

Greco-Roman

63kg
GOLD: Dinislam BAMMATOV (AIN) df. Mohammad KESHTKAR (IRI), via fall (10-0)

BRONZE: Ellis COLEMAN (USA) df. Ziya BABASHOV (AZE), 5-3
BRONZE: AYTJAN KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB), 5-4

67kg
GOLD: Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR) df. Valentin PETIC (MDA), 9-1

BRONZE: Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. Ahmadreza MOHSEN NEZHAD (IRI), 5-0
BRONZE: Dominik ETLINGER (CRO) df. Mohammadreza GHOLAMI (IRI), 10-1