Ekerekeme Agiomor only male wrestler to qualify for Olympics

Ekerekeme Agiomor, Nigerian freestyle wrestler, has qualified for the Olympics in Tokyo.

Agiomor, the only Nigerian male wrestler that will be representing the nation at the postponed tournament in Japan, secured the ticket at the Africa/Oceania qualifiers in Hammamet, Tunisia on Sunday.

He became the fifth wrestler that will represent Nigeria in Japan after Blessing Oborududu (68kg), 10-time African champion, Aminat Adeniyi (62kg), back-to-back Commonwealth gold-medalist, Adijat Idris (50kg), and Odunayo Adekuoroye (57kg).

Wrestling in the 86kg freestyle event, the 2018 African champion produced three big wins to seal a first-ever Olympic berth.

In his opening quarter-final bout, Agiomor brushed aside Maher Ghanmi of Tunisia 12-7, before storming to a convincing 12-2 win against Australia’s Jayden Lawrence in the last four to secure his place at the Tokyo Games.

The three-time medalist at the African Wrestling Championships then put the icing on the cake by clinching gold in the final against Algeria’s Fateh Benferdjallah, courtesy of a hard-fought 7-6 victory.

However, his compatriots; Ebikewenimo Welson (57kg), Amas Daniel (65kg), Ogbonna John (74kg), and Soso Tamarau (97kg) all came short in their bid to secure Olympic spots in Tokyo.

Taramau came close to qualifying but was eventually defeated 6-3 by Mohammed Fardj of Algeria in the semi-finals, while the trio of John, Daniel, and Welson failed to reach the crucial stages.

The postponed 2020 Olympic Games are scheduled to take place between July 23 and August 8 this year.