The number of Nigerian wrestlers expected to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France swell to five after 12-time African champion Blessing Oborodudu led three others to qualify for Paris at the African and Oceania Qualifiers taking place in Egypt.
According to United World Wrestling (UWW), the finalists in each weight category are expected to qualify for the Olympic Games and it was Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Oborodudu that first sealed her return to the Olympic Games after a 2-0 pinfall win over Palau’s Uilau I. Tarkong in the 68kg women’s freestyle.
World Military Champion Hannah Reuben in the 76kg pipped Cote d’Ivoire’s Amy Youin 6-0 to berth in Paris.
Esther Kolawole increased the number of wrestlers after she overcame Cape Verde’s Angelina Rodrigues Miranda 10-0 by superiority in the 62kg, while African Games champion Christiana Ogunsanya in the 53kg overpowered Egyptian Shaimaa Atef Barakat Mohamed 10-0 superiority to secure Paris Games qualification.
The quartet of Oborodudu, Reuben, Kolawole and Ogunsanya will join already qualified Odunayo Adekuoroye who had secured qualification to Paris last year following her bronze medal in women’s 57kg at the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
However, Mercy Genesis narrowly missed out on one of the two tickets available in the 50kg after losing 5-7 to Egypt’s Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla Mohamed in the semifinal bout.
On Sunday, March 24, the male wrestlers will be hoping to join their female counterparts on the train to Paris when they take to the match on the final day of the qualifiers.
Simeon Enozunimi will start his campaign in the 57kg against Nauru’s Daroa
Olsson, Stephen Izolo will slug it out against Palau’s Cristian Nicolescu in the 65kg; Braveman Oyeinkeperemo will battle Benin Republic’s Tchani Baki in the 74kg. Harrison Onovwiomogbohwo and Ashton Adeyemi Amin Mutuwa have both been given bye to the quarterfinal in the 86kg and 125kg respectively.
On day one of the qualifiers, Algeria emerged as the most successful nation of the African & Oceania Qualifiers with five Greco-Roman quotas while Egypt was second with four spots while Tunisia won two and Morocco managed to grab one.
Egypt has the chance to complete the line-up with six quotas as it has already won one at the World Championships and was hoping to win the remaining five in Alexandria. But Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Mohamed Elsayed, the top seed and favourite to win one of the two 67kg spots, lost to Tunisia’s Souleymen Nasr 7-4.
Meanwhile, the last Olympic Qualifiers will be decided on May 9 to 12 at the 2024 World Qualification Tournament Istanbul, Turkey, offering three quota places per weight category to the two highest-ranked wrestlers and the champion of a wrestle-off between two bronze medalists.