In a dusty alleyway in the Senegalese city of Thies, wrestler Shogo Uozumi is face-down in the sand after being tossed in the air by an oversized opponent.

Uozumi then rose to his feet, dusted himself off and rejoined the surrounding group of wrestlers wearing loincloths.

Back in a fighting stance, Uozumi smiled. After competing at the national level in Greco-Roman wrestling in Japan, he swapped Tokyo for Thies last year to master a Senegalese wrestling style known as laamb and to share his knowledge of the Olympic form of the sport with local talent.