#WrestleHammamet

Nigerian Women Nab Five African Golds, Egypt Grabs Six GR Titles

Saturday, March 30, 2019 - 20:17 By Eric Olanowski

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (March 30) – For the third consecutive year, Nigerian women ignited for at least five African gold medals and nabbed the women’s wrestling team title. Nigeria’s women, who finished with 195 points, swiped medals in nine of ten weights and had five wrestlers reach the top of the podium at the African Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia. 

The five Nigerian gold medalists were Miesinnei GENESIS (50kg), Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (57kg), Sunmisola BALOGUN (65kg), Blessing OBORUDUDU (68kg), and Blessing ONYEBUCHI (76kg). 

Odunayo Adekuroye, the 2017 world silver medalist, was the only Nigerian wrestler to win a non-Nordic style bracket. In the 57kg finals, Adekuroye used a cross-ankle pick to score the 29-second fall over Cameroon’s Joseph ESSOMBE TIAKO, picking up her fourth consecutive continental title. 

The other four gold medalists won their titles by going undefeated in the round robin competitions. 

Meanwhile, the host nation of Tunisia (177 points), led by their 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI finished in second place with a pair of champions. Tunisia’s two winners were Amri and Faten HAMMAMI. 

In what was expected to be the women’s wrestling bout of the night, 62kg, Amri dumped Aminat ADENIYI (NGR) to her back and scored the early first-period fall. Amri’s title-winning performance on Saturday night in Hammamet gave her an eleventh continental title. She now holds ten African Championship gold medals and one African Games title. 

Faten Hammami won Tunisia’s second women’s wrestling gold medal after going undefeated in the 55kg Nordic bracket. 

The third-place finishers, Egypt (160 points), won gold medals in three Nordic weight categories. Their three champions were Hala AHMED, Eman EBRAHIM, and Samar HAMZA, who won African titles at 53kg, 59kg, and 72kg respectively.

In Greco-Roman, Egypt (220 points) upended defending champions Algeria (192 points) by winning six golds and three silver medals. The six Egyptian champions were Moamen MOHAMED (60kg), Haithem MAHMOUD (63kg), Haithem MAHMOUD (67kg), Ahmed AHMED (82kg), Mohamed METWALLY (87kg), and Abdellatif MOHAMED (130kg). 

Of those six individual champions, Haithem Mahmound and Mohamed Metwally were the only two who competed in traditional brackets.

At 63kg, Haithem Mahmound claimed his second consecutive African gold medal with a fall over Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN). Mahmoud built a five-point lead off a passivity point and a pair of gut wrenches before stopping a Tunisian headlock to pick up the fall. 

The second non-Nordic bracket champion was 87kg gold medalist Mohamed Metwally. Metwally ended his gold-medal bout early with a four-point throw after commanding the 6-0 lead over Algeria Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 10-0. 

Algeria, who had three individual champions and 192 points, finished in second place, 28 points behind Egypt. The trio of Algerian champion was Abdelkarim FERGAT (55kg), Tarek BENAISSA (72kg), Adem BOUDJEMLINE (97kg). 

Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR) reached the top of the African podium for the tenth time with his 77kg title-winning performance on Saturday night. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

The tenth and final Greco-Roman gold medal of the day went to Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR), who won the 77kg title, improved on his runner-up finished from a year ago, claiming his tenth African title. 

The final day of wrestling at the African Championships begins Sunday at 10:30 (local time). 

RESULTS

Women’s Wrestling

TEAM SCORES
GOLD - Nigeria (195 points)
SILVER - Tunisia (177 points)
BRONZE - Egypt (160 points)
Fourth - Algeria (83 points)
Fifth - Senegal  (57 points)

50kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) 
SILVER – Nada MOHAMED (EGY) 
BRONZE – Kheira YAHIAOUI (ALG) 

53kg (Round Robin)
GOLD –  Hala AHMED (EGY)
SILVER –  Sarra HAMDI (TUN)
BRONZE –Rosemary NWEKE (NGR) 

55kg (Round Robin)
GOLD –Faten HAMMAMI  (TUN)
SILVER –Lamia CHEMLAL (ALG) 
BRONZE – Faten AHMED (EGY) 

57kg 
GOLD – Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) df. Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR), via fall 
BRONZE – Dorssaf GHARSSI (TUN) df. Chaimaa Fouzia AOUISSI (ALG), 11-6 

59kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Eman EBRAHIM (EGY) 
SILVER – Khouloud EL OUNI (TUN)  
BRONZE – Ifeoma Christiana NWOYE (NGR)

