Nigerian Women Nab Five African Golds, Egypt Grabs Six GR Titles

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 20:17 By Eric Olanowski

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (March 30) – For the third consecutive year, Nigerian women ignited for at least five African gold medals and nabbed the women’s wrestling team title. Nigeria’s women, who finished with 195 points, swiped medals in nine of ten weights and had five wrestlers reach the top of the podium at the African Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia.

The five Nigerian gold medalists were Miesinnei GENESIS (50kg), Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (57kg), Sunmisola BALOGUN (65kg), Blessing OBORUDUDU (68kg), and Blessing ONYEBUCHI (76kg).

Odunayo Adekuroye, the 2017 world silver medalist, was the only Nigerian wrestler to win a non-Nordic style bracket. In the 57kg finals, Adekuroye used a cross-ankle pick to score the 29-second fall over Cameroon’s Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO, picking up her fourth consecutive continental title.

The other four gold medalists won their titles by going undefeated in the round robin competitions.

Meanwhile, the host nation of Tunisia (177 points), led by their 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI finished in second place with a pair of champions. Tunisia’s two winners were Amri and Faten HAMMAMI.

In what was expected to be the women’s wrestling bout of the night, 62kg, Amri dumped Aminat ADENIYI (NGR) to her back and scored the early first-period fall. Amri’s title-winning performance on Saturday night in Hammamet gave her an eleventh continental title. She now holds ten African Championship gold medals and one African Games title.

Faten Hammami won Tunisia’s second women’s wrestling gold medal after going undefeated in the 55kg Nordic bracket.

The third-place finishers, Egypt (160 points), won gold medals in three Nordic weight categories. Their three champions were Hala AHMED, Eman EBRAHIM, and Samar HAMZA, who won African titles at 53kg, 59kg, and 72kg respectively.

In Greco-Roman, Egypt (220 points) upended defending champions Algeria (192 points) by winning six golds and three silver medals. The six Egyptian champions were Moamen MOHAMED (60kg), Haithem MAHMOUD (63kg), Haithem MAHMOUD (67kg), Ahmed AHMED (82kg), Mohamed METWALLY (87kg), and Abdellatif MOHAMED (130kg).

Of those six individual champions, Haithem Mahmound and Mohamed Metwally were the only two who competed in traditional brackets.

At 63kg, Haithem Mahmound claimed his second consecutive African gold medal with a fall over Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN). Mahmoud built a five-point lead off a passivity point and a pair of gut wrenches before stopping a Tunisian headlock to pick up the fall.

The second non-Nordic bracket champion was 87kg gold medalist Mohamed Metwally. Metwally ended his gold-medal bout early with a four-point throw after commanding the 6-0 lead over Algeria Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 10-0.

Algeria, who had three individual champions and 192 points, finished in second place, 28 points behind Egypt. The trio of Algerian champion was Abdelkarim FERGAT (55kg), Tarek BENAISSA (72kg), Adem BOUDJEMLINE (97kg).

Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR) reached the top of the African podium for the tenth time with his 77kg title-winning performance on Saturday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

The tenth and final Greco-Roman gold medal of the day went to Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR), who won the 77kg title, improved on his runner-up finished from a year ago, claiming his tenth African title.

The final day of wrestling at the African Championships begins Sunday at 10:30 (local time).

RESULTS

Women’s Wrestling

TEAM SCORES
GOLD - Nigeria (195 points)
SILVER - Tunisia (177 points)
BRONZE - Egypt (160 points)
Fourth - Algeria (83 points)
Fifth - Senegal (57 points)

50kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
SILVER – Nada MOHAMED (EGY)
BRONZE – Kheira YAHIAOUI (ALG)

53kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Hala AHMED (EGY)
SILVER – Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
BRONZE –Rosemary NWEKE (NGR)

55kg (Round Robin)
GOLD –Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
SILVER –Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG)
BRONZE – Faten AHMED (EGY)

57kg
GOLD – Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) df. Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR), via fall
BRONZE – Dorssaf GHARSSI (TUN) df. Chaimaa Fouzia AOUISSI (ALG), 11-6

59kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Eman EBRAHIM (EGY)
SILVER – Khouloud EL OUNI (TUN)
BRONZE – Ifeoma Christiana NWOYE (NGR)

62kg
GOLD – Marwa AMRI (TUN) vs. Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR), via fall
BRONZE – Berthe Emilienne ETANE NGOLLE (CMR) df. Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI), 1-1

65kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Sunmisola BALOGUN (NGR) df. Yvette ZIE (BUR), 1-0
BRONZE – Nour JELJELI (TUN) df. Amel HAMMICHE (ALG), 12-5

68kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
SILVER – Anta SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE – Lilia MEJRI (TUN)

72kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Samar HAMZA (EGY)
SILVER – Hannah Amuchechi RUEBEN (NGR)
BRONZE – Wiem TRABELSI (TUN)

76kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Blessing ONYEBUCHI (NGR)
SILVER – Mona AHMED (EGY)
BRONZE – Rihem AYARI (TUN)

