Ashton Mutuwa has joined list of Nigerian Wrestlers heading to Paris 2024 Olympic Games following the conclusion of the African/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Alexandria, Egypt.
The Plateau State wrestler, who was born in America, displayed remarkable strength and determination as he defeated South Africa’s Justin VAN ZYL with a 16-8 pin-fall victory, securing his spot in the Olympics. Mutuwa, who recently pledged his allegiance to Nigeria instead of America, will be making his Olympic debut in Paris.
Unfortunately, Nigerian wrestler Harrison Onovwiomobohwo in the 86kg category missed out on an Olympic slot to Australian Jayden A. Lawrence after losing by a 4-4 points criteria decision.
Despite demonstrating what appeared to be his strongest performance in a while, Braveman Oyeinkeperemo in the 74kg category suffered a 2-10 defeat to Bacar Ndum of Guinea-Bissau in the semi-finals, adding to the evening’s disappointment for Nigerian male freestyle wrestlers.
Earlier in the competition, both Simeon Enozumini and Izolo Stephen failed to advance to the semi-finals in the men’s freestyle category after losing their respective round matches.