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LIVE BLOG: African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier, Day Three

Sunday, April 4, 2021 - 06:01 By United World Wrestling Press

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (April 4) -- Six countries claimed the 12 Olympic berths that were available on Sunday.

2000 hrs: Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY) and Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG) qualify Egypt and Algeria for the Tokyo Games at 125kg 

1940 hrs: Down goes Rio Olympian Soso TAMARAU (NGR). Former African champion at 97kg, Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) gets a 6-2 win over the Nigerian and qualifies Algeria for Tokyo Olympics

1927 hrs: Another Olympic quota for Tunisia! Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) beats Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY) 6-1 to win the ticket for his country 

1915 hrs: Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) and Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) earn the Tokyo berths for their respective countries. The Algerian defeated Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY) 3-1 while the Nigerian won 12-2 against Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS)

1856 hrs: Three-time Olympian Augusto MIDANA (GBS) defeats African champion Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG) 4-1 to win the ticket to Tokyo. 

1845 hrs: American Samoa have to wait for their third freestyle wrestler at Olympics. Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY) shatters the dreams of Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA) with a 10-0 win at 74kg semifinal 

1842 hrs: Local boy Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN) steps up in style. He qualifies Tunisia for Tokyo by beating Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY) 6-3

1830 hrs: Adama DIATTA (SEN) qualifies Senegal for the Tokyo Olympics. What a stunning performance from the Rio Olympian as he beats Aime Mbolalalaina Joel RAKOTONIAINA (MAD) 10-0 in the 65kg semifinal 

1825 hrs: Three takedowns and a point for stepout. It's 10-0 win for Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) as he qualifies his country for the Games.

1820 hrs: Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) with a point for activity and a takedown to lead Chakir ANSARI (MAR) 3-0 at the break in the second semifinal at 57kg. 

1813 hrs: Algeria with the first Olympic berth of the night! Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) mounts a strong comeback to beat Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM) 15-8 to qualify his nation for the Tokyo Games

1805 hrs: Asebias with a takedown and a gut to lead 6-1 against two-time African champion Kherbache. He gets another takedown but Kherbache with a four! Asebias 8-5 at the break

1800 hrs: We're back! Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) is wrestling Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM) for a place in the 57kg final. The winner also earns a ticket to Tokyo 

1745 hrs: We are 15 minutes away from the second session in Hammamet. Mat B will see all the action of the qualifiers

1245 hrs: We have are semifinalists! 24 wrestlers are now locked in and will wrestle for the 12 Olympic spots on offer in Hammamet

At 74kg, Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY) vs Elias Lauofo VAOIFI (ASA) and Augusto MIDANA (GBS) vs Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG) are the two semifinals

At 97kg, Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN) will wrestle Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY) in the first semifinal while Soso TAMARAU (NGR) will be wrestling Mohammed FARDJ (ALG) in the second semifinal

Diaaeldin Kamal Gouda ABDELMOTTALEB (EGY) at 125kg sets up a semifinal against Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA) while Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG) will take on Abdelmoneim ADOULI (TUN)

1230 hrs: Two more semifinals set. At 57kg,  Chakir ANSARI (MAD) will take on Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) while in semifinal two, Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG) will be up against  Junjun ASEBIAS (FSM).

1215 hrs: Senegal's Rio Olympian Adama Diatta will be looking to qualify for the Games again as he makes his way to the semifinals at 65kg. He will take on Aime Mbolalalaina Joel RAKOTONIAINA (MAD) 

1200 hrs: We have our first set of semifinals for the night. The two winners will get a ticket to Tokyo Olympics. At 86kg, Jayden Alexander LAWRENCE (AUS) vs Ekerekeme AGIOMOR (NGR) and Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY) vs Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG) will wrestle for the two spots in the final

1137 hrs: Senior Africa Championships bronze medalist at 125kg Johannes Jacobus KRIEL (RSA) if knocked out in a thriller. Djahid BERRAHAL (ALG), who was a silver medalist at the same tournament, 8-8 

1134 hrs: Did you see that? Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG), the silver medalist in Africa, with a 10-0 mauling of Guy Robert DE LUMEAU JR (PLW)

1130 hrs: Junior African champion Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY) holds off Amas DANIEL (NGR) 4-3 to advance in the 65kg qualifications

1128 hrs: What a show from local boy Haitem DAKHLAOUI (TUN). The African champion at 70kg starts his qualifying tournament at 65kg with a 14-3 tech victory over Mostafa REZAEIFAR (AUS). Six guts to finish it off

1110 hrs: Former African Youth Games champion Diamantino IUNA FAFE (GBS) gets going with a 6-1 win over Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY). Good start for the youngster

1100 hrs: Hammamet is ready for the final day of wrestling at the African and Oceania Olympic qualifiers.

Development

Croatia continues to Train and Develop their Coaches and Referees

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 11:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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POREC, Croatia (June 3) – The Croatian Wrestling Federation continues to add educational activities for their coaches and referees. The previous year, they hosted a Level 2 course on the Introduction to Practice Planning. This year they organized a Level 3 coaching course on Periodization and Coaching Philosophy.  They also organized a Level 1 – Introduction to Referee course for their younger national referees. This year’s courses were conducted on 21-24 May in the beautiful city of Porec and was done in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and United World Wrestling. 

The coaching course was led by UWW Educator Mr. Nenad Žugaj (CRO).  During the course, the 26 participants developed a better understanding of how periodization works when designing training sessions.  They were able to integrate those concepts and design their own plans.  The participants also focused on developing a coaching philosophy that they can use with their teams.

“The participants were active, I think they relaxed more and more every day and thus became more creative in their answers. I am pleased with the energy that prevailed and the positivity of the participants through jokes but also more serious topics.” said Mr. Žugaj  Eric, one of the coach participants said, “’I really liked the course and I would like to see such educations held more often. I especially liked how we, the coaches and referees, had joint lectures and assignments and were able to give opinions and views from different perspectives. I am looking forward to the next Level 4 course.”

CROParticipants look on doing the education courses held in Croaita during the final week of May. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The referee course was led by UWW Educator Ms. Edit Dozsa (ITA). The course had 13 participants who focused on the fundamentals of being a good referee.  They focused on the evaluation of holds, how to properly start and end matches, proper referee mechanics, and keeping the athletes safe during bouts.  The referee participants were able to practice their skills through simulated matches and practical assessments. 

Both the coaches and referees had some working sessions together. They were able to analyze the roles of the coaches and of the referees. This helps give them a better understanding of the jobs that they do. They also discussed the importance of athlete safeguarding in wrestling.

“The cooperation with the educators Edit and Nenad was very good and successful. I visited the lectures on a couple of occasions and found them to be educational and interesting. The feedback from our coaches and judges was positive.” said Tin Bregović.

The Croatian Wrestling Federation also hosted a competition at the end of the courses. This competition allowed the coaches and referees to practice some of the skills that they had just learned during the course.