#WrestlePlovdiv

Live Blog: U23 European Championships Day 4

By Vinay Siwach

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria (March 10) -- The U23 European Championships enters day four with the final five weight classes of women's wrestling in action. A few of the junior stars will be eyeing glory at the U23 level and the front runners Thursday are the Hungary and Poland teams.

MATCH ORDER | WATCH LIVE

1350: On Mat C, Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER) had no answer Tuende ELEKES (HUN) attacks. The Junior World Championships silver medalist Schneider falls 5-0 in the 72kg quarterfinals

1345: U23 World Championships silver medalist Kendra DACHER (FRA) remains calm despite trailing against Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA). Down 5-4, she came out with a four-point throw and secured an 8-5 lead. She did give up two more points but that did not matter much.

1325: Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR) beats Patrycja GIL (POL) at 57kg. Gil had a 6-4 lead heading into the final minute but Kamaloglu scored via a head pinch and got the two for exposure to lead 6-6. Gil had six seconds to score a point to win but she fails.

1315: Viktoria VESSO (EST) on Mat C against Birgul SOLTANOVA  (AZE). Vesso was trailing 7-6 in the final 10 seconds but a fleeing caution against Soltanova gives her the win, 7-7 on criteria.

1300: Zhala ALIYEVA (AZE) gets the fall over Ameline DOUARRE (FRA). Beautiful cradle to end the bout in the first period

1215: Patrycja GIL (POL) with a big four-pointer against Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and she comes on top in the battle of two returning silver medalists. Dollak goes down 13-2

1200: Merve KARADENIZ (TUR) with a controlled win over Kelsey BARNES (GBR). The Great Britain wrestler to make it to the U23 Europeans.

1145: What a start we had. Tamara DOLLAK (HUN) and Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL) were involved in a battle. Dollak had a 7-4 lead with less than 40 seconds left but Belberova snuck out a single-leg attack to left and scored four points. But Dollak scored an ankle pick for a takedown to win 9-8

1130: We are beginning with only two mats. 72kg will have a Nelson system.

2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games

Oborududu Named Athlete Role Model for 2026 Dakar YOG

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 15) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) was announced as one of the 36 Athlete Role Models for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.

Oborududu, a silver medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, has been a stalwart in Nigerian sports and represented the country for close to two decades. In Tokyo, she made history by winning silver medal at 68kg in Women's Wrestling, becoming Nigeria’s first‑ever Olympic medallist in the sport.

The four-time Olympian was also a 14-tim African champion, a record that still stands. She compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and finished fifth.

The Athlete Role Models will provide mentoring and workshop training to young athletes on site during Dakar 2026. They will be on the ground in Senegal to engage with competing athletes, providing support and advice around competition and taking part in educational workshops. These workshops cover topics such as career management, injury prevention and mental preparation, among many other things.

The group will also attend training sessions, engage with the local community, support the athletes from the sidelines and be there to congratulate them at victory ceremonies.

The Dakar 2026 YOG will take place from October 31 to November 13, 2026, bringing together around 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17 across three host zones: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.