Dhaka, March 15 -- Legs taut, backs bent at the waist, the wrestlers slowly stretched out their arms towards each other, searching for a grip while trying to avoid becoming exposed themselves.

In a flash it was all over - a tangle of grappling, pushing and jostling that ended with the Beninese fighter tossed to the ground by her Nigerian counterpart, the soft sand surface spraying out beneath her.

Traditional west African wrestling - and the gargantuan, sometimes sumo-like men who step into the ring - captivates audiences across the region, from stadiums in Senegal to desert villages in Niger.

This month's ECOWAS wrestling tournament, however, marked the first time that the annual showdown featured a women's division, drawing competito...