Yékini is the nickname of Yakhya Diop (26 February 1974 in Joal), a popular champion of Senegalese wrestling. The most prominent variant of the

Lutte Traditionnelle Lutte Traditionnelle (fr. for ''Traditional Wrestling'') is a style of West African folk wrestling, known as Laamb in Senegal and in The Gambia, Evala in Togo, and KoKowa / Kokawa in Hausa people, Hausa areas of Nigeria and Niger, or simply ''L ...

, a

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

folk tradition which has become a major professional sport in the last two decades.

Wrestling career

From the Serer ethnic group, Yékini is the most successful wrestler since the professionalisation of the sport, and his appearances are major news in his home country.LUTTE TRADITIONNELLE - 15e ANNIVERSAIRE DE YEKINI : Mbagnick, digne fils de Mohamed Ndiaye Robert Diouf
Le Soleil, 3 March 2008 His 2006 fight against and defeat of Mohamed Ndao, alias Tyson, was billed in Senegal as "the fight of the century", cementing the two as the best known exponents of the sport.
Walfadjri (Dakar), 2006. He was defeated by Balla Gaye 2, The Lion of Guédiawaye, at Stade Demba Diop on Sunday 22 April 2012, ending a reign that spanned almost two decades. Yékini studied traditional "mbapatte" wrestling techniques before turning to the modern wrestling styles which include a mixture of boxing and wrestling.

References

(interview by David Cadasse, 17 February 2006)
Sénégal LUTTE : 2007, année d’innovations, surprises et sacre
La Sentinelle (

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

), 27 December 2007 * Portions of this article were translated from the French language Wikipedia article :fr:Yékini, 2008-06-26.

External links

Lutte
Afrik News category for Lutte Traditionnelle newspaper reports.
African Press Agency photos from 10 June 2007 Yekini vs Balla Beye rematch

Yekini, le roi des arènes
- a comic book about his life and sport {{DEFAULTSORT:Yekini Living people 1974 births Senegalese wrestlers Serer sportspeople