2nd Irie Knocks Off World Champion to Make Japan's World Team; Ota Gains 63kg Spot

Monday, July 22, 2019 - 11:36 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (July 21) --- For the second time in two weeks, a reigning world champion was knocked off Japan's team to this year's World Championships. And for the second time, the conqueror was a wrestler named Irie.

Nanami IRIE earned a place alongside older sister Yuki on the plane to Kazakhstan when she defeated Haruna OKUNO 3-1 in a playoff for the women's 55kg berth on the Japanese squad.

Irie, a former world junior and cadet champion, scored a takedown off a counter early in the second period and held on to beat Okuno, the 2018 world champion at 53kg who missed out on the world team in that weight class.

Meanwhile, Rio 2016 silver medalist Shinobu OTA showed he could handle the extra weight at Greco 63kg when he crushed national champion Yoshiki YAMADA by 11-0 technical fall as he eyes winning his first senior world medal.

The final round of playoffs were held in Tokyo in the non-Olympic weight classes, in which wrestlers who placed second in the two national qualifying tournaments in Olympic divisions were also eligible to enter.

On July 6, the wrestle-offs were held in the Olympic weight classes, in which Asian champion Yuki IRIE upended two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI at 50kg. That match was somewhat overshadowed by Risako KAWAI's victory over four-time Olympic gold medalist Kaori ICHO at 57kg.

There was added incentive to make the world team in the Olympic weight classes this year because the Japan federation ruled that any wrestler winning a medal in one of those divisions at the Nur-Sultan worlds will automatically clinch a place on the team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Nanami Irie had attempted to make the team at 53kg, but lost in the final of the All-Japan Championships last December to Mayu MUKAIDA---the 55kg world champion who moved down to the Olympic division and subsequently secured the berth at that weight.

Irie said she never would have tried to make the team at 55kg had sister Yuki not won her showdown with Susaki.

"I thought, I have to fight hard, too," Irie said. "I wanted to win here and go to the world championships with my sister. That's all I thought about."

Both Irie and Okuno defeated the third entry, world junior and U-23 champion Saki IGARASHI, handily before their clash in the round-robin format of the wrestle-offs, which were held on one of the six mats of the spacious wrestling room at the National Training Center. Only teammates, coaches, federation officials and a smattering of press were in attendance.

Irie gained a point in the first period with Okuno on the activity clock, then countered a single-leg takedown and went behind to make it 3-0. Okuno cut the gap to 3-1 with a stepout with :15 left, but Irie was never in real danger as she avenged a loss from the semifinals of the All-Japan Invitational Championships in June.

"In the match the other day, I was too impatient and gave up a bunch of points early," Irie said. "She has a good feint, and I was prepared not to fall for it. I kept in mind keeping my stance and to keep moving. I had an image of her going for a single-leg takedown and how I would stop it."

Okuno, who had beaten Irie in both of their previous meetings, might not have been as mentally sharp as possible. The consolation prize of the 55kg berth was not much incentive for her, and she said she only decided the previous day to even take part in the playoff.

"I had no intention of entering, I didn't want to enter," Okuno said. "Thinking I might want to do it at the last minute, my coach said I should just go ahead and submit the entry form. It was only yesterday that I decided to take part. Once I decided, mentally I was able to turn the switch back on and prepare for the match."

Looking back on the loss, Okuno commented: "She is strong at countering moves. I think she came up with the right strategy against me."

The 24-year-old Irie now has to prepare for handling the extra weight against the best in the world.

"In Japan, there's not such a big difference in terms of body size," Irie said. "Overseas, I feel on the small side even at 53kg. At 55kg, I feel really small. From now, I have to come up with a way to deal with it."

Shinobu OTA showed he could handle the extra weight at Greco 63kg when he crushed national champion Yoshiki YAMADA, 11-0. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Ota puts on impressive display at heavier weight

Ota's path to the 60kg berth was blocked by 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA, his longtime training partner and rival who defeated him in both of the national tournaments.

