#WrestleHammamet

Elsayed wins but Algeria steals African GR title

By Vinay Siwach

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (May 19) -- Mohamed ELSAYED's (EGY) return to African Championships after three years could have ended in despair but the Olympic bronze medalist found a way to win, not once, but twice.

Wrestling at 67kg and chasing his sixth African gold, Elsayed managed to beat Ishak GHAIOU (ALG) in two closely contested bouts on Friday to win the gold medal.

At the conclusion of the Greco-Roman competition in the African Championships, Algeria and Egypt both earned five gold medals. However, Algeria emerged as the team champions with a total of 210 points, surpassing Egypt's 200 points. Egypt's decision not to field a wrestler in the 55kg category proved to be a significant detriment.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of the day was the 67kg final between Elsayed and Ghaiou, where the latter posed a threat to the Olympic bronze medalist on two separate occasions.

With only six wrestlers participating in the 67kg weight class, the morning session divided them into two groups of three. Elsayed and Ghaiou coincidentally found themselves in the same group and faced each other in Round 2.

Elsayed started aggressively, scoring a pushout and gaining the par terre advantage, but could not convert it into points, leading 2-0 at the break. He then received the second activity point, extending his lead to 3-0. With a minute remaining, Elsayed was called passive, but as it was the third passivity call, no points were awarded to Ghaiou. The Algerian managed to execute a successful turn, cutting the score to 3-2 after a challenge, but couldn't prevent Elsayed from winning 3-2.

In the evening final, Ghaiou took control, leading 7-2 after the first period. He reversed the situation in par terre, scoring two trap-arm guts to make it 6-2. Elsayed challenged the call but lost, giving Ghaiou an extra point.

Similar to the morning bout, Ghaiou became passive in the second period and Elsayed capitalized, scoring a takedown and a turn to make it 7-6. Ghaiou was then called passive and Elsayed scored a turn from par terre to lead 9-7. Despite Ghaiou's efforts in the final minute, Elsayed won 11-7 with a late takedown and capture the gold after a tough day in the office.

While Ghaiou failed to win the gold for Algeria, five others did.

It began with Mohamed DRIDI (ALG) securing victory over Adem LAMLOUM (TUN) in the 55kg category, winning by fall. Dridi, who had earned a silver medal in 2022, recognized that with no Egyptian wrestler competing, the gold was within his reach. He dominated his opponents, outscoring them 40-1 in five bouts, achieving four technical superiority wins and one decisive fall in the final.

At 63kg, Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG) clinched his third consecutive African title, completing the Nelson bracket with four victories.

Djebbari showcased his dominance, recording technical superiority wins in all but one of his bouts, with Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY) managing to score two points against him in the Round 2 clash which Djebbari won 6-2, while Baghdouda earned the silver medal.

In another Nelson bracket, Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG) triumphed in the 72kg weight class with a narrow 3-1 victory over Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY) in Round 5.

Both Merabet and Abdelkader displayed strong form, with the latter even defeating the 2022 silver medalist, Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN), in a 1-1 result in Round 3. However, Merabet proved unstoppable, securing a 3-1 win, scoring from par terre, to claim his first African title.

Abd OUAKALI (ALG) emerged victorious in the 82kg category, defeating Elias CHIGUER (MAR) with a 7-2 scoreline in the gold medal bout, securing Algeria's fourth gold in the Greco-Roman competition.

It was a surprising outcome, considering Chiguer had previously defeated Ouakali 11-8 in the Round 2 bout during the morning session. However, Ouakali's strong defensive skills made the difference in the final. He also overcame Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY) with a 3-2 win in the semifinals.

With this victory, Ouakali successfully defended his 82kg gold medal, which he had previously won in El Jadida.

 

In an exceptional performance, Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) successfully defended his 87kg gold medal, not conceding a single point in four bouts within the Nelson bracket.

