#WrestleElJadida

African Championships preview: Oborududu chases record 11th title

Friday, May 13, 2022 - 16:57 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

EL JADIDA, Morocco (May 13) -- Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) has spent around nine months off competition. A heartbreaking loss in Tokyo meant that she missed out on a medal at her second straight Games. But with African Championships and Commonwealth Games scheduled within three months, the World silver medalist is back for the continental tournament beginning next week in El Jadida.

As she is coming back after a break, the five-time African champion is jumping up to 59kg for the tournament. While she has nothing to prove at the competition, it will be a warm-up before she goes for her title defense at the Commonwealth Games in August.

Along with Adekuoroye, Nigeria will pin hopes on Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) to guide the country to defend their team title. The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist will be looking for her 11th straight African title.

Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) will be eyeing her sixth African title. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

Oborududu, unlike her younger compatriot Adekuoroye, wrestled at the World Championships in Oslo after the Olympics but lost early. But she began the 2022 season with a gold medal at the Ranking Series in Istanbul in February.

That victory included a win over world champion Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) in the final. Oborududu had defeated her in the quarterfinal of the Tokyo Games as well.

Nigeria has entered nine wrestlers out of ten weight classes as it has missed the 62kg. It may prove tricky as its biggest challenger Tunisia has entries in all 10 weight categories.

It will be a close battle between the two nations for the title as Tokyo Olympians Sarra HAMDI (TUN), Siwar BOUSETA (TUN), Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) and Rio bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN) are leading the charge for their country. Also in the mix is young star Khadija JLASSI (TUN) at 65kg.

Adekouroye and Bouseta will clash head-on at 59kg and that may prove to be crucial in deciding which country finishes at the top.

Samar HAMZA (EGY)Samar HAMZA (EGY) will be the favorite to win the 76kg weight class. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Usually, at continental championships, freestyle and Greco-Roman styles highlight the competition but that is not the case for African Championships.

Apart from Nigeria and Tunisia, Egypt will also be banking on making a good run at the tournament.

Its first-ever world medalist and defending champion Samar HAMZA (EGY) will be competing at 76kg and at her fifth continental championships. Ever since she began competing at the senior level in 2016, she is yet to lose a bout.

So when wrestling begins Saturday, all eyes will be on these stars who are chasing continental glory before the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in September.

Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA)Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA) will be making his senior African Championships debut. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

In freestyle and Greco-Roman, a few names stand out that fans need to follow.

Algeria is the favorite to defend their freestyle team title from 2020 and two-time African champion Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) is jumping up to 61kg and will be looking for his third title and first at the new weight.

At 57kg, Tokyo Olympian Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) will be eyeing his first African title after missing out on one in 2020 when he finished with a silver medal. His biggest challenge will be Salah KATEB (ALG) who is competing at the senior African Championships for the first time. He won the junior title in 2017.

Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) at 86kg will be a star attraction as the youngster chases his first gold at the tournament after missing out in 2020. The experience at the Tokyo Olympics will also be beneficial for him to negotiate the challenge of his opponents.

Junior world bronze medalist Nicolaas DE LANGE (RSA) will be the favorite to win the 97kg weight class but Abderrahmane BENACHA (ALG) will be a big name to overcome.

U23 world silver medalist from 2018 Youssif HEMIDA (EGY), who trains in the USA, will be the favorite to win the three-man 125kg bracket.

With Tokyo bronze medalist Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY) giving the tournament a miss, Egypt wrestler will have a challenging road if it wants to win the team title. The race may come down to Algeria and Tunisia as these two nations are the only ones with 10 wrestlers entered.

The U17 and U20 African Championships will also be held in El Jadida. The U17 tournament begins Tuesday, U20 begins Thursday and the senior will begin Saturday with women's and Greco-Roman. Freestyle will close out the tournament on Sunday.

Live action and highlights from all the three competitions will be on uww.org.

