The mega-sporting event of the Olympics and the world championships invite sportspersons from over 206 nations. However, it is a known fact that only the powerhouse nations win most of the medals. This depravity makes every victory that goes to a new nation, an achievement on its own. A similar historical story was written at the World Wrestling Championship when an Ecuadorian wrestler clinched a World Championship medal.

The young wrestler from Ecuador claimed a hard-earned victory in the 53kg weight class at the world championships. The 22-year-old wrestler was overjoyed with her victory and earned her first senior medal after a highly successful junior campaign.

Maiden wrestling medal earns ticket to Paris

Lucía Yamileth Yépez Guzman, or Lucia Yepez is a 53kg freestyler. The 22-year-old has won several wrestling medals before claiming her bronze victory. Yepez has already won a gold medal at the Junior Pan Am Games, South American Games, and Pan Am Championships. In fact, she also powered through the competition at the World U23 Championships in Belgrade to claim the gold medal. The wrestling sensation fought hard at the grounds of Belgrade once again, to claim her first senior world championship medal.

Lucia Yepez faced Maria Prevolaraki of Greece in her bronze medal match. The Ecuadorian 53kg freestyle wrestler faced her opponent with her superior technique, combining a strong bout defense and effective offense. The bout ended with the bronze medal making its way to Yepez, and Ecuador making its way to the Olympics. The historical win has now unlocked the slot for Ecuador in the women’s 53kg category. Along similar lines, a 20-year-old Bahraini wrestler also entered his maiden world championship and claimed an Olympics spot for Bahrain.

Bahraini wrestler beats legends and claims gold in maiden world appearance

Akhmad Tazhudinov of Bahrain made his way to Belgrade and walked all the way to win the gold medal. The 20-year-old wrestling sensation shocked everyone by taking down two great Olympics and world medalists with overwhelming margins. Tazhudinov’s hit list included the 2022 World Champion Kyle Snyder, and his role model and Tokyo Gold medalist, Abdulrashid Sadulaev.

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Tazhudinov’s unrelenting gold medal march saw him uprooting Snyder with an impeccable 11-0 win. In fact, the wrestling legend idolized by the 20YO also fell overwhelmingly short and lost with a score of 9-2. Interestingly, the Bahraini wrestler trains at an academy named after Sadulaev and also trains from one of Sadulaev’s coaches. With his win, Tazhudinov has opened the doors to the Olympics for Bahrain in the 97kg category, just like Lucia Yepez. Will Yepez and Tazhudinov be able to secure a medal for their nations in Paris as well?

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