The maiden edition of Governor Nyesom Wike National Wrestling Championships started on Sunday with 22 states participating.
The states are: Jigawa, Kano, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Ebonyi, Delta, Edo, Niger, Bayelsa, Rivers, Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Anambra, Enugu, Lagos, Bauchi, Ogun, Sokoto, Katsina and Kebbi.
Other participants include: the Nigeria Army, Mountain of Fire Ministries Wresting club and the Federal Capital Territory.
All the participants converged on the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt, the venue of the five-day competition.
Daniel Igali, the President, Nigeria Wrestling Federation, told the News Agency of Nigeria that exciting dimension would be introduced in this tournament.
Igali said: “Every weight category event in a day will end at the quarter finals so that the remaining semi and final matches will be done the next day.
“We are no longer finishing all weight categories in a day. I get a lot of questions from people on how all is been done in a day.
“The essence of this is to make it more interesting and allow spectators to enjoy the games very well.”
The 2000 Sydney Olympics gold medalist, however, urged wrestling enthusiasts not to miss this one of a kind competition.
He said: “This competition is entirely different from what we used to have and it’s unique.”
The wranglers at the venue wore determined faces and ready to fight for spaces in the national team ahead of next years African Championships.
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