Sid Azara commenced the day with an impressive 8-0 victory over Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY), followed by another dominant 8-0 win against Mohamed JABRI (TUN). He received a walkover against Roberto NSANGUA (ANG). In the final bout, Sid Azara overwhelmed Adil JORF (MAR) with an 8-0 victory, securing his fifth gold medal in the tournament's history.

Egypt matches Algeria

Apart from Elsayed, four other Egyptians stood atop the podium, including Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY), who secured the 60kg gold medal by overpowering Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE) with a dominant 12-0 victory in the final.

Bunduka made history as the first Greco-Roman wrestler from his country to reach the African Championships final. However, Mahmoud swiftly thwarted his aspirations for further triumphs in Hammamet, launching a relentless series of attacks and triumphing via technical superiority. This victory marked Mahmoud's third African title and his first since 2020, as he had skipped the intervening editions.

At 77kg, Mohamed KHALIL (EGY) claimed the gold medal in a Nelson bracket, triumphing over three opponents. In a pivotal Round 3 clash against Akrem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG), Khalil managed to secure a hard-fought 4-2 victory, securing his second consecutive gold medal at the African Championships after his triumph in the 72kg category in 2022.

Mohamed GABR (EGY) at 97kg and Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) at 130kg were the other two gold medalists for Egypt.

Gabr sought redemption after his loss in the 2022 final to Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG), who had claimed his fifth African title in El Jadida. However, the tables turned on Friday as Gabr narrowly outscored Boudjemline with a 3-2 victory in the gold medal bout. 

Despite trailing 2-0 early in the final, Gabr displayed resilience and determination. In the first period, Gabr was called passive, and Boudjemline attempted to score a turn from par terre. However, the referee penalized Gabr for fleeing the hold, extending Boudjemline's lead to 2-0.

In the second period, Boudjemline was put in par terre, and Gabr almost failed to score any points. However, when Boudjemline cleverly attempted to go behind a sitting Gabr, the Egyptian seized the opportunity to score a takedown, taking a 3-2 lead that held until the end of the bout. This victory marked Gabr's ascent to the top of the podium after two silver medals in 2019 and 2022.

For Mohamed, this marked his eighth African title, as he effortlessly cruised through his three bouts. After two commanding 8-0 wins, he sealed the deal with a 4-0 victory over Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) in the decisive Round 3 bout.

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RESULTS

Greco-Roman

55kg
GOLD: Mohamed DRIDI (ALG) df. Adem LAMLOUM (TUN), via fall

BRONZE: Alexandro HAININGA (NAM) df. Given SIKHOSANA (RSA), 10-6 

60kg
GOLD: Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE), 12-0

BRONZE: Romio GOLIATH (NAM) df. Mohamed HKIRI (TUN), 8-3
BRONZE: Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR) df. Sefiane GUEZZANIA (ALG), 8-2

63kg
GOLD: Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
SILVER: Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY) 
BRONZE: Oussama NASR (TUN)

67kg
GOLD: Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) df. Ishak GHAIOU (ALG), 11-7 

BRONZE: Mohamed BEN ALI (TUN) df. Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR), via inj. def.

72kg
GOLD: Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
SILVER: Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY) 
BRONZE: Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)

77kg
GOLD: Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
SILVER: Akrem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
BRONZE: Sami SLAMA (TUN)

82kg
GOLD: Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG) df. Elias CHIGUER (MAR), 7-2

BRONZE: Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY) df. Francisco KADIMA (ANG), 8-0 

87kg
GOLD: Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
SILVER: Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
BRONZE: Mohamed JABRI (TUN)

97kg
GOLD: Mohamed GABR (EGY) df. Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG), 3-2

BRONZE: Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN) df. Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR), 5-0

130kg
GOLD: Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER: Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)
BRONZE: Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)

#WrestleHammamet

African Championships entry list

By Vinay Siwach

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (May 12) --  Next week's African Championships, set to begin on May 15 in Hammamet, Tunisia, will feature two Olympic medalists from Tokyo 2021 among its 202 registered wrestlers.

Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) and Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) will be competing as they begin another journey to the Olympic podium. The continental championships also offers them the opportunity to bounce back from their lackluster performance at the World Championships in Belgrade, where they failed to win a medal.

World silver medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) will also be defending her 76kg women's wrestling title she won in Morocco. Unlike Elsayed and Oborududu, Hamza has already competed this year, finishing 10th and ninth at the Zagreb Open and Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series events respectively.

In freestyle, Algeria is returning with all their gold medalists from 2021. It won four golds, the same as Egypt, but will hope to beat Egypt this time as the latter is returning with only two of their four gold medalists.

For Algeria, Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG), Chems Eddine FETAIRIA (ALG), Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) and Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) are in the line-up while Egypt only has Gamal MOHAMED (EGY) and Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY).

Women's wrestling should have seen the return of Tokyo Olympian Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) after her marriage, but the three-time world medalist has decided to skip the tournament.

Nigeria won four gold medals last year and three of them are returning in Oborududu, Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR) and Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR), Odunayo's sister who has jumped from 53kg to 57kg, a weight class frequently represented by Odunayo.

Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN) will also be in action at 62kg as she hopes to defend her title in front of the home crowd. For Tunisia, Khadija JLASSI (TUN) at 65kg and 
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) at 72kg will also be big hopes for the gold medal.

Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY)Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY) will defend his title at 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Freestyle

57kg
Salah KATEB (ALG)
Bofenda KALUWEKO (ANG)
Gamal MOHAMED (EGY)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Mohamed CAMARA (GUI)
Davies ORIWA (KEN)
Younes LACHGAR (MAR)
John LEOPOLD (MRI)
Alexandro HAININGA (NAM)
Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR)
Jakobo TAU (RSA)
KHALIL BARKOUTI (TUN)

61kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Filipe SEBASTIAO (ANG)
Yanisse MADI (COM)
Shehabeldin MOHAMED (EGY)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Yassine JAA (MAR)
Seitonkumo RICHARD (NGR)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Firas KHALIFA (TUN)

65kg
Zohier IFTENE (ALG)
Omar MOURAD (EGY)
Simon WAINAINA (KEN)
Levi NYONGESA (KEN)
Otmane EL BAHJA (MAR)
Frederik NORTJE (RSA)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)

70kg
Yahia El Hadi GACEM (ALG)
Armando NTOYA (ANG)
Anthony WESLEY (CPV)
Said ELGAHSH (EGY)
Julio TCHAMI (GBS)
Brian OLOO (KEN)
Abdelwahad BADRI (MAR)
Pieter ROETS (RSA)
Sylvio DIATTA (SEN)
Mamudu MARAH (SLE)
Mohamed ZORGUI (TUN)
Rodgers MUKYEDA (UGA)

74kg
Abdelkader IKKAL (ALG)
Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY)
Bacar NDUM (GBS)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Yassine FARAJ (MAR)
Arno VAN ZIJL (RSA)
Mamadou DIOUF (SEN)
Mohamed BEN JAAFAR (TUN)
Jamal ABDUL (UGA)

79kg
Chems Eddine FETAIRIA (ALG)
Francisco de Deus KADIMA (ANG)
Matteo Alcidio Louis MONTEIRO FURTADO TRESSE (CPV)
Ahmed MAHMOUD (EGY)
Caetano Antonio SA (GBS)
Sofiane PADIOU BELMIR (MAR)
Ebikeme NEWLIFE (NGR)
Johannes HATTINGH (RSA)
Kaireddine BEN TELILI (TUN)
Ivan MASAKWE (UGA)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Roberto NSANGUA (ANG)
Saifeldin ELKOUMY (EGY)
Mark ONGUYESI (KEN)
Roman MANITRA RAHARISON (MAD)
Adil JORF (MAR)
Jean MARIANNE (MRI)
Edward LESSING (RSA)
Sabri MNASRIA (TUN)