That leaves Ota's only hope of making it to Tokyo 2020 being that Fumita fails to make the podium in Nur-Sultan. As long as there is a chance, he is determined to stay ready, and moving up to 63kg for the time being is part of the process.

"I thought it over from many angles," Ota said. "Whatever happens, when it comes to the Olympics, all I can do is wait for a result that's favorable to me. But I can't just wait around. To aim for the world title at 63kg is just staying prepared for what happens in the process for the Tokyo Olympics. I believed this was the best approach."

In his match against Yamada, Ota went ahead with an early takedown. Then when Yamada was put in the par-terre position, Ota put on an awesome display of raw power and technique.

Using a front headlock, he ripped off two rolls to make it 7-0. Then, keeping the same hold, he added the coup de grace with a powerful 4-point throw to end it with a technical fall at 1:58.

"This isn't my weight class, but I was given the chance to compete at the world championships at 63kg," Ota said. "For that purpose, I prepared diligently. Anyway, this year I will aim to become the champion at 63kg."

Ota had some compassion for Yamada, a current star at Ota's alma mater, Nippon Sport Science University, and with whom he has sparred in practice.

"He's someone I've always had a soft spot for, so I felt sorry to put his through this. I have total respect for him, and I had to go all out. I suppose I owe him a dinner."

Ota has already been successful internationally at 63kg, winning the Hungarian Grand Prix and finishing second at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament earlier this year. He will face a major test this week when he heads to Belarus for the Oleg Karavaev Memorial.

Yudai TAKAHASHI earned the 79kg spot with after a 5-4 win over Yuta ABE. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

In other action, two high schoolers earned trips to the senior worlds with close victories, as Yudai TAKAHASHI held on for a 5-4 victory over Yuta ABE at freestyle 79kg and Yuzuka INAGAKI edged Yumeka TANABE 4-4 for the women's 59kg spot.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," said Takahashi, who avenged a loss by technical fall to Abe at the All-Japan. "But to be able to compete, I'm very grateful and I will work hard leading up to the world championships."

Takahashi will be keeping busy. He has the national high school championship next week, then the World Junior Championships in August.

While there will two pairs of sisters heading to Nur-Sultan (Yukako KAWAI will join sister Risako along with the two Iries), a brother combination was thwarted when Kojiro SHIGA proved too strong for Daichi TAKATANI at freestyle 70kg.

Asian Games silver medalist Takatani, who failed to unseat world champion Takuto OTOGURO at 65kg, moved up to 70kg in an attempt to join older brother Sosuke, Japan's entry at 86kg, on the world team.

But Shiga, the silver medalist at the Asian Championships in April, was able to shut down Takatani's low single attempts and counter rolls to rally from a 6-4 deficit to win 15-8.

"I could feel that he had changed weight class," Shiga said. "I was cutting 5 kgs myself, so I felt the difference in body size, that I was bigger.

"He preceded me at [Takushoku] University and we had practiced together. So we know each other. I knew he was good at tackles, and I kept alert for that."

In the women's 72kg class, former two-time world junior champion Masako FURUICHI won out in a three-women playoff that saw the late withdrawal of high school phenom Yuka KAGAMI.

Kagami, who will compete at 72kg at the world junior championships, said she preferred to begin making the transition to the Olympic weight of 76kg. Two-time world bronze medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA filled that spot on the Japan team, but a failure to medal at Nur-Sultan would open the competition back up.

