Nigeria dominate African wrestling champs with record 15th title

Nigeria women wrestling team have underlined their dominance on the continent by winning a record-extending 15th African women’s title at the African Wrestling Championships in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday PUNCH reports.

Nigeria finished top of the women’s standings with eight gold medals and two silver medals from 10 available events on Saturday, confirming their status as the leading force in African women’s wrestling.

The campaign was spearheaded by a series of commanding performances across multiple weight categories, beginning with Commonwealth champion Mercy Genesis, who opened the gold rush with a 6-0 victory over Tunisia’s Chahrazed Ayachi.

Adijat Idris continued the momentum with an emphatic 8-0 win over Lobna Ichaoiu of Tunisia in the 55kg category, before Esther Aseolu delivered another dominant display, beating Egypt’s Mariam Mosbeh 10-0 to secure Nigeria’s third gold.

Mercy Adekuoroye completed the women’s gold medal sweep with a dominant pinfall victory over Lec Hej Marlyne Ande of the Central African Republic in the 65kg category.

Nigeria’s only women’s silver medal came through Ebi Biogos, who led her bout before being overpowered 6-2 by Tunisia’s Zaineb Sghaier in the 72kg final.

In the men’s freestyle competition, Nigeria finished strongly with Harrison Onovwiomogbhwo delivering a standout performance, defeating Egypt’s Mohamed Mostafa 10-4 to claim the country’s only men’s gold medal.

Earlier in the competition, Ebierelayefa Andrew and Stephen Akintewe both secured silver medals after falling short in their respective finals against Egyptian opponents in the 74kg and 65kg categories.

Nigeria also picked up three bronze medals, with Dideikemei Erefagha, Solomon Ulabo and Saviour Egoli all securing podium finishes in their respective weight classes.

The men’s team finished third overall in the standings, rounding off a strong combined showing for Nigeria at the continental championships.

With another commanding display in women’s wrestling and key successes in the men’s events, Nigeria once again reinforced their position as Africa’s leading wrestling nation.