African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 20:52 By Vinay Siwach

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (June 29) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), an Olympic silver medalist, has achieved remarkable feats on the wrestling mat.

At the African Championships in women's wrestling, the 34-year-old holds the record for the most gold medals, with 12. In Tokyo, she became the first African woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, making her one of the best among wrestlers who have wrestled on the mat.

However, on Wednesday, Oborududu stepped onto the sands for the first time and returned home with a gold medal at the 2nd African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Despite being a regular in Olympic wrestling at 68kg, Oborududu decided to represent Nigeria in Hammamet, where Beach Wrestling made its debut on the African Beach Games program.

Read: Traditional Wrestling Hotbed Senegal Dominates African Beach Games

While most victories in Beach Wrestling resemble Olympic wrestling, there are a few differences. In Beach Wrestling, a throw awards three points, ending the bout. If a throw is not executed, the bout continues for the stipulated three minutes. The wrestler who accumulates at least three points before their opponent is declared the winner.

Oborududu achieved this in three of her four bouts. She made her debut against Erica NGAKALI (CGO) in Round 1 and had no trouble defeating Ngakali 3-0 to secure victory via superiority.

In her next match against Patricia ELNOUR (SUD), Oborududu triumphed 3-1, advancing to the semifinal against Anta SAMBOU (SEN). Despite facing a challenge and giving up two points, Oborududu held on for a 3-2 victory, securing her spot in the final against Amy YOUIN (CIV).

Youin, who had not conceded a single point in the group stages and the semifinal, scored two points against Oborududu in the final. However, Oborududu used her experience and strength to defeat Youin 3-2, capturing Nigeria's first-ever gold medal in Beach Wrestling at the African Beach Games.

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) made a golden debut at African Beach Games in Hammamet. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

"Another gold in the bag!," Oborududu wrote on her Instagram. "Glory to God for yet another addition and new win in my career. This win is quite personal to me, as this is my first hand trying beach wrestling. I stepped on the sand with hope as usual. 'Well, I'm here to wrestle yeah, so let me give it my best shot like I always do on the mat' I said to myself. And guess what? I won gold in the ongoing African Beach Wrestling (Games), Tunisia 2023."

This marked the beginning of Nigeria's gold rush, as they went on to win two more gold medals in women's Beach Wrestling. The only weight class in which Nigeria failed to win gold was at 70kg, where Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) claimed the top spot.

Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) made a perfect run to the 50kg gold at the African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 50kg, Commonwealth Games and African champion Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) showcased her dominance, winning all her bouts without conceding a single point.

Geneisi, who had previously won the African Beach Championships in May, began with a 3-0 victory against Emma WANGILA (KEN) in Round 1. She followed it up with a similar scoreline, defeating Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) in Round 2. When Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG) withdrew due to injury in Round 3, Geneisi was declared the winner after three wins in the round-robin bracket involving five wrestlers.

Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN) secured two wins, earning the silver medal, while Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) won the bronze after defeating Wangila in the Round 3 bout.

Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) won the gold medal at 60kg at the 2nd African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Another African champion who won a gold medal was Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) in the 60kg weight class. While not as dominant as her compatriots, she managed to win gold with close victories.

Kolawole began with a 3-0 win over Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) but encountered difficulty in a 2-1 win against Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV) in Round 2. Mame SAMBOU (SEN) also put up a fight, but Kolawole emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline, securing her place in the semifinal. Emily WANYAMA (KEN) proved no match for Kolawole, who won 3-0 via a fall to advance to the final.

Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG) provided a formidable challenge in the final, but she was unable to overcome the 1-0 deficit. Kolawole secured the victory and the gold medal with a 1-0 scoreline.

Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) won the 70kg gold after beating Bea MEIRING (RSA) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Maintaining a clean slate, Goudiaby emerged as the champion in the 70kg weight class. Goudiaby only had to wrestle one bout to reach the semifinal, as her first opponent, Winrose ALIVISA (KEN), withdrew due to an injury sustained in a previous bout.

In the semifinal, Goudiaby prevented Faiza AOUALI (ALG) from scoring and won 2-0, securing her place in the final against Bea MEIRING (RSA), who defeated Olympian Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Meiring, however, struggled in the final against Goudiaby who won 3-0, a victory by superiority.

Both Nigeria and Senegal ended with 75 points each in the team titles. However, with two extra gold medals than Senegal, Nigeria was declared the team title winner while Senegal finished second. Algeria, with 47 points, finished third.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)
SILVER: Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE: Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)

60kg
GOLD: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG), 1-0

BRONZE: Mame SAMBOU (SEN) df. Emily WANYAMA (KEN), 3-1

70kg
GOLD: Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) df. Bea MEIRING (RSA), 3-0

BRONZE: Khadija JLASSI (TUN) df. Faiza AOUALI (ALG), 3-0

+70kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df. Amy YOUIN (CIV), 3-2

BROZE: Anta SAMBOU (SEN) df. Erica NGAKALI (CGO), via fall

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Five years after third, Kinjo earns shot at fourth gold

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 - 17:12 By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 29) -- Two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO (JPN) earned a shot at a fourth world title and first in five years, but Jia LONG (CHN) denied the powerful Japanese team a potential sweep of the women's golds.

