#WrestleHammamet

Oborududu leads Nigeria to six golds at African Championships

Friday, May 19, 2023 - 20:28 By Vinay Siwach

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HAMMAMET, Tunisia (May 19) -- For a brief period in the evening session of the African Championships in Hammamet, the local Tunisian fans believed that the nation can win the women's wrestling team title.

Led by Olympic bronze medalist Marwa AMRI (TUN), Tunisia remained at the heels of Nigeria in the race with three gold medals after seven weight classes were finished.

But as the session progressed, Nigeria continued to assert its dominance and defended its team title from last year with 230 points, 51 points more than second-placed Tunisia.

Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) won a record-extending 13th African title at 68kg and helped her team to the top of the podium, even as three-time world medalist Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) skipped the tournament.

Oborududu, who had not wrestled since the World Championships, was in a Nelson bracket. She wrestled four bouts Friday and won all four without giving up a point. She began with a 10-0 thrashing of Samah ABDELLATIF (EGY), followed by a win by the same scoreline against Nassma ESSATOURI (MAR). After pinning Nour JELJELI (TUN) in her third bout, Oborududu received a walkover to claim the gold medal.

Joining her as gold medalists were five other Nigeria wrestlers with Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR) at 50kg, Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) at 53kg, Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR) at 55kg, Mercy ADEKUORIYE (NGR) at 57kg, and Ebi BIOGOS (NGR) at 72kg.

Genesis captured her fourth African title and first since 2019 as she had skipped the previous three editions. With only four wrestlers entered at 50kg, Genesis wrestled in three bouts and outscored her opponents 31-0, all three wins being technical superiority.

Wrestling at her first senior championships, Ogunsanya impressed all in Hammamet as she won the gold medal with three dominant victories. She began with an 11-0 win over Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG) in the quarterfinals followed by a 10-2 win over Shaimaa ABDELZAHER (EGY) in the semifinal.

From the other side of the bracket Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV), reached the 53kg final for the second straight year. But she had no answers to Ogunsanya's attack in the final and lost 11-0.

At 55kg, Adekoye defended her gold medal from El Jadida as she navigated through a Nelson bracket. She first wrestled Zineb HASSOUNE (MAR) and won 13-2. Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN) gave her best to deny Adekoye in Round 2 but she fell short and lost 6-3. In the Round 3 bout, Adekoye hammered Achouak TEKOUK (ALG) 11-0 to win the gold medal.

Last year in El Jadida, Adekuoroye won the 53kg gold medal but she jumped two weight classes to 57kg for Hammamet. However, there was no change in the color of the medal as she won the gold in the new weight class as well.

Despite a big change in weight, Adekuoroye looked in no trouble as she dispatched Veronica AYO (UGA) 11-0, Louji YASSIN (EGY) via fall and Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) 10-0 in the morning. In the semifinal, Adekuoroye continued her strong performance and defeated Bachir FALMATA SALI (CMR) via fall.

Faten HAMMAMI (TUN), who won three of her four bouts via fall, was expected to give a fight in the final but Adekuoroye was in a league of her own and won the gold medal with an 11-0 thrashing.

At 72kg, Biogos pulled off two incredible wins to capture the gold. She upset home favorite Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN) 4-1 in Round 1 and Menatalla BADRAN (EGY) 5-0 in the decisive Round 5 battle.

3 golds for Tunisia

Amri defended her 62kg title for Tunisia, beating Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR), 7-1, in the gold medal bout, a stunning reversal from the morning Round 1 bout in which Kolawole defeated Amri 4-3. Perhaps taking lessons from that loss, Amri changed her strategy in the final and controlled it for six minutes to win 7-1.

At 59kg, Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) held off Patience OPUENE (NGR) 8-3 in the final to win her first African title. She had reached the final of the 59kg weight class last year as well but lost to Odunayo to finish second.

But there was no stopping Bouseta this year as she won four of her bouts via fall and then remained calm against Opuene who did threaten to deny Bouseta of the gold. However, Bouseta managed to win in front of her home crowd.

Only three wrestlers were entered at 65kg and Khadija JLASSI (TUN) made sure she emerges as the best among them.

The 21-year-old began her day with a 10-0 win over Eunice MBURU (KEN) in Round 1 and looked in trouble against Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR) who led 5-0 in the Round 2 bout.

But Mughenbofa was not aware of Jlassi's ability to pull off big throws. Jlassi, like many times in her career, unleashed a big throw and put Mughenbofa to her back to secure the fall and capture the gold medal.

Jlassi had missed out on the gold medal last year, winning silver at 65kg. But she has begun this year on a good note, winning the bronze medals at the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series and Dan Kolov international tournament.

Hamza defends

World silver medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) managed to defend her 76kg gold medal in Hammamet after a close 4-2 win over Hannah RUEBEN (NGR) in the final.

This was Hamza's sixth African title as she continues to chase Doaa MAHER (EGY) who won a record seven gold medals for Egypt at the event.

In the first bout of the day, Hamza humbled Amy YOUIN (CIV) 11-0 but faced a stern test against Anta SAMBOU (SEN) in Round 2. She survived, barely, to win 3-2.

Hamza pinned Ranim SAIDI (TUN) in the semifinal before winning the gold medal over Rueben.

