Nigerian wrestler, Blessing Oborududu, says she is eager to win more medals after defeating world champion, Meerim Zhumanazarova, to win gold in the women’s 68kg at the United World Wrestling’s Hamit Kaplan Ranking Series in Istanbul, Turkey.
Oborududu defeated Zhumanazarova 3-0 in the final to claim the gold medal, her first in the Ranking Series after having previously won silver and bronze medals.
It was the second time she will be meeting the Kyrgyzstani wrestler who she defeated 3-2 on her way to winning a silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo last year.
Both wrestlers were cautious at the beginning of the match, and the referee warned Zhumanazarova for her inactivity. At the end of the first period, Oburududu led 1-0.
Zhumanazarova was dinged again for passivity at the start of the second period. She became desperate to score, but Oborududu defended her Kyrgyz opponent’s shot attempts and gained the 2-0 lead.
With 40 seconds remaining, Oborududu managed to score a stepout, which proved crucial in the end. That also gave her a first Ranking Series gold after two silver and a bronze-medal finish.
Reacting to the win, the 10-time African champion and an Olympic silver medallist said she took pointers from their previous meeting at the Olympics which was helpful in letting her pick the gold medal.
“Meerim Zhumanazarova who is the present world champion in wrestling and was my quarter-final opponent in Tokyo, was a worthy opponent indeed. I implemented lessons learnt from my Tokyo experience and it came out positive,” Oborududu wrote on Facebook.
“My relentless effort in training and preparations indeed spoke largely for me in Istanbul. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it, circumstances notwithstanding.
“I am so excited for the win. Now I have the African Championships in May and then the Commonwealth Games. I want to win a world medal in September.”
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