African Championship Entries

Monday, January 27, 2020 - 18:22 By Eric Olanowski

ALGER, Algeria (January 27) ---The African Championships kick-off February 04-09 in Alger, Algeria, and 23 of last year’s 30 champions return to action looking to defend their crowns.

Second-ranked Odunayo ADEKUOROYE headlines a group of nine women’s wrestling returning champions.

Adama DIATTA (SEN), the man in search of African title number ten, highlights a list of freestyle stars that includes eight reigning gold-medal winners.

Egypt’s pair of top-five-ranked wrestlers Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) and Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) are two of the six Greco-Roman wrestlers who are looking to win a second consecutive title.

The African Championships begin next Tuesday (February 4) at 10:30 local time and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org.

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG)
Nadine NDAYISHIMIYE (BDI)
Nde Caroline YAPI (CIV)
Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla MOHAMED (EGY)
Debora Valeria TURE (GBS)
Fatiha SAHMANI (MAR)
Miesinnei Mercy GENESIS (NGR)
Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN)
Sarra HAMDI (TUN)

53kg
Kheira Chaimaa YAHIAOUI (ALG)
Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR)
Kholod Ahmed Allam AHMED (EGY)
Elisa Emma Patricia RASOANANTENAINA NOMENJANAHARY (MAD)
Bose SAMUEL (NGR)
Chaima RAOUAFI (TUN)

55kg
Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG)
Faten Ramadan Shamndy AHMED (EGY)
Esther Omolayo KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Dorssaf GHARSSI (TUN)
Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)

57kg
Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)
Eman Essam Guda EBRAHIM (EGY)
Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Siwar BOUSETTA (TUN)

59kg
Rayane HOUFAF (ALG)
Fatma Ramadan Gomaa Ahmed ELKELINY (EGY)
Bisola MAKANJUOLA (NGR)
Siwar LOUATI BEN ALI (TUN)
Khouloud EL OUNI (TUN)

62kg
Kenza ISMAIL (ALG)
Berthe Emilienne ETANE NGOLLE (CMR)
Amina Kamal Elsebaee IBRAHIM (EGY)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)

65kg
Amel HAMMICHE(ALG)
Donia Mohamed Abdelgawwad ABOUZEID(EGY)
Hannah Amuchechi RUEBEN(NGR)
Lilia MEJRI(TUN)

68kg
Drifa AREZKI (ALG)
Mona Reda Abdelkhalek AHMED (EGY)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anta SAMBOU (SEN)
Rihem AYARI (TUN)

72kg
Melissa SALHI (ALG)
Ornella Terancia Oswaldie SEREBOUSSO (CAF)
Eman Hany Hefny MOHAMED (EGY)
Sunmisola Idowu BALOGUN (NGR)
Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

76kg
Tassadit AMER (ALG)
Yvette ZIE (BUR)
Amy YOUIN (CIV)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Blessing Joy ONYEBUCHI (NGR)
Nour JELJELI (TUN)

Adama DIATTA (SEN) is looking to win his tenth African title since 2007. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Freestyle

57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Jean-Claude NDAYIZEYE (BDI)
Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY)
Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS)
Mohamed Ismaele CAMARA (GUI)
Soufiane KABIL (MAR)
Ebikewenimo WELSON (NGR)
Jakobo Tanki TAU (RSA)
Fathi Mohammed Yagoub Nasir NASIR (SUD)

61kg
Abdelghani BENATALLAH (ALG)
Oussama LARIBI (ALG)
Rosian Ronald NGUIGAZA (CAF)
Christ Emmanuel NDRI (CIV)
Yousef Mohamed Yousef EISSA (EGY)
Fisayo KOLAWOLE (NGR)
Hermanus Nicolaas VAN DEN BERG (RSA)
Habib Mohamed El Tegani AHMED (SUD)
Dhia Eddine BAALOUCHI (TUN)

65kg
Amar LAISSAOUI (ALG)
Maxime Anicet Nazaire SIALO MAKAKE (CAF)
Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY)
Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
Faly Hery Sedra RANDRIANANTOANDRO (MAD)
Otmane EL BAHJA (MAR)
Amas DANIEL (NGR)
Reynhardt LOUW (RSA)
Adama DIATTA (SEN)
Fakhireldin Antar Obaid SORIEN (SUD)
Farouk JELASSI (TUN)

70kg
Ibrahim MOKHTARI (ALG)
Lionel Patrick NGBO BAMBOU ASSANA (CAF)
Ahmed Mohamed Elsayed ELMADBOH (EGY)
Abubakar ALHASSAN (GHA)
Sampson CLACKSON (NGR)
Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN)

74kg
Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG)
Baki TCHANI (BEN)
Djibrine Garba NGAMBONGO (CAF)
Mahamad Mansour IDRISS (CAF)
Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY)
Augusto MIDANA (GBS)
Mathayo Matonya MAHABILA (KEN)
Mohamed CHAKIR (MAR)
Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR)
Jaundre VAN RIEL (RSA)
Jean Bernard Diadia DIATTA (SEN)
Mohamed SESAY (SLE)
Maher GHANMI (TUN)

