One of Nigeria’s leading female wrestlers, Blessing Oborodudu has promised that she and her colleagues in the national team will put in more effort and take a better approach to their preparations for African Wrestling Championship in Algiers, Algeria, megasportsarena.com reports.
While also assuring lovers of the grapplers’ sport that the country’s contingent will strife to do better in Algeria than they did in their last international outing, the nine time African champion disclosed that they will adopt the untiring Nigerian spirit to overcome all odds.
Oborududu and 13 others will represent Nigeria at the 2020 African Wrestling Championship, where she and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, Odunayo Adekuoroye, will be the cynosure of all eyes from 3rd to 9th February, but she stressed that all members of the team will give their respective best efforts during the forthcoming competition in Algiers.
The team of 10 female and five male wrestlers finalised preparations for the competition at their respective camps in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State and Akure, Ondo State, from where four time African champions Aminat Adeniyi (62kg), Mercy Genesis (50kg), Amas Daniel (65kg), Emmanuel John (74kg) and Soso Tamarau (97kg) also exuded confindence of glory in the coming month.
World champion in beach wrestling Blessing Onyebuchi (76kg), African champions Sunmisola Balogun (72kg), Bose Samuel (53kg), Bisola Makanjuola (59kg), Welson Ebikewino (57kg) and Ekerekeme Agiomor (86kg) are also in the squad, which will be accompanied by four coaches and four officials.
The women are Mercy Genesis (50kg), Bose Samuel (53kg), Esther Kolawole (55kg), Odunayo Adekuoroye (57kg), Bisola Makunjuola (59kg), Aminat Adeniyi (62kg), Hannah Reuben (65kg), Blessing Oborududu (68kg), Sunmisola Balogun (72kg) and Blessing Onyebuchi (76kg).
Those for men’s freestyle are Ebikewenimo Welson (57kg), Amas Daniel (65kg), Emmanuel John (74kg), Ekerekeme Agiomor (86kg) and Soso Tamara (97kg), while the coaches and officials will be led by Nigeria Wrestling Federation president, Honorable Daniel Igali, the secretary-general, Umar Almu, with Happiness Burutu, Victor Kodei, Purity Akuh, Joe Oziti, Adam Kabir (medical) and Emeka Dennar (media officer).
Oborodudu declared: ‘We are well prepared, because we know there is no way to succeed without good preparations. We will put in the best Nigerian approach for us to succeed in Algeria, and I am sure we will return home with joy, not disappointment.”
