Blessing Oborududu is now Nigeria’s most successful female wrestler and she was in a celebratory mood following her triumph at the 2022 African Wrestling Championships in El Jadida, Morocco.
Oborududu, an Olympic silver medalist secured an unprecedented 11th consecutive African title at the weekend in Morocco in ruthless fashion.
After easily overcoming her opponents in the earlier rounds, the reigning Commonwealth champion made light work of Egypt’s Menatalla Badran in the final, securing a 4-0 fall victory in just 40 seconds to claim the 11th title in a row.
Before the final, the 33-year-old had recorded back-to-back pinfall wins against Houria Boukrif of Algeria and Cameroon’s Blandine Ngiri in the first and second rounds, respectively, before dominating Badran whom she eventually conquered in the final 10-0 via technical superiority in the third round.
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Oborududu overwhelmed Rosie Tabora of the Democratic Republic of Congo 10-0 via superiority in the semi-finals before clinching gold without conceding a single point.
In a lengthy post on her verified Facebook page on Monday, Oborududu thanked everyone including the Bayelsa State Governor, Duoye Diri, for their immeasurable contributions to her success.
“Let me seize this opportunity to thank my miracle Governor, the ever sports-loving Governor of Bayelsa State, His Excellency Duoye Diri, and his Deputy, Sen. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo for their continuous support, granting me and my teammates the privilege to attend and compete in the African Championships tournament.
“Let me also thank the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Minister of Sports, Hon. Sunday Dare for his hands-on approach to all matters that concern the Nigerian Wrestling Federation.
“To the boss, mentor, and president of the Nigerian Wrestling Federation, Hon. Daniel Igali, I thank you for your consistency in being a support system in my wrestling career, you are very much appreciated, sir.
“To my coach, Victor Kodei, the national female Coach, Purity Akuh, and my club coaches and training partners. Thank you for your technical impact on me and the continuous push you give me to be better.
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“Thank you to the Nigeria Wrestling family, the board of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, the Nigerian Olympic Committee, the Bayelsa State Ministry of Youth and sports, and the Sports council. 11 – time African champion! It can only be God,” the Balyelsa State-bron amazon said.
Aside from Oborududu, another Nigerian, Adekoye Jumoke, (55kg) and the Adekuoroye sisters, Odunayo and Mercy, also won gold for Team Nigeria in the Women’s Wrestling events in Morocco.