Greco-Roman

TEAM SCORES
GOLD - Egypt (220 points)
SILVER - Algeria (192 points)
BRONZE - Tunisia (139 points)
Fourth - Morocco (119 points)
Fifth - Congo DR (51 points)

55kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
SILVER – Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
BRONZE –Romio Ricardo GOLIATH (NAM)

60kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Moamen MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER – Abdennour LAOUNI (ALG)
BRONZE – Moez JALEL (TUN)

63kg
GOLD – Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN), via fall
BRONZE – Fouad FAJARI (MAR) df. Gert COETZEE (RSA), 9-0

67kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
SILVER – Souleymen NASR (TUN)
BRONZE – Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR)

72kg
GOLD – Tarek BENAISSA (ALG) df. Aziz BOUALEM (MAR), 7-1
BRONZE – Emmanuel NWORIE (NGR) df. Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), 10-9

77kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR)
SILVER – Mohamed Ehab Mohamed Zahab KHALIL (EGY)
BRONZE – Wael SELMI (TUN)

82kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Ahmed Mahmoud AHMED (EGY)
SILVER – Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
BRONZE – Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)

87kg
GOLD – Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 10-0
BRONZE – Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN) df. Reda MOUENISS (MAR), 8-0

97kg
GOLD – Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) df. Mohamed Ali Elsayed GABR (EGY), 2-1
BRONZE – Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) df. Choucri ATAFI (MAR), 3-1
BRONZE - Francisco Nkunga NGONDA (ANG) df. Mohamed BUNDU (SLE), 14-5

130kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER – Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
BRONZE – Mohamed Fadhel BLAGHJI (TUN)

#development

UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport host first-ever coaching course

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 - 13:22 By United World Wrestling Press

VIJAYANAGAR, India (July 9) -- United World Wrestling hosted a international coaching course at Inspire Institute of Sport in India from June 27 to July 1.

This was the first-ever coaching course held in India under the partnership that UWW signed with IIS in 2024 to help develop wrestling in India. The Level 2 coaching course was led by July and was lead by Ahmed KHEDHRI (TUN).

"The group was distinguished by a wide diversity of experiences and backgrounds, which added a special richness to the discussions and allowed for fruitful exchanges of ideas and practices," Khedhri said. "The coaches’ enthusiasm and commitment to enhancing their knowledge and skills to serve wrestling in their respective countries were clearly evident. This positive interaction added a dynamic and engaging spirit to the course, making it a truly rich and effective educational experience."

The Level 2 coaching course focused on the designing and implementing of practice plans and had nine coaches from three countries namely India, Singapore, and Nigeria that participated in the course.

The course covered various topics including seven basic skills of wrestling, introduction to performance analysis designing effective practice sessions, risk management, mental development, Anti-Doping, environmental impact and included technical sessions. During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations.

"The course was very successful and impactful. It was truly excellent, characterized by clarity, depth, and practical application that added real value for all participants. I feel deeply grateful and very excited, as this was our first education clinic, through which we have already seen many promising potentials and future opportunities," Rishabh CHAUHAN, Head of Sports Excellence Program at IIS, said.

IND Participants at the Level 2 coaching course work through designing and implementing a wrestling practice plan. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Quotes from some of the participants:

Timothy Loh Yu (SGP)

“Completing the UWW Coaching Course Level 2 was an enriching experience that deepened my technical knowledge and coaching philosophy. The course focused on athlete-centered development, advanced planning, and effective communication. Key takeaways included structuring training cycles, integrating strength and conditioning, and applying sports science for better athlete management. Practical sessions improved my technical instruction and feedback skills. Overall, the course strengthened my confidence and commitment to continuous learning. The venue, facilities, accommodation, and the facilitation by Mr. Ahmed were also excellent and supported the success of the program.”

Gurpreet Kaur (IND)

“I would like to express my gratitude for facilitating the UWW Level 2 Coaches Course. The course was highly informative, engaging, and practical, covering key topics such as basic wrestling skills, training phases and periodization, video analysis, practice planning, nutrition and weight management, and athlete management. It has deepened my perspective as a coach and equipped me with practical tools to use in my training sessions. To further enhance learning, incorporating more case studies, video breakdowns of real matches, and live or recorded athlete demonstrations could strengthen technical and tactical understanding. Overall, the course struck a good balance between theory and real-life application.”

Blessing Oborududu (NGR)

“The UWW Level 2 Coaching Course has been a game-changer for me. I’ve gained practical skills to enhance my coaching, including analyzing and correcting techniques, planning effective training programs, and applying strength & conditioning and nutrition to optimize athlete performance. I’ve also developed leadership and communication skills to foster a supportive training environment. This course has truly elevated my coaching abilities and will help me better support my athletes’ growth and success.”

Nigerian Women Nab Five African Golds, Egypt Grabs Six GR Titles

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UWW and Inspire Institute of Sport host first-ever coaching course