Esther Kolawole wins dramatic wrestling contest against Norwegian favourite

Nigeria’s Esther Kolawole came back from behind on Wednesday October 28 at the 2026 Senior World Wrestling Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan to beat Norway’s Grace Bullen.

She fought back from a huge 10-3 deficit to secure a tight 12–11 win in the 62kg quarterfinal bout.

 The heavily favoured Norwegian Olympic bronze medalist started the match with intense offensive pressure, executing multiple high-amplitude four-point throws, quickly building a commanding 10–3 lead.

With Bullen threatening near the edge, the Nigerian coaching team had to stay sharp, even deploying a tactical challenge to dispute point allocations and reset Kolawole's momentum.

She went on to win the contest, proving unarguable the greatest upset and comeback of the championships.  

At the blow of the final whistle, she was ecstatic with an emotional outburst well captured by the media.