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RESULTS

Women's wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
SILVER: Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)
BRONZE: Emma WANGILA (KEN)

53kg
GOLD: Christianah OGUNSANYA (NGR) df. Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV), 11-0

BRONZE: Ibtissem DOUDOU (ALG) df. Shaimaa ABDELZAHER (EGY), via fall
BRONZE: Abir ZARROUKI (TUN) df. Elisa NOMENJANAHARY (MAD), via inj. def.

55kg
GOLD: Jumoke ADEKOYE (NGR)
SILVER: Achouak TEKOUK (ALG)
BRONZE: Lobna ICHAOUI (TUN)

57kg
GOLD: Mercy ADEKUOROYE (NGR) df. Faten HAMMAMI (TUN), 11-0

BRONZE: Rayane HOUFAF (ALG) df. Bachir FALMATA SALI (CMR), via fall (6-8)

59kg
GOLD: Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) df. Patience OPUENE (NGR), 8-3

BRONZE: Farah HUSSEIN (EGY) df. Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG), 5-0

62kg
GOLD: Marwa AMRI (TUN) vs. Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR), 7-1

BRONZE: Fatoumata CAMARA (GUI) df. Mastoura SOUDANI (ALG), via inj.

65kg
GOLD: Khadija JLASSI (TUN)
SILVER: Ebipatei MUGHENBOFA (NGR)
BRONZE: Eunice MBURU (KEN)

68kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
SILVER: Samah ABDELLATIF (EGY)
BRONZE: Nour JELJELI (TUN)

72kg
GOLD: Ebi BIOGOS (NGR)
SILVER: Menatalla BADRAN (EGY)
BRONZE: Zaineb SGHAIER (TUN)

76kg
GOLD: Samar HAMZA (EGY) df. Hannah RUEBEN (NGR), 4-2

BRONZE: Anta SAMBOU (SEN) df. Ranim SAIDI (TUN), via fall

#WrestleBelgrade

Wrestling scores big at World C'ships with 706 percent jump in engagements

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 - 20:21 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (October 4) -- Wrestling scored big both on and off the mat during this year’s UWW World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, recording a staggering growth in viewership and engagement numbers digitally. Fans watched twenty-seven million minutes, close to 10 million page views on the mobile app, and a massive 706 percent jump in social media engagements in the last year.

The 2022 edition of the UWW’s flagship event, held September 10-18 was the first digitally-focussed World Championships. Special emphasis was laid on providing a high-quality fan experience that was easy to navigate and, at the same time, engaging to follow on the website, app, and various social media platforms. And the athleticism of the wrestlers drove the digital consumption, with wrestling recording impressive numbers across all platforms.

"The latest numbers from the World Championships show the importance of digitalization and with the current times, UWW is moving into the digital era," Nenad LALOVIC, UWW President, said. "The growth is reflected by the increased engagement across UWW’s new digital platforms and social media channels. This year's World Championships and the millions of fans who watched, interacted, or helped us grow, have laid the foundation for expanding the federation's digital potential."

Be it the UWW website, mobile app, the new streaming hub, or social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, wrestling showed impressive year-on-year growth compared to last year’s World Championship on different metrics, such as social media growth, total views, total minutes and time spent on the web.

“We made the digital jump during these World Championships and the results validated our initial projections that now was the time more than ever to invest into a more robust digital experience across UWW platforms,” Gordon Templeman, UWW Commercial and Communications Director said. “There was tremendous benefit from a consolidation of tools that are more interconnected than ever before. We made an initial push in a short period of time and are optimistic for continued growth.”

Key highlights from the data analysis are:

* 27 million minutes were watched during the World Championship on the new video streaming hub, which gave the fans control of the viewing experience due to its multi-view option;

* The new UWW mobile app received 9.77 million page views and an average of 13 minutes and 46 seconds per session were spent, which is roughly equivalent to one bout. The high numbers meant the app topped the sports categories in app stores in key UWW markets;

* The total social media engagements surpassed 6.2 million in September, up by 706 percent since the 2021 World Championships.

Apart from these, the average time spent on the website grew by 41 percent to seven minutes, and the total page views across the website and mobile app were recorded at close to 19 million.

"Data is key to delivering digital experiences that fans want," Hisham Shehabi, COO, N3XT Sports, said. "Therefore, a diverse digital ecosystem helps augment fan intelligence capability. With 500 social media posts, millions in streaming viewership, and increased overall engagement, UWW's ability to customize the user experience has grown."

The massive growth is a direct consequence of the path-breaking steps taken by the UWW in the last few years under the leadership of President Lalovic. The UWW has identified and prioritized digital transformation as one of the five pillars for its 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which was presented and approved at the 2021 UWW Congress.

UWW has taken several steps aimed at improving the fan experience and increasing the value to its partners to become future-proof and modernize further. A new mobile app was launched along with a video hub, which offered features like the multi-functionality view during the live streaming. This is one of the best examples of fan-led design and development as this was in direct response to the fans’ behavior while streaming.

“We focused our efforts on digital tools that would improve the competition for our fans and those at the competition. Launching an App, developing a video hub and putting in motion an audience database was a challenge, but the World Championships were too big of an opportunity not to start in this new digital direction,” said Sebastien Guenat, UWW Director of IT.

The 2022 World Championships also helped the UWW to establish itself as a true media and entertainment content house, creating more than 500 posts during the World Championships for use across its channels.

All these initiatives have helped the UWW establish a direct relationship with the fans and expand the digital footprint, as evident from the latest figures.