Kinjo broke open a tight semifinal at 59kg against Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), scoring eight points in the second period for a 9-0 victory at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Tuesday in Tirana.

Japanese hopes of winning all four of the women's titles on Wednesday ended when Asian champion Long rode a second-period surge to an 11-1 victory over Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) at 65kg, avenging a loss to the Japanese in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two other Japanese in action, Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) at 55kg and Ami ISHII (JPN) at 72kg, had little trouble advancing to the finals of their respective weight classes.

At 59kg, Kinjo earned just an activity point in the first period against Lipatova, but came out firing in the second, scoring a takedown off a low-ankle shot that she topped off with an exposure and gut wrench for a 7-0 lead. Kinjo then added a double-leg takedown.

Kinjo, who needed a dramatic last-second victory in a domestic playoff with 18-year-old Sakura ONISHI (JPN) to earn her ticket to Tirana, will be aiming to add to her consecutive world titles from 2017 to 2019 in Wednesday's final against veteran Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL).

Sukhee, a world champion in 2014 and silver medalist in 2015, scored a late takedown to clinch a 4-1 victory over MANSI (IND) in the other semifinal. Both Kinjo and Sukhee were bronze medalists this year at the Asian Championships, with the Mongolian's coming at 62kg.

Kinjo could have been expected to retire after failing to make Japan's team to Paris 2024 in a bid for an Olympic three-peat, but she has often said that she wants her daughter, now 2 1/2, to see
how good her mother was, not just hear about it.

The 30-somethings Kinjo and Lipatova's careers had crossed paths before, meeting in the semifinals at the 2018 World Championships. Kinjo won that one 10-0 en route to the second of her three consecutive gold medals.

Kiyooka, winner of both the world U23 and U20 golds in 2022, will be aiming to capture her first senior global title, after seeing her brother Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ikuei University teammates Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) and Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) all strike gold at the Paris Olympics.

She got the parade into the final started by scoring a takedown in each period for a 4-0 victory over reigning European champion Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), who was the losing finalist to Kinjo in the 57kg final at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the final, Kiyooka will face world U20 champion Jin ZHANG (CHN), who advanced with a victory by fall over Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA). Zhang got in on a deep single for a takedown that led to two quick exposures, then levered the American over before securing the fall.

At 65kg, Morikawa was ahead 1-1 on criteria in the second period when Long used a counter lift for 2 points (originally ruled 4, but later changed on the challenge). She had Morikawa's arm locked and used that for three rolls. After the match was resumed following the challenge, Long ended it with 43 seconds left with another counter lift.

In the final, Long will face European silver medalist Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU), who scored a second-period fall over Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) after building up an 11-6 lead.

Morikawa and Long were meeting for the second time, but one round earlier than before. Morikawa edged the Chinese 2-0 in the final at the 2022 World Championships.

The two finalists at 62kg at the World U23 Championships held last week at the same venue, champion Iryna BONDAR (UKR) and runnerup Macey KILTY (USA), lost to Morikawa and Zelenykh, respectively.

Ishii, the 2022 world 68kg silver medalist, won a battle of newly crowned world U23 champions by overwhelming Kylie WELKER (USA) with a 12-1 technical fall that she concluded in the final seconds. Ishii had won the U23 68kg title, while Welker had triumphed at 72kg.

In the final, Ishii will face three-time former Asian champion Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), who will be looking to take home a first world gold after winning two silvers and a bronze over the past three years.

Bakbergenova prevailed in an entertaining 8-6 victory over Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), scoring 4 points in a first-period scramble and clinching the win with a late takedown in the second.

Both Morikawa and Ishii lost out on the place at the Paris Olympics at 68kg to Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who ended up with a bronze medal.

For Ishii, the pain of missing out on Paris was particularly sharp, as she had earned the quota for Japan by placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships, only to lose in the last second of a playoff against Ozaki.

Morikawa rebounded from her disappointment by making the team at 72kg to the 2023 worlds, from which she took home a bronze. Now she is back at her normal weight class, in which she won the world gold in 2022 and finished second in 2021.

Women's Wrestling Results

55kg (18 entries)
SF: Jin ZHANG (CHN) df. Areana VILLAESCUSA (USA) by Fall, 1:28 (8-0)
SF: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Iryna KURACHKINA (AIN), 4-0

59kg (22 entries)
SF: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. MANSI (IND), 4-1
SF: Risako KINJO (JPN) df. Svetlana LIPATOVA (AIN), 9-0

65kg (19 entries)
SF: Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU) df. Valeriia DONDUPOVA (AIN) by Fall, 1:59 (11-6)
SF: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) by TF, 11-1, 5:17

72kg (18 entries)
SF: Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) df. Bolortungalag ZORIGT (MGL), 8-6
SF: Ami ISHII (JPN) df. Kylie WELKER (USA) by TF, 12-1, 5:58

African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

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World Championships: Five years after third, Kinjo earns shot at fourth gold