Japan National Team

Freestyle
57kg - Yuki TAKAHASHI
61kg -Kaiki YAMAGUCHI
65kg- Takuto OTOGURO
70kg - Kojiro SHIGA
74kg- Mao OKUI
79kg- Yudai TAKAHASHI
86kg- Sosuke TAKATANI
92kg -Tkuma OTSU
97kg -Naoya AKAGUMA
125 kg - Nobuyoshi ARAKIDA

Greco-Roman
55kg - Shota OGAWA
60kg - Kenichiro FUMITA
63kg - Shinobu OTA
67kg - Shogo TAKAHASHI
72kg - Tomohiro INOUE
77kg - Shohei YABIKU
82kg - Yuya OKAJIMA
87kg - Masato SUMI
97kg - Yuta NARA
130kg - Arata SONODA

Women's Wrestling
50kg - Yuki IRIE
53kg - Mayu MUKAIDA
55kg - Nanami IRIE
57kg - Risako KAWAI
59kg - Yuzuka INAGAKI
62kg - Yukako KAWAI
65kg - Naomi RUIKE
68kg - Sara DOSHO
72kg - Masako FURUICHI
76kg - Hiroe MINAGAWA

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 - 18:53 By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 6) -- Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) now has a place in a pantheon on his own.

In the 128-year history of the Summer Olympics, no athlete had ever won five gold medals in the same event in any sport. Until Tuesday, when Lopez accomplished the feat at the Paris Olympics with a dominant performance at Greco 130kg.

The 41-year-old Lopez defeated Cuban-born and former training partner Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) 6-0 in the final before a packed crowd at the Champs de Mars Arena that included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“I'm happy, it has been an important achievement in my life, in my career," Lopez said. "It has also been an achievement of all my coaching team, my mom, my dad, my family in general, that have been helping me in every single one of my tasks in the sport. And what better celebration than to have achieved this gold medal.”

In other finals, Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) captured the Greco 60kg that eluded him at his home Olympics three years ago, while rising star Amit ELOR (USA) triumphed at women's 68kg to become the second wrestler to add an Olympic gold to world titles on all four age-group levels.

After a delay for Bach to be seated and the arena in an expectant buzz, Lopez started the featured match of the tournament by scoring a 2-point roll off par terre in the first period against Acosta, who had made history himself by giving Chile its first-ever Olympic wrestling medal.

Lopez added a takedown in the second period to clinch the victory in his first competition since winning the gold three years ago in Tokyo.

There will be no sixth gold. After slamming his coach to the mat in celebration and acknowledging the cheers of the adoring crowd, Lopez took off his wrestling shoes and left them in the middle of the mat, the universal sign of a wrestler's decision to end his career.

"It's a moment to demonstrate that someone has retired officially from the sport of wrestling and that also leaves a path wide open for the younger generation to continue inspiring others," said Lopez, who dedicated the victory to his late father.

Coming into Paris, Lopez had been one of six athletes who had won four golds in the same event along with fellow wrestler Kaori ICHO (JPN), sailing's Paul ELVSTROM (DEN), athletics' Al OERTER (USA) and Carl LEWIS (USA), and swimming's Michael PHELPS (USA). Swimmer Katie LEDECKY (USA) and shooting's Vincent HANCOCK (USA) joined the group in Paris.

Amazingly, Lopez was appearing in his sixth Olympics, having finished fifth in his debut at the 2004 Athens Games. He was also a five-time world champion and three-time silver medalist dating back to his first title in 2005. His last defeat came in the final of the 2015 World Championships to rival Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

Reflecting on his remarkable career, Lopez commented, "To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things."

Asked to describe each gold medal in one word, he replied: "Beijing: youth. London: transcendence. Rio: effort. Tokyo: sacrifice. Paris: joy."

Before Lopez made history, Fumita won the Greco 60kg gold that had been an obsession since that tearful day at the Tokyo Olympics, when he lost in the final to Luis ORTA (CUB).

Fumita put together a masterful match, scoring from par terre in the first period and keeping Liguo CAO (CHN) at bay throughout to notch a 4-1 victory and end a 40-year drought for Japan in Greco at the Olympics.

"The number one thing that clearly comes to my mind now is the final from three years ago," Fumita said. "[The three years] was a difficult period that I had never experienced before. But there were also good times in there as well. In total, there were more plusses, which is why I could win the title today."

In the intervening years, the 28-year-old Fumita, a former two-time world champion, got married and became a father. He also lost in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade to Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), a loss that gave him a new perspective on his career -- and which he avenged in the semifinals in Paris on Monday.

