Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games wrestling gold medallist, Odunayo Adekuoroye, has said her experience at the 2015 Indian Pro Wrestling League has prepared her for the challenges which lie ahead at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Adekuoroye, who wrestles in the women’s 53kg, made history with the Revanta Mumbai Garuda when she won all her fights to help the wrestling club lift the title of the league, which was in its first edition. The league held between December 10 and 27 in New Delhi.
The 22-year-old also emerged the best wrestler of the tournament, which held at five venues in Mumbai. She was the only African in the league, which featured more than 50 wrestlers in six clubs.
Adekuoroye, who arrived in the country from India on Saturday, told journalists on her arrival at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, that the experience she garnered in the league would help her push for a gold medal when the Olympic Games begin in Rio.
“The experience was a splendid one because some of the best wrestlers in the world were there. Also, some of these wrestlers that I did feel were better than I was and as such I was afraid of were the ones that I beat when we met. Rather than the initial fear I had of them, they are the ones that are now afraid of me and for that I thank God. Having beaten them in bouts has given me some confidence that any time I meet them, I can conquer them,” Adekuoroye said.
The two-time African champion said she was ready for the Olympics but would need early preparations, adding that she was sure that the country would win a medal in wrestling if adequate preparations were made for the team.
Adekuoroye was the first Nigerian to qualify for the individual events of the 2016 Olympics when she won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas in September.
She said, “My Olympics preparation as par the venue of preparation depends on the programme of the NWF and the National Sports Commission. I wouldn’t want to promise Nigerians any colour of medal for now but I am going to the Olympics to do my best. Any medal God gives me there will be enough for me.
“There are other good Nigerian wrestlers back home here. But the problem is dearth of competitions to keep the wrestlers in shape. If I didn’t go for that World Championship I wouldn’t have known what I have. I believe if other wrestlers had the opportunity as I had they too would have done well and qualify for the Olympics too, but then there is another opportunity for them to qualify.”
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