62kg 
GOLD – Marwa AMRI (TUN) vs. Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR), via fall 
BRONZE – Berthe Emilienne ETANE NGOLLE (CMR) df. Fatoumata Yarie CAMARA (GUI), 1-1 

65kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Sunmisola BALOGUN (NGR) df. Yvette ZIE (BUR), 1-0 
BRONZE – Nour JELJELI (TUN) df. Amel HAMMICHE (ALG), 12-5

68kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
SILVER – Anta SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE – Lilia MEJRI (TUN)

72kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Samar HAMZA (EGY)
SILVER – Hannah Amuchechi RUEBEN (NGR)
BRONZE – Wiem TRABELSI (TUN)

76kg (Round Robin)
GOLD –  Blessing ONYEBUCHI (NGR)
SILVER – Mona AHMED (EGY)
BRONZE – Rihem AYARI (TUN)

Greco-Roman

TEAM SCORES
GOLD - Egypt (220 points)
SILVER - Algeria (192 points)
BRONZE - Tunisia (139 points)
Fourth - Morocco (119 points)
Fifth - Congo DR (51 points)

55kg (Round Robin)
GOLD –  Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
SILVER –  Ahmed BAGHDOUDA (EGY)
BRONZE –Romio Ricardo GOLIATH (NAM) 

60kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Moamen MOHAMED (EGY) 
SILVER – Abdennour LAOUNI (ALG) 
BRONZE – Moez JALEL (TUN) 

63kg 
GOLD – Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY) df. Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN), via fall 
BRONZE – Fouad FAJARI (MAR) df. Gert COETZEE (RSA), 9-0 

67kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
SILVER – Souleymen NASR (TUN) 
BRONZE – Bilal EL BAHJA (MAR)

72kg 
GOLD – Tarek BENAISSA (ALG) df. Aziz BOUALEM (MAR), 7-1 
BRONZE – Emmanuel NWORIE (NGR) df. Lamjed MAAFI (TUN), 10-9 

77kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR)
SILVER – Mohamed Ehab Mohamed Zahab KHALIL (EGY)
BRONZE – Wael SELMI (TUN)

82kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Ahmed Mahmoud AHMED (EGY)
SILVER –  Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (ALG)
BRONZE –  Hakim TRABELSI (TUN)

87kg 
GOLD – Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 10-0 
BRONZE – Mohamed Skander MISSAOUI (TUN) df. Reda MOUENISS (MAR), 8-0 

97kg
GOLD – Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG) df. Mohamed Ali Elsayed GABR (EGY), 2-1 
BRONZE – Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) df. Choucri ATAFI (MAR), 3-1
BRONZE - Francisco Nkunga NGONDA (ANG) df. Mohamed BUNDU (SLE), 14-5

130kg (Round Robin)
GOLD – Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
SILVER – Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG)
BRONZE – Mohamed Fadhel BLAGHJI (TUN)

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling: Iran's return to top; Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan win first golds

Sunday, September 28, 2025 - 13:44 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI-PIERIA, Greece (September 27) -- Iran’s return to Beach Wrestling after an eight-year absence could have been cautious. Instead, it was commanding.

Iran won four medals, including two golds, to claim the men’s team title at the U17 World Beach Wrestling Championships after a close race with Georgia, which finished second with 75 points to Iran’s 80. Azerbaijan was third with 62 points.

In the women's category, hosts Greece managed to go past France to finish first with 50 points while France ended up second with 42. The United States was third with 32 points.

The U17 World Championships is a significant stop in Beach Wrestling as it will be taken into consideration for while awarding the quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games.

IranIran's two gold medalists in Greece, Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI), left, at 90kg and Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI), right, at 70kg.

Gold medalists for Iran, Youssof HOSSEIN (IRI) at 70kg and Mahdi FOTOUHI (IRI) at 90kg, were competing in Beach Wrestling for the first time but never let their inexperience affect their performances.

Hossein, who defeated Stefan MUNTEAN (MDA) in the knockout match, was placed in Group D with Yuki UEDA (JPN), Nikolaos PAPADOPOULOS (GRE) and Ilie TURCAN (MDA). He defeated Papadopoulos 3-1 in the group bout before blanking Turcan 3-0 in just 40 seconds. He was quicker against Ueda, winning in 34 seconds.

Facing Luka MAKHARADZE (GEO) in the quarterfinals, Hossein scored a 3-1 victory and took only 40 seconds to beat Rashad ALIYEV (AZE) in the semifinals.