79kg
Mohammed BOUDRAA (ALG)
Saifeldin Shokry Mohamed Mahmoud ELKOUMY (EGY)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Ali Abdelwahab Osman BAKHET (SUD)
Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)

86kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Amoussou Nicolas CAKPO (BEN)
Nziga We Dieu Beni ZOZO (CAF)
Ulrich Elyse MANOUAN (CIV)
Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY)
Bedopassa BUASSAT DJONDE (GBS)
Roman MANITRA RAHARISON (MAD)
Oussama REGANI (MAR)
Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR)
Zander GERINGER (RSA)
Blaise DIATTA (SEN)
Guma Babiker Adam BASHIR (SUD)
Sabri MNASRIYA (TUN)

92kg
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Mohamed Abdalla Abdelmoneim ABDALLA (EGY)
Rachid OURIBI (MAR)
Mohamed Saifeldoula Mohamed MOHAMEDAIN (SUD)
Imed KADDIDI (TUN)

97kg
Oualid BOUAZIZI (ALG)
Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY)
Fahd NAJI (MAR)
Angula Matheus SHIKONGO (NAM)
Soso TAMARAU (NGR)
Martin ERASMUS (RSA)
Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)
Amir ALAWAD (UWW)

125kg
Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG)
Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY)
Anas LAMKABBER (MAR)
Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA)
Thiacka FAYE (SEN)
Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)

Two-time U23 world champion Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) is the headline Greco-Roman athlete entered in the African Championships. He's ranked No. 5 in the world at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
Youssef Mohamed Harbi THABET (EGY)
Romio Ricardo GOLIATH (NAM)
Dhia Eddine BAALOUCHI (TUN)

60kg
Abdennour LAOUNI (ALG)
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Abderrazak ROUINBI (MAR)
Ikechukwu Valentine ROBINSON (NGR)
Mehdi DHEKER (TUN)

63kg
Abdeldjebar DJEBBARI (ALG)
Mostafa Hassan Abdelaal MOHAMED (EGY)
Hamed Moustapha TCHOUFON (RSA)
Fakhireldin Antar Obaid SORIEN (SUD)

67kg
Ishak GHAIOU (ALG)
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Mouad LACHKAR (MAR)
Alfred Ebilade PARKISTAN (NGR)
Gert Cornelius Johannes COETZEE (RSA)
Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN)

72kg
Tarek Aziz BENAISSA (ALG)
Abouhalima Mohamed Elsaid ABOUHALIMA (EGY)
Mohamed SESAY (SLE)
Lamjed MAAFI (TUN)

77kg
Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
Wael Hamdy Mohamed ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Aziz BOUALEM (MAR)
Emmanuel Chinonso NWORIE (NGR)
Richard FERREIRA (RSA)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Ibrahim Mohamed Bashir AHMED (SUD)
Mohamed Aziz LANDOLSI (TUN)

82kg
Fadi ROUABAH (ALG)
Chawki DOULACHE (ALG)
Mohamed Mahmoud Elsayed Ahmed SELIM (EGY)
Ali Abdelwahab Osman BAKHET (SUD)
Ghaith HANNACHI (TUN)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY)
Mohamed FAIQ (MAR)
Tochukwu Micheal OKEKE (NGR)
Edward Louwis LESSING (RSA)
Guma Babiker Adam BASHIR (SUD)
Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN)

97kg
Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
Noureldin Hany Mohamed Gomaa HASSAN (EGY)
Choucri ATAFI (MAR)
Mohamed Saifeldoula Mohamed MOHAMEDAIN (SUD)
Haikel ACHOURI (TUN)
Amir ALAWAD (UWW)

130kg
Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
Hemza HALOUI (ALG)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Soufiane RAMANI (MAR)
Amine GUENNICHI (TUN)

Please note that entries are subject to change and are not official until 24 hours before the start of competition.

#WrestleUlaanbaatar

On return, Dzhuzupbekov secures gold at Ulaanbaatar Open 2025

Thursday, May 29, 2025 - 18:08 By Vinay Siwach

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (May 29) -- Paris Olympic bronze medalist Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) looked rusty on his return to competition since winning the medal in August 2024. But he had enough experience to win gold medal at the Ulaanbaatar Open 2025, his first competition since.

"This was my first start after the Olympics," Dzhuzupekov said. "It was very difficult, to be honest. It was quite tough to wrestle here, especially since the climate is different."

In his three bouts at 97kg, Dzhuzupbekov struggled for conditioning. He opened the day with a 10-6 win over Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL) before beating Bat-Erdene BYAMBASUREN (MGL) 9-1. But it was his last match against Asian bronze medalist NITESH (IND) which troubled him the most.

Dzhuzupekov began the match with an arm-throw for four but Nitesh scored a reversal to make it 5-1 and the Indian the scored a turn to close the gap to 5-3 at the break. On resumption, Dzhuzupbekov held his position and was only called passive with just over a minute left.

