Nigeria’s Women Wrestlers Win Record 15th African Title in Alexandria

Nigeria’s women wrestlers won the African Wrestling Championships title for a record 15th time in Alexandria, Egypt, finishing with eight gold medals and two silvers from ten available events. Harrison Onovwiomogbhwo added the only men’s gold of the competition.

A statement of dominance

The team’s run through the tournament was clinical. Commonwealth champion Mercy Genesis opened with a 6–0 win over Tunisia’s Chahrazed Ayachi in the 50kg category. Adijat Idris followed with an 8–0 demolition of Tunisia’s Lobna Ichaoui in the 55kg, and Esther Asaolu produced one of the tournament’s most emphatic results — a 10–0 thrashing of Egypt’s Mariam Mosbeh in the 59kg. Mercy Adekuoroye swept up the 65kg gold with a clean pinfall win over Lec Hej Marlyne Ande of the Central African Republic.

Nigeria’s only silver came from Ebi Biogos, who led her 72kg bout before being edged 6–2 by Tunisia’s Zaineb Sghaier.

Harrison’s men’s gold

In men’s freestyle, Harrison Onovwiomogbhwo defeated Egypt’s Mohamed Mostafa 10–4 to win Nigeria’s only men’s gold. The men’s team finished third overall — a decent result, though the story of this championships was firmly the women’s side.

What 15 titles means

Fifteen African titles in one discipline doesn’t happen by accident. It reflects sustained investment in grassroots wrestling, national training camps, and a talent pipeline that keeps producing results year after year. Blessing Oborududu’s legacy still looms large over this squad — several of the current crop credit her as the reason they got into the sport. President Tinubu congratulated the team on Monday.

Sources: Channels TV, Punch, ThisDay Live, Sports247 Nigeria