- Freestyle wrestler Hannah Reuben is set to make her first appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics
- The World military wrestling gold medalist represents Nigeria in the wrestling event
- Standing as Nigeria's last hope of a medal in Paris, Reuben will compete on Saturday, August 10
The 2024 Paris Olympics have so far been a challenging experience for Nigeria’s athletes. Despite sending a strong team of 88 competitors across 12 different sports, the country has struggled to secure podium finishes, leaving fans and athletes alike disheartened. With several medal hopes falling short of their goals, attention now shifts to one final contender who carries the weight of the nation’s expectations: Hannah Reuben.
Final shot: Nigeria’s quest for gold continues with Reuben
Hannah Reuben, the reigning African women’s wrestling champion, is set to make her bid for a medal in the women’s freestyle 76kg category. Her campaign begins today, Saturday, August 10, at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris.
At 26 years old, Reuben stands as Nigeria’s last chance for an Olympic medal, stepping onto the mat with both the burden and the honour of representing her country.
The Nigerian wrestling team arrived in Paris with high hopes, inspired by the historic success of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where Blessing Oborududu secured a silver medal in the 68kg category.
However, this time around, the team has faced numerous setbacks. Medal contenders like Odunayo Adekuoroye and Blessing Oborududu have not lived up to expectations.
Adekuoroye lost a close match 8-10 to China’s Hong Kexin in the women’s freestyle 57kg event, while Oborududu, wrestling through an injury, fell short in the bronze medal bout against Japan’s Nonoka Ozaki.
Other Nigerian wrestlers also faced disappointing exits. Christianah Ogunsanya was defeated 1-3 by Mongolia’s Khulan Batkhuyag in the round of 16 of the women’s freestyle 53kg event.
Esther Kolawole lost 1-5 to Kyrgyzstan’s Aisuluu Tynybekova in the quarterfinals of the 62kg freestyle, and in the men’s category, Adeyemi Mutuwa was beaten by superiority in his bout against Hungary’s Daniel Ligeti in the last eight of the 125kg freestyle event.
With these setbacks, the spotlight now falls on Hannah Reuben, who is ranked eighth in the world. Her most recent achievements include winning the African Championship title at the African Games in Ghana and securing gold at the 2023 World Military Wrestling Championships.
These accolades have established Reuben as a formidable competitor in her weight class.
Her path to Olympic success will be a tough one, starting with a quarterfinal match against Mongolia’s Davaanasan Enkh-Amar.
This first bout is crucial, as it could determine whether she advances to the medal rounds. It remains to be seen if she can prove to be of a different breed in terms of wins, compared to her compatriots.
Paris Olympics 2024: D’Tigress eliminated by US in quarterfinals
Previously, TheRadar reported that following a historic run to the quarterfinals at the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024, the women’s basketball team of Nigeria, popularly known as D’Tigress, had been eliminated from the competition after losing to the United States.
The match, which took place on Thursday, August 8, ended in an 88-74 scoreline, in favour of the women’s basketball team of the United States.
Many Nigerians have sympathised with the team over their loss and encouraged them to keep their heads held high, as they did the country proud in Paris.