92kg
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Artunes PEDRO (ANG)
Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
Dan CHEPTAI (KEN)
Wadii OUALAL (MAR)
Machiel GROBLER (RSA)
Imed KADDIDI (TUN)

97kg
Mohamed MOSTEFAOUI (ALG)
Mostafa ELDERS (EGY)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)

125kg
Abderrahmane BENACHA (ALG)
Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Joel TUKAI (KEN)
Anas LAMKABBER (MAR)
Hamza RAHMANI (TUN)

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) is returning to competition since the World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)
Emma WANGILA (KEN)
Imane BOUJNANE (MAR)
Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
Chaima RAOUAFI (TUN)

53kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG)
Shaimaa ABDELZAHER (EGY)
Elisa RASOANANTENAINA NOMENJANAHARY (MAD)
Wissal EL GNAOUI (MAR)
Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR)
Abir ZARROUKI (TUN)

55kg
Achouak TEKOUK (ALG)
Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR)
Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR)
Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)

57kg
Rayane HOUFAF (ALG)
Louji YASSIN (EGY)
Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Helena VAN AS (RSA)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
Veronica AYO (UGA)

59kg
Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG)
Farah HUSSEIN (EGY)
Mary NALIAKA (KEN)
Atika EL ASLA (MAR)
Siwar BOUSETA (TUN)

62kg
Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG)
Gharam ASKAR (EGY)
Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI)
Emily WANYAMA (KEN)
Zineb JAMOUS (MAR)
Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)

65kg
Eunice MBURU (KEN)
Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR)
Khadija JLASSI (TUN)

68kg
Samah ABDELLATIF (EGY)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Jessy ANDRIANANTOANDRO (MAD)
Nassma ESSATOURI (MAR)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)

72kg
Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
Ebi BIOGOS (NGR)
Hannah RUEBEN (NGR)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

76kg
Arianna XAVIER (CPV)
Samar HAMZA (EGY)
Anta SAMBOU (SEN)
Ranim SAIDI (TUN)

Greco-Roman 

55kg
Mohamed Yacine DRIDI (ALG)
Bofenda KALUWEKO (ANG)
Davies ORIWA (KEN)
Mouad JAHID (MAR)
Given SIKHOSANA (RSA)
Adem LAMLOUM (TUN)

60kg
Sefiane GUEZZANIA (ALG)
Fernando MATONDO (ANG)
Latuf MADI (COM)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Ismail ETTALIBI (MAR)
Romio GOLIATH (NAM)
Riehan BOTHA (RSA)
Ibrahim BUNDUKA (SLE)
Mohamed HKIRI (TUN)

63kg
Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Reginaldo da SILVA (ANG)
Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
Simon WAINAINA (KEN)
Yassine JAA (MAR)
Oussama NASR (TUN)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Levi NYONGESA (KEN)
Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR)
Franscoies DU TOIT (RSA)
Mohamed BEN ALI (TUN)

72kg
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Armando NTOYA (ANG)
Yehia ABDELKADER (EGY)
Gilbert KABOCHE (KEN)
Yassine FARAJ (MAR)
Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)

77kg
Akrem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
Rabii REGANI (MAR)
Emmanuel NWORIE (NGR)
Sami SLAMA (TUN)

82kg
Abd OUAKALI (ALG)
Mahmoud IBRAHIM (EGY)
Herinirina ANDRIAMALALA (MAD)
Elias CHIGUER (MAR)
Solomon ULABO (NGR)
James HOLDER (RSA)
Mohamed MALHI (TUN)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Roberto NSANGUA (ANG)
Emad ABOUELATTA (EGY)
Adil JORF (MAR)
Mohamed JABRI (TUN)

97kg
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Oussama ASSAD (MAR)
Wissam KOUAINSO (MAR)
Christiaan BURGER (RSA)
Mohamed MISSAOUI (TUN)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Daniel MOSETI (KEN)
Anas LAMKABBER (MAR)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)