PHOTOS: Women Step Into The Ring At ECOWAS Wrestling Tournament

The wrestlers slowly extended their arms toward one another as they tried to avoid becoming exposed while trying to avoid being exposed themselves while legs taut and backs bent at the waist.

The soft sand surface was sprayed out beneath the Beninese fighter as she was wrestled, pushed, and thrown to the ground by her Nigerian counterpart, who had just thrown her to the ground.

From stadiums in Senegal to desert villages in Niger, traditional West African wrestling and the gargantuan, occasionally sumo-like men who enter the ring captivate audiences all over the region.

The ECOWAS wrestling competition this month attracted competitors from all over the region to Abuja, Nigeria, for the first time ever to feature a women’s division.

“Women are skilled at combat.” Ivorian fighter Celine Bakayoko, 33, told AFP from the stands, “We just had to be given a chance.”

Although she only began wrestling professionally in 2019, she claims that wrestling is “an innate practice for us, not a sport.”

They appear to be taking things seriously, Yussuff Fashola, a spectator, said. “They don’t seem to be filling a gap.

Although the tournament, which lasted into the weekend, was a positive step forward for women in the male-dominated sport, Jocelyn Asante from Ghana said, “to get other female athletes on your team, to be able to train with them… that’s the challenge.”

However, Liberia’s Garmai Sanghno discovered a positive aspect to “representing my country” and utilizing the opportunity to “develop skills” for upcoming fights despite losing.

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Missing champions

However, Niger, the previous year’s medalist, was absent.

Niger, Burkinabe, and Mali, all run by military juntas, left the bloc earlier this year as a result of deteriorating ties with ECOWAS.

Following the coup in Niger in July 2023, the bloc pushed economic sanctions against Niamey and threatened military action.

None of the countries sent fighters to this year’s tournament despite the fact that envoys have been sent to break the pacific and ECOWAS officials spoke of regional cohesion during the ceremony’s opening.

“Sport is supposed to bring us together, right?” criticized the countries’ absences and questioned Fashola, 33, over the whoops and whistles of a men’s game.

Former Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria secretary general Abdullahi Ahmed Libata, who wrestled with them during the dry season to leave soft sandy banks ideal for fighting, said, “They are our friends.”

He said, “We love them, and they are our neighbors.” They are the people with whom we grew up.

Source: Channels TV