Following her gold medal win in the 53Kg WW cadet category at the ongoing African Wrestling Championships in Port Harcourt, Mercy Adekuoroye could not hide her excitement while chatting with Chief Sports Writer for ACLSports, Queen John.
The name Adekuoroye is a household name in Nigeria Wrestling and even in world wrestling which makes it easy to relate it with World silver medallist and Olympian, Odunayo Adekuoroye. Mercy, a cousin to Odunayo was introduced into the sports 4 years ago. Mercy never foresaw herself replicating her cousin’s success as she never took it serious.
She said,”Odunayo called me in 2014 that I should come and attend a competition in Bayelsa because there was a weight class that I’ll fit in. I had not started wrestling then but I just went for the fun of it.”
The 16 year old has since built love for wrestling and draws her inspiration from her cousin, Odunayo Adekuoroye.
“I now like the sport coupled with the support we get from our family. I want to be like her (Odunayo) even better than her,” she said
“I want people to also know my name “Mercy” like they do to my cousin. But all I need to get there is focus and determination.”
Mercy Adekuoroye, an SS2 student has participated in 5 wrestling championships before the 2018 African Wrestling Championships in Port Harcourt.
Cover photo credit: Beauty Plus
