Nigerian Wrestlers Win Gold, Bronze At Spanish Grand Prix
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July 12, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Wrestling Federation put on an impressive performance at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, winning two gold and one bronze medal.
The event was part of the Federation’s preparations for a successful outing at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Olympic silver medallist, Blessing Oborududu, defeated Katerina Lange of the USA 10-0 in the 68kg bronze medal match, while Mercy Genesis and Esther Kolawale won gold medals in the 62kg and 50kg categories respectively.
President of the Federation, Champion Daniel Igali, praised the efforts of the trio, noting that wrestling represented one of Nigeria’s best hopes for medals at the Paris Olympics. Igali also acknowledged that there was room for improvement and commended the resilience of Genesis, Oborududu, and Kolawale, who had previously won three gold medals for Nigeria at the African Beach Games in Tunisia.
He revealed that funding constraints meant that only three athletes could attend the Spanish Grand Prix, despite eight being identified as potential contenders.
The Olympic Champion added that the Spanish Grand Prix was a good platform for the athletes to prepare for the upcoming world championships in Serbia and that their next competition will be in Hungary before returning to Nigeria for the Governor Diri National Wrestling Classics in Yenagoa.