#WrestleNoviSad

U23 Worlds: Fujinami ready for first international test at 57kg

Friday, October 10, 2025 - 10:32 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

TOKYO, Japan (October 9) -- She already has an Olympic gold and two senior world titles, not to mention a 141-match winning streak that dates back to her junior high school days. And there is that undefeated record against non-Japanese opponents.

So what has compelled Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) to even bother entering the U23 World Championships, a tournament that, on paper at least, she should have no problem winning?

Rest assured there is method to what she would not regard as madness. It is all part of a grand plan, centered on the 21-year-old's much-publicized move from 53kg directly up to the next Olympic weight of 57kg with eyes firmly on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"This will by my first world tournament since I moved up in weight class," Fujinami said in an interview via social media. "I want to try out what I have been practicing, and get an idea of where I stand in terms of my current ability. I also want to identify areas to work on ahead of the All-Japan Championships in December."

Fujinami tops the marquee as she makes her debut at the U23 World Championships, to be held October 20-27 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Currently in her senior year at Nippon Sports Science University, it will be just her third competition since she cruised to the 53kg gold at the Paris Olympics, where she won all four matches by either fall or technical superiority.

The two other outings -- one a collegiate team event in November 2024 and the other the Japan Queen's Cup in April at which she qualified for the U23 Worlds -- did not provide much of a workout. She won a total of four matches in a combined time of 7:11 without giving up a point.

Fujinami expressed no concerns about her extended absence from top-level competition. "This will be my first tournament in six months," she said. "I'm not worried about regaining my match feeling. For the Olympics, I had about a seven-month blank."

Fujinami had at first planned to try for the senior worlds, but decided she would not be ready as she makes the physical adjustment to 57kg. So will we see a bulked-up Fujinami in Novi Sad?

"Compared with the time when I was in the 53kg class, my natural weight is more than then," Fujinami said. "I am also going to have cut weight before the tournament at 57kg. I'm also working hard on weight training, and I'll try to show the effects of that in the matches."

Despite her exalted status, Fujinami knows not to take any opponent lightly – a lesson she learned fully well when she won her second senior world title in 2023. In the quarterfinals, she was stunned when Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) tagged her for five points early in the match and seven overall, marking the most points ever scored upon her by a non-Japanese.

Although Fujinami came back to take the lead and win by fall, it showed any lapse can lead to disaster – which, ironically, makes the sport more appealing for her.

“You never know what will happen in a match,” Fujinami said. “But I think that’s what makes it interesting. For me, a match is like a presentation of yourself, so I will go into it aiming to win while having fun.”

In Novi Sad, Fujinami may have to share some of the spotlight with compatriot, fellow Paris Olympic gold medalist and recently crowned senior world champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN).

A victory by Motoki at 62kg would make her the third member of the “Golden Grand Slam” club -- those who have combined an Olympic gold with titles on the senior and all three age-group levels. The two current members are Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Amit ELOR (USA).

Ironically, circumstances beyond her control worked against Fujinami ever having a chance to also gain entry into the club.

A world U17 champion in 2018, she was deprived twice of chances to win a U20 world title – first in 2021 when Japan opted to not send a team during the pandemic, and again in 2022 when an injury forced her to withdraw. Those same years she qualified for the U23 worlds, but missed out for the same reasons.

This time, her preparations have gone without a hitch. "I've been able to continue to train and practice without any major injuries," she said.

Prior to securing a second Olympic gold in Los Angeles, Fujinami has a more immediate goal — winning her first at the Asian Games, to be held next October in Nagoya / Aichi Prefecture, which borders her native Mie Prefecture. Because of the early deadline for entries, she needs a victory at the All-Japan Championships in December to make the Japanese squad.

“My goals are to win gold at the Asian Games in Nagoya and at the Los Angeles Olympics,” she said. “To achieve those goals, I’ve dedicated myself to strengthening myself during this period. It’s been a time for me to look inside myself and explore my wrestling. Now the time has come to show the results.”