Nigerian wrestlers step up medal hunt after Oklahoma test
Nigeria’s wrestlers have moved into the next phase of their preparations for the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the national team turning lessons from a demanding training camp in Oklahoma, United States, into a renewed push for global honours.
The Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF) has concluded the open phase of the Oklahoma camp, an initiative designed to expose Nigeria’s foreign based wrestlers and athletes with valid United States visas to a highly competitive wrestling environment ahead of the world championships later this year.
Rather than limiting preparations to routine training sessions, the camp provided the Nigerian contingent with an opportunity to measure its strength against quality opposition, with the wrestlers engaging athletes from NCAA Division I universities in a series of dual meets.
The competitive exposure offered the coaching team a valuable assessment of the athletes’ current level, while also revealing technical and tactical areas that must be addressed before the much bigger test in Astana.
Nigeria’s women’s wrestling head coach, Akuh Purity, supervised the programme and said the experience was particularly useful in identifying weaknesses that could otherwise have gone unnoticed in conventional training.
“We continue to intensify our training and remain fully focused on improving our performance. Recently, we participated in an open camp in Oklahoma, where we had the opportunity to compete in duals against athletes from other Division I schools.
“It was a very valuable experience and gave us an excellent opportunity to assess where we currently stand,” Purity said.
According to the coach, the conclusion of the open camp does not represent the end of preparations but rather the beginning of a more targeted phase, with the team now concentrating on correcting the shortcomings identified during the competitive exercise.
“Following the open camp, we transitioned into a closed camp, where we are currently training. We are using this period to specifically address and correct some of the mistakes and weaknesses I identified during the open camp and duals.
“The girls are working extremely hard, and we remain committed to making the necessary improvements as we continue our preparation,” she added.
The Oklahoma exercise was sanctioned by NWF President Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, whose administration has backed the use of overseas training opportunities to provide Nigeria’s wrestlers with stronger preparation and international exposure.
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