In an all-Iran final, Hossein fell behind 1-0 against Ilyar VEGHARI (IRI) but stormed back with two straight points with a knee and head touch from Veghari. He used a lateral drop as his final move to win 5-1. Veghari's lost challenge added to Hossein's score and made it 6-1.

Fotouhi was even more dominant at 90kg, winning all three of his group bouts via fall. Charilaos CHAITIDIS (GRE) survived getting pinned in the quarterfinals but Fotouhi was strong enough to win 3-0 and advance to the semifinals.

After winning the semifinal 2-1 against Elgun KARIMLI (AZE), Fotouhi was back to his dominant self and slammed Joni SHAORSHADZE (GEO) to pick his fourth fall in six bouts and the gold medal for Iran.

Fotouhi began with a step out to earn his first point of the final. Both wrestlers arm-locked each other and tried to throw at the edge but it was Shaorshadze who touched outside first which gave Fotouhi his second point.

In one of those moments when his Freestyle instincts took over, Fotouhi went for duckunder and touched his knee on the sand which gave Shaorshadze a point to make the score 2-1. The Georgian tried a fireman carry in the final 10 seconds but Fotouhi pancaked him for a fall.

At 60kg, Mykyta KUZMENKO (UKR) defeated Rati BERIDZE (GEO) twice, first in the group stages and then in final, to claim the gold medal.

Kuzmenko blanked all his opponents barring Beridze who managed to score one point when the two met in the Group B bout. However, the Ukrainian improved and gave no chance to Beridze in the final, winning 3-0.

The Ukrainian was quick to score two step-outs and lead 2-0 and when Beridze tried to score a point, Kuzmenko snapped him down and scored his third and winning point.

Georgia had another silver medalist, Nuradin MUSTAFAEV (GEO), who suffered a one-sided loss in the 80kg final to Nihad SULEYMANLI (AZE), who had represented Azerbaijan at the U17 World Championships in Athens in August.

Suleymanli did not give up a single point in the tournament and won the final against Mustafaev 3-0. He scored a step-out to open the scoring in the final before Mustafaev fell on the ground to give a second point. The Georgian wrestler tried tripping Suleymanli but instead gave a takedown for one point to drop the final.

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan's first-ever gold medalist Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) with other team members.

Historic golds for Puerto Rico, Azerbaijan

In the women's category, Puerto Rico and Azerbaijan earned historic golds as four different countries crowned champions.

Heklanys RIVERA (PUR), the first woman to compete in Beach Wrestling for her country, made a stunning run to the gold medal at 45kg. She did not give up a single point in six bouts including the final.

Taking on Kaltouma SALISSOU (FRA) in the final, Rivera was put on the 30-second activity clock. With eight seconds remaining, Rivera used an underhook to get the first takedown for a point.

The second point was awarded to Rivera when Salissou committed a foul by grabbing Rivera's shorts. The winning takedown was similar to the first one as Rivera moved from underhook to tripping Salissou.

For Azerbaijan, 15-year-old Ulviyya MUSAYEVA (AZE) needed only 16 seconds to create history. She defeated last year's champion Reisa KOJIMA (JPN) via fall in the 55kg final. Kojima tried hitting a lateral drop in the final but fell on her back, which gave Musayeva three points for the win.

Earlier, Musayeva had lost one of the group bouts against Mia KOVAC (CRO) via fall but rebounded to win all remaining bouts to make the final and then capture the gold medal.

Hosts Greece, which won the team title, earned the gold medal at 75kg through Elena ZAIMIDOU (GRE) who scored a 32-second victory via fall over Madeline HAYDEN (USA) in the final.

Zaimidou, who has competed and won gold in Grappling at the European level, secured three victories via fall, and a victory via superiority over Merily VAESTER (EST) in the semifinals.

In the gold medal bout, Hayden stunned the local fans when she hit a beautiful over-the-head suplex on Zaimidou. Hayden went for a second suplex, but Zaimidou blocked her, using a headlock, and Hayden fell on her back which gave Zaimidou three points and the victory.

Hayden challenged the scoring but the points were confirmed on review and Zaimidou was awarded a point for lost challenge, which made her score 4-1.

European bronze medalist in Women's Wrestling, Alexandra MOISEI (MDA) earned the gold medal at 65kg after some nervous wins. She defeated Thea ROUSSEL (FRA), 3-0, in the final in 49 seconds using three easy snapdowns.