Commonwealth Games: Adekuoroye, Oborududu win wrestling gold medals

…Amusan, Brume, Usoro make athletics final

Nigeria won three medals in the wrestling event of the 2022 Commonwealth Games holding in Birmingham, United Kingdom on Friday.

Olympics silver-medallist Blessing Oborududu was too good for her Canadian opponent Linda Morais, winning the women’s freestyle 68kg bout 5-1 VPO1 (Victory by points – with point(s) to claim her second consecutive GOLD medal competing at the Commonwealth Games.

Earlier, Ondo State-born Odunayo Adekuoroye banished the demons of her poor display at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as she saw of India’s Anshu Malik 7-3 to win the gold medal in the women’s freestyle 57kg category.

Another wrestler, Esther Kolawole also won the bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 62kg category, needing just 20 seconds to see off her Scottish opponent Abbie Fountain, who she dispatched 10-0 by VSU (victory by Technical Superiority).

The medals won on Friday took Nigeria to seven gold, three silver and six bronze medals won so far in the competition to place eighth on the medals table.

In athletics, tail wind reading of 2.4m/s stopped recently crowned women’s 100m hurdles world champion and World Record holder Tobi Amusan from breaking the Commonwealth Games Record as she won the heat three of the event on Friday to qualify for Sunday’s final.

Amusan ran a time of 12.40secs to beat her four other opponents to qualify for the final where she will hope to defend the title she won in the Gold Coast, Australia four years ago.

Multiple global medallist Ese Brume also qualified for the final of the women’s long jump, where she would be joined by compatriot Ruth Usoro who also scaled thorough Friday’s qualification round.

Favour Ofili who just recovered from COVID-19 which stopped her from competing in the 100m also qualified for the final of the women’s 100m, while Udodi Onwuzurike also made it to the final of the men’s 200m event.

Chukwuebuka Enekwechi narrowly missed out of a podium finish in the men’s Shot Put as he finished 4th in the final, while Dubem Amene could not finish the men’s 400m semifinals owing to injury. His compatriots, Samson Nathaniel and Sikiru Adewale did not make the finals.

The men’s 4 × 400m team however qualified for the final as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

In Boxing, Cynthia Ogunsemilore, Elizabeth Oshoba, Jacinta Umunnakwe and Ifeanyi Onyekwere qualified for the semifinals of their different events,  while Aruna Quadri and Olajide Omotayo also moved to the next round in the men’s table tennis event. Nasiru Sule, Isau Ogunkunle, Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi and Faith Obazuaye also qualified for the final of their various events in the para table tennis.

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