#WrestleHammamet

LIVE BLOG: African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier , Day Two

By Eric Olanowski

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 3) -- Women's wrestling takes center stage on Day 2 of action at the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier.

19:20:  The semifinal session just wrapped up. We'll take a few-minute break and roll right into the medal matches.

19:11: This'll be the final match of the semifinal session. We'll take a quick break and roll right into the medal matches. 

19:07: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) continues to roll past the competition at 68kg. She's barely broke a sweat in her first two matches. She's scored back-to-back technical superiority wins on the day. Oborudud's first came against Enas Mostafa Youssef Khourshed AHMED (EGY) and her second came against Anta SAMBOU (SEN). She'll wrestle Khadija JLASSI (TUN) in the third round. 

18:53: After dominating semifinal performances, Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI) and Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) qualified Guinea and Tunisia for the Olympic Games at 57kg. Camara pinned Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) after leading 6-0, and Bouseta scored two takedowns, two exposures and a reversal to defeat Eman EBRAHIM (EGY), 9-2.

18:35: How about that? Rckaela AQUINO (GUM) scored five first-period takedowns against Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN) and booked Guam a ticket to the Olympic Games at 53kg. She's the second women's wrestler ever from Guam to qualify for the Olympic Games. 

18:22: After leading 10-0, Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR) pinned Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG) and qualified Cameroon for the Olympic Games at 53kg. That was her second win of the day via fall. In her first match, Essombe Tiako pinned her '20 finals opponent Bose SAMUEL (NGR) in less than a minute. 

18:21: ICYMI: Tunisia Tallies Four GR Olympic Berths on Friday

18:13: There's going to be one more 50kg Round 4 match. After that, the next four matches will determine Olympic berths as 53kg and 57kg are traditional brackets.

18:07: We're back to action! The match order is posted below. Outside of 53kg and 57kg, the majority of these matches will be Nordic-style bracket matches -- meaning the winners may not punch their nation's tickets to Tokyo. They'll have to finish in the top two to book a spot at the Tokyo Olympics.

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 3) -- Women's wrestling takes center stage on Day 2 of action at the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier.

12:40: That concludes the morning session. We'll return at 18:00 for the women's wrestling Tokyo Qualification round.

Traditional-Bracket Semifinal Matches:

53kg
SEMIFINAL - Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN) vs. Rckaela Ramos AQUINO (GUM) 
SEMIFINAL - Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR) vs. Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG) 

57kg
SEMIFINAL - Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) vs. Eman EBRAHIM (EGY) 
SEMIFINAL - Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI) vs. Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) 

12:35: This'll be the last match of the morning session. 

12:13: What a match! Amri comes out on top, 3-1. She waited for the inactivity clock to expire, and once it did, she struck with a takedown and won by two points. Smart wrestling on behalf of the Tunisian. 

12:03: One of African women's wrestling biggest rivalries Amri and Adeniyi just started on Mat B.

11:57: This session is flying by! We only have two matches left on each mat. 

11:39: That didn't last too long! Hamza was quick to hit a nasty headlock. She pinned Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) and will wrestle Debora TURE (GBS) in two matches on Mat C!

11:30: Samar HAMZA (EGY) is coming up next on Mat A. The reigning African champ is ranked No. 2 in the world at 76kg after her runner-up finish at the '21 Matteo Pellicone in Rome earlier this year.

11:22: Amri only led 1-0 after the first frame but is a different wrestler here in the second. She stopped an attack from Berthe ETANE NGOLLE (CMR) then snagged two gut wrenches and closed out the match 7-0. Amri's next match will be against Aminat ADENIYI (NGR) -- the last African wrestler to hand her a loss.

11:19: Rio Olympic bronze medalist iMarwa AMRI (TUN) is up now on Mat A! 

11:10: We barely had time to get situated and we already had a '20 African finals rematch go down! Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR) hip tossed Bose SAMUEL (NGR) and earned the 24-second fall. That match was in the opening round at 53kg.

11:00: We're ready to get things roll on Day 2! Below you'll find the opening round match order for the morning session. 

Obituary

UWW Hall of Fame, former Medical Commission chair Tavakol passes away

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 29) -- Dr. Mohammad TAVAKOL, a former member of the United World Wrestling Bureau and Hall of Famer, passed away in Tehran at the age of 89 after a period of illness.

Born in 1923 in Qazvin, Iran, Tavakol chaired the Iranian Wrestling Federation and was the Vice President of the UWW. He also held membership in the Executive Committee of the UWW and was the chairman of the Medical Commission of UWW. He was inducted into the UWW Hall of Fame in 2011.

Tavakol graduated in medicine from the University of Tehran and studied in England for his specialization. He began his wrestling career under the supervision of the late Habibollah BOLOUR, the former head coach of the national Iranian wrestling team.

Tavakol served four six-year terms as a member of the Executive Committee of the UWW and was elected as the head of the UWW Asia for a four-year term. He had a significant impact on medical coverage of wrestling competitions during his role as the head of the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission.

UWW mourns the passing of Dr. Tavakol and expresses deepest sympathies to the Tavakol family.