Nigeria is guaranteed its first medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after Blessing Oborududu reached the semi-finals of the women’s wrestling event in the 68kg category on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Oborududu had defeated Canada’s Linda Morais 8-2 on points in their round of 16 bout, with the Nigerian coming back from a two-point deficit to win the match to set up a quarter-final clash against France’s Koumba Larroque.

Subsequently, Oborududu secured a 6-2 points win over Larroque to reach the last four, which ultimately guaranteed at least a bronze medal for Nigeria in the women’s 68kg division.

Oborududu, who won silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, will face Kyrgyzstan’s Meerim Zhumanazarova for a place in the final later this evening.

In some events at the Olympics, such as boxing, judo, taekwondo and wrestling, two bronze medals are awarded in each event – one for each eliminated semi-finalist or for the winners of the repechage brackets, thanks to the schedule of events.