Reigning Commonwealth champion, Blessing Oborududu, says her target is to claim a gold medal at the Senior World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, next month.
The 8-time African champion, who won a maiden gold medal in the 68kg weight class at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year in Gold Coast, Australia, is among the wrestlers who will be vying for honours for Team Nigeria in Budapest between October 20 and 28.
Last year, Oborududu narrowly missed out of winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris, France, losing 7-8 to Colombia’s Jackeline Castillo in a third-place bout. But this time, she poised to make amends and upgrade her game.
“My target at the World Championships is to go there and do well,” she said, “Not just doing well in the World Championships but also to win a gold medal.
“I also know that the World Championships is not like the African Championships or the Commonwealth Games. There are many tough wrestlers out there, but by the grace of God and with good preparation, I’m hoping that I’m going to win a gold medal.”
The wrestling queen disclosed that preparation for the World Championships has already begun, while calling on Nigerians to support the team in their bid to make the country proud in Budapest.
“We are all training in our various states,” the Bayelsa-born athlete said. “But the president (Hon. Daniel Igali) just called a camp (in Yenagoa) where all of us can be together and prepare for the World Championships. The President has done well for the wrestlers.
“And we are pleading to the public to him and the government; so that we can have a good camp in preparation for the World Championships.”