The Malagasy Wrestling Federation launched school beach wrestling on Saturday at the Ankorondrano gymnasium, hosting the second edition of the Madagascar school wrestling championships in both classical and beach wrestling formats. The event drew impressive participation with over 250 children from U17, U15, and U13 categories representing 18 schools and regional league clubs including Analamanga, Vakinankaratra, Boeny, Ihorombe, and Atsinanana. "We introduced beach wrestling, which has gained worldwide popularity in recent years and whose promotion is strongly recommended by the world federation," said federation president Mamitiana Raveloson. "This national championship also served as a pre-selection for our representatives to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). We will be represented in the U17 girls category based on our results at the recent African beach wrestling championship," the federation chief added. The YOG will take place in Dakar, Senegal, from October 31 to November 13. The top three finishers will join the pre-selection and participate in training camps. In the -45 kg category, Francia from Rossary topped the podium, followed by two wrestlers from Uasc, Valisoa and Tinah. Alicia from Ihorombe won the -55 kg title, with Ivanah and Angelina from Boeny completing the podium. "Promoting school wrestling will provide a continuous talent pool for the national team. We also plan to integrate wrestling into the school curriculum. We will soon begin negotiations with the Ministry of National Education," the president stated.