‘’Edo State Invitational Amateur Wrestling Tournament will produce future National Champions’’ – Morris Atula
The Chairman of the Edo State Wrestling Association, Morris Atula, has emphasized that the forthcoming Edo State Invitational Wrestling Championship scheduled to hold at the Sam Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, Edo State from Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th August 2022 will definitely produce the future champions of the mat sport from our part of the world nationally, continentally and even world champions.
Edo State Amateur Wrestling Association Chairman, Morris Atula
Atula, who started wrestling at the tender age of fourteen years old when it was just introduced to the Nigerian nation by Coach Mike Bamidele, former World light-heavyweight wrestling champion also known as African Tiger, has seen it all in the world of wrestling as an amateur wrestling champion, pro-wrestling world champion, administrator, activist, and promoter. He was among the first group of wrestlers that started the sport in Nigeria and he has indeed sincerely contributed a quota to wrestling growth, upliftment and development in Nigeria and at the international level considering his unfailing support for the development of the sport. Morris will be sponsoring the Invitational Amateur Wrestling Championship that will feature twelve states among the 36 wrestling associations as just 12 states have been invited.
Coach Victor with his athletes
‘’We have only invited 12 states to participate in this timely Edo State Invitational Wrestling Tournament so as to get the best out of the championship. I have reasons for deciding to sponsor another timely championship just like I did last year within Edo local government kids. My reason for sponsoring the Edo State Invitational Wrestling tournament that will hold in Benin, Edo State is basically to identify and showcase young talents at the school levels from many states since our focus is on talents from 8 to 16 years. We have to discover them early enough, groom them to enable them excel in the sport. We really want to catch them while young and still tender to control. We sincerely believe in the enduring legacy of the “catch them young” philosophy and project as it is also a life-fulfilling career seeing the involvement of school kids and youths in sport and beyond the tournament period, they would definitely become elite young athletes by taking part in competitions and regular training from their tender ages’’ explained Morris.
Roll call of athletes of the 2021 championship at Edo State
From the various screening procedures of last year’s state event, a 4-year-old Ogiemwonyi Osaretin, emerged the eventual winner of the Morris Atula Face of Wrestling in Edo State on Friday, 8th October, 2021. While this year, there is anticipation for other kids and youths from the hosting state of Edo as well as other states to emerge as champions.
Competition time
Morris, who graduated as a Wrestling Coach in 1979 at the National Institute for Sports (NIS) at age 19, established Wrestling in Niger State and groomed many young talents, among who was Emeka Obidinma Kenton, now a director at the Anambra State Sports Council. Those young talents have excelled to champions nationally, continentally and some at the world amateur ranking while some are Sports Directors in various Nigerian states now.
Over the years, the multitalented Morris has organized a series of events such as the Governor Isa Yuguda 19 Northern States Wrestling Championship, Nigeria @ 50 International Marathon held in Abuja to mark the Nigerian Millennium celebration, 1st National Music Championship held in Lagos at the Union Bank sports complex, Surulere, Lagos and a host of other sporting events and he indeed wants to do more with time.