Nitesh, now trailing 5-4, needed a turn to turn the match in his favor but he failed to score any and Dzhuzupbekov defended the one-point lead to win the gold medal at 97kg.

"It's dry here, and we're at an altitude of about 1,400 meters," he said. "That made it really challenging. It was hard for the whole team to compete. But overall, I’m happy with the result. Starting with the very first match it was really tough, I couldn't breathe properly here. We’ll analyze things and keep preparing."

Dzhuzupbekov has been off since winning bronze in Paris and got married after the Olympics. But as one of three medalists for Kyrgyzstan's Greco team, Dzhuzupbekov is now hoping to build on that result.

"I’ll be preparing for the World Championships," he said. "But I think there will be another tournament after this one — probably in Hungary or Poland. And we’ll likely prepare differently for that. Overall, I think the team spirit is good right now. I don’t focus too much on any one opponent, because the competition is very strong. Especially with all the Europeans — they’re all big and strong. I think I just have to be ready, be in good shape. I try not to overthink who I’ll wrestle or how the match will go. I just believe that if I’m in good form, I’ll win."

Dzhuzupbekov's gold was one of the three Kyrgyzstan won on day one of the tournament which doesn't award team title as it is not a championships.

Asian Championships silver medalist and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series gold medalist Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) defeated Murat FIRAT (TUR) in Round 2 bout and won the gold medal at 67kg.

Firat got the first par terre advantage in the first period but he failed to score and just before the break, Beishekeev surprised him with a headlock throw for four to lead 4-1. In the second period, Beishekeev got the par terre but he did not score and was happy to defend his 5-1 lead and win.

World U23 champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) won the gold medal at 87kg after won his bouts with dominance. He defeated Batbayar TSOGTBAATAR (MGL), 8-0, and Karan KAMBOJ (IND), 9-0, to finish at the top.

Alperen BERBER (TUR) was also entered but he pulled out injured after suffering a hamstring injury in his first bout against Karan KAMBOJ (IND).

Another Turkiye wrestler who pulled out injured was Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR). He suffered an infection in his elbow day before coming to Mongolia and did not wrestle a single bout. Since only three wrestlers were entered at 82kg, Akbudak still managed to win gold.

But the gold medal was historic. Shahin BADAGHI (QAT) became the first wrestler from Qatar to win gold medal at any international event in Greco-Roman.

Badaghi, an Iranian transfer to Qatar, defeated PRINCE (IND) 9-0 in the only bout the two wrestled in the day. Badaghi scored a takedown and then a suplex for a 6-0 lead. India lost a challenge to make it 7-0 before Badaghi scored a takedown to finish the bout via technical superiority.

Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) gave Turkiye its lone gold medal after beating Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ) in the 77kg final, 5-1. In the earlier Nelson bracket bout, Yilmaz defeated the Kyrgyzstan wrestler 11-3.

Iran and India also won gold medals as Asian champion Danial SOHRABI (IRI) put on a show to win four of his bouts and the gold medal at 72kg.

For India, Anil MOR (IND) won the gold medal at 55kg after he pinned Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ) in the evening session. In his four bouts, Mor gave only two points, against Muratbek Uulu, but pinned him to remain one of the most dominant wrestler of the day.

The 19-year-old was wrestling his first senior international tournament and hails from Bass village, Hisar district in Haryana. He trains at the Guru Mehar Singh Akhada in Rohtak which has always given wrestlers to the Indian team.

For his Round 5 bout against Muratbek Uuku, Mor decided to defend more than attack.

"I had watched his bouts and he was trying to do the underhook and then throw you for the fall," Mor said. "I never gave my arm to him for the drag to underhook."

Though he was given passive in the first period, Mor knew that he has to get out of the par terre position quickly. He did so by sneaking out of Muratbek Uulu's gold and then scoring a takedown.

Instead of going for the turns, Mor held Muratbek Uulu to the mat and then secured the fall to get his first-ever senior medal internationally.

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Anil MOR (IND)
SILVER: Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE: Davaabandi MUNKH ERDENE (MGL)

67kg
GOLD: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
SILVER: Murat FIRAT (TUR)
BRONZE: NEERAJ (IND)

72kg
GOLD: Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
SILVER: Mustafa SAHIN (TUR)
BRONZE: Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)

77kg
GOLD: Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ), 5-1

BRONZE: Nishant PHOGAT (IND) df. Sumiyabazar ZANDANBUD (MGL), 11-0

82kg
GOLD: Shahin BADAGHI (QAT)
SILVER: PRINCE (IND)
BRONZE: Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)

87kg
GOLD: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
SILVER: Batbayar TSOGTBAATAR (MGL)
BRONZE: Karan KAMBOJ (IND)

97kg
GOLD: Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
SILVER: NITESH (IND)
BRONZE: Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL)

African Championship Entries

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On return, Dzhuzupbekov secures gold at Ulaanbaatar Open 2025