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Young people in and around Cotonou are becoming increasingly involved in sports. While university and zonal competitions are taking place across the country, sport arm-wrestling is taking hold in Benin. In this report, fans of the sport give their views on the activity.
Partially overcast skies and little sunshine after a morning of rain on the Abomey-Calavi campus. It's 4:23pm in the university sports hall .While a handball team occupies half of the court for the day's training, arm wrestlers are demonstrating their skills on the other half of the court.
Special rules and equipment
Under the guidance of Olympas Tokpanou, coach of Benin's national armwrestling team, the armwrestlers perform a short warm-up, punctuated by physical exercises.After a quarter of an hour, the athletes head for the armresting table. This red table will be the scene of this afternoon's fights. "Four parts make up this table, which is approved by the Fédération Internationale de Bras de Fer Sportif. There are the stakes, the gallows, the elbow pad and the hand pad", says Olympas Tokpanou, coach of the national arm-wrestling team.
Like weightlifting or bodybuilding, athletes in this discipline are divided into a dozen categories. "There are normally 10 categories, including under 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90 kg. In addition, there are the heavyweights.
In arm-wrestling, after kick-off certain behaviours are forbidden and can even result in penalties, explains the coach."When the referee calls "ready, go", no competitor is allowed to let go of the other's hand. In the event that someone lifts their elbow from the pad elbow, they commit a foul."
Strength and technique guides the game
"To win, you have to use strength, speed and technique to get the back of your opponent's hand on the main pad.You can also encourage your opponent to make two successive mistakes to win," adds Olympas Tokpanou.
As usual, a number of arm-wrestlers will be having fun flexing their muscles in front of the Calavi student crowd. Marie Rose Laleye, African champion in arm wrestling, right arm and left arm in the 65kg category, is on hand for today's session."I love sport, and I developed a passion for bodybuilding, which led me to discover sport arm-wrestling. It allows me to showcase my strength," she explains. Her classmate Nouriath Bouraïma developed an interest in the sport after practising two disciplines."Everything man does, I find myself in.I did martial arts and taekwondo. Arm-wrestling is just for fun. I've got the hang of it," confides the amused student.
Fitness trainer Cheyson Eder Houngue is also into arm-wrestling.He doesn't hesitate to cover 12 km to get to campus."It's a sport I used to play. We used to play with friends. Then I happened to bump into someone on campus who told me he was training and that now it was a much more organized sport. And since I'm into bodybuilding and always like to push my limits and try new things, I immediately wanted to try my hand at it".
Arm-wrestling to reveal Benin
Like any other sporting discipline, arm-wrestling requires regular and intensive training, but does not spare you from the risks involved. According to Layele, "the great expenditure of strength during competitions is sometimes exhausting and time-consuming. Injuries to wrists, elbows and shoulders, and nerve fatigue are the daily risks we face".
With a successful start, the two-time reigning African champion, nicknamed Phoenix, is now aiming high."My biggest goal right now is to achieve world champion status in the discipline." Marie Rose Laleye will represent Benin at the World Combats Games from October 20 to 30, 2023 in Saudi Arabia.
