#WrestleTokyo

Al Obaidi of IOC Refugee Team Makes Winning Olympic Debut at Tokyo 2020

By Tim Foley

CHIBA, Japan (August 3) --- Aker AL OBAIDI (EOR) of the IOC's Refugee team earned the first victory in his Olympic career Tuesday morning at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba.

Al Obaidi, an Iraqi refugee now living and training in Austria, looked superb in his first round 67kg weight class match besting Souleymen NASIR (TUN) by technical fall, 8-0.

"I felt really good in the bout," said Al Obaidi. "My wrestling was good and my mind and body were working perfectly together."

In his second match, Al Obaidi dropped the quarterfinal against Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 10-0. Should Zoidze win his semifinal match on Tuesday night, Al Obaidi will compete in the repechage.

"I am disappointed, but I will go step-by-step. I don't have enough words to thank UWW and the IOC. I am really happy to compete and that was because of them. I am very young and I look forward to competing for a long time."

#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Day Five Preview

By Eric Olanowski

 

Here are the biggest storylines to follow heading into the fifth day of action in Tokyo:

- 74kg to feature two-time world champs Frank CHAMIZO ??, Kyle DAKE ?? and Zaurbek SIDAKOV (ROC)
- Potential matchup between Olympic champ Taha AKGUL ??and rising star Gable STEVESON ?? in the second round at 125kg
- No. 1 seed Vinesh PHOGAT ?? and world champ Sofia MATTSSON ??will collide for the first time since their '19 world c'ship opening-round match.

#WrestleTokyo ?‍♀️ action starts at 11:00am (local time ??).