How Adekuoroye saved Igali from losing bet in Rome
Wrestling sensation, Odunayo Adekuoroye did not only win the country’s only gold medal at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series tournament in the Italian city of Rome, the Ondo State-born wrestler also saved the President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali from losing substantial amount of money on a bet placed on the wrestler.
Sportinglife.ng can reports that the two-time Commonwealth champion began her campaign at the competition by defeating Alina Akobiia of Ukraine 12 – 0 in the Round of 16 before beating Arianna Carieri of Italy 10 – 0 in the quarter final.
However, shortly after recording a 10 – 3 victory over Allison Mackenzie Ragan of USA in the semi final, Igali, went into betting with a president of another federation ahead of Adekuoroye’s final match against Anshu Anshu of India.
Igali, who stepped in as the coach of the wrestling team due to inability of Coach Purity Akuh to make the trip after being robbed of his traveling documents, was 100 percent sure of his athlete winning gold at the competition.
The friendly wager between the two presidents however sparked the three-time world medalist past the Indian for the gold medal.
Understanding the wager was a joke, and with a smile on her face, the long and lengthy Adekuoroye said, “Before the match, my president and one other president had a bet that I’d maybe lose to (Anshu). So, I told him to keep calm; I’m ready for the match. I’m happy to make him proud.”
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The five-time Africa champion quickly handled Anshu in the finals, 10-0. She scored an early takedown off a single leg, then picked up eight straight points off exposures – six of which came from a match-ending leg lace.
“I came here to win a gold medal. For me, it’s not like it’s a prize and I look forward to some matches again,” Adekuoroye said.