He said he was motivated by his family and a large group of supporters who made the trip to Paris. "If it wasn't for my family, I might not have tried again [for the Olympics]," he said. "All the people who have helped me along the way have made this special."

As for becoming Japan's first Greco champion since Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN) won the 52kg gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Fumita responded, "It's something to accomplish a feat for the first time in 40 years. But honestly speaking, my bigger feeling is of disappointment that we haven't won for 40 years. I hope that Japan Greco makes great progress in the next 40 years."

Fumita had previously won world titles in 2017 and 2019 before winning a bronze in 2022 and a silver last year. Including his Tokyo silver, none will ever compare with the gold he just won.

"I don't know how many grams its weighs, but it's heavier than any medal I've won up to now," he said. "But it's not just its actual weight. The long time I have aimed at getting it, all of the emotions that went into it, I feel [the weight of it] all hanging from my neck."

In the final match of the night, two-time world 72kg champion Elor put up a wall of defense that Tokyo bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) was unable to penetrate in a 3-0 victory in the women's 68kg final.

"It was one of the best moments in my life," Elor said. "And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days the grind, it's all worth it for moments like these."

The 20-year-old Elor, who cut weight for the first time in her life to make her first Olympics, scored the lone technical points of the match with a takedown off a counter, then added an activity point as she kept the 2021 world champion at bay with an underhook that thwarted any tackle attempts.

"I actually wrestled her a few times in international training camps when I was younger," Elor said of the 24-year-old Zhumananarova. "She's a little bit older than me, so those were pretty tough bouts. I know she is an extremely solid, strong wrestler, so my mindset going into the match was to be patient, stay in good position, and to trust in my style of wrestling and in my skills."

With the Olympic gold, Elor joins Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as the only wrestlers who have completed the "Golden Grand Slam" of titles, having previously won the world cadet (U17) in 2021 and the world U20, U23 and senior titles in 2022.

"I think the number one thing that's helped me develop mentally has been experience," Elor said. "For the past two years, I've done three world championships in one summer. Those experiences have not only helped me stay focused and solid under pressure, they've also helped me improve as a wrestler and as a person."

Elor became the third American woman to win Olympic gold after Helen MAROULIS (USA) at Rio 2016 and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) last year in Tokyo, while preventing Zhumanazarova from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first Olympic gold medalist in any sport.

Elor already has an added incentive to defend her title in 2028. "Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics, because I'm from California.

"To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible. I have been excited about that ever since I heard about it."

Sharshenbekov, Mirzazadeh, Ozaki take home bronzes

Sharshenbekov added an Olympic bronze to his two world golds when he got the roll in par terre in the first period and defeated Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) 3-1 at Greco 60kg.

Sharshenbekov completed a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then held his ground while on bottom in the second to close with a victory after seeing his streak of 10 consecutive tournament titles ended by Fumita in the semifinals.

In the other bronze-medal match at Greco 60kg, Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) saw his bid to become Venezuela's first-ever Olympic medalist in wrestling end in just over a minute when he was soundly defeated by Se Ung RI (PRK) 10-0.

Ri, a Youth Olympic champion back in 2014 who returned to global competition at the 2023 Asian Games and came home with a bronze medal, followed a takedown with three successive rolls to end the match in 1:11.

At Greco 130kg, reigning world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) secured the bronze medal that he missed out on in Tokyo with a 4-0 win over Iranian-born Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), the 35-year-old who was looking to add to his bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Mirzazadeh went ahead 3-0 with a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then picked up a fourth point by keeping the pressure on and receiving a second passivity point. Although he was unable to turn Shariati again, he was never in danger and went on become Iran's first-ever Olympic medalist in the heaviest Greco weight.

Shariati, who suffered a gash over his right eye that had to be bandaged during the match, got a ride on the shoulders of Mirzazadeh after the match as a sign of respect. Shariati then left his shoes on the mat.

Lingzhe MENG (CHN) won the other 130kg bronze, scoring two takedowns in the second period to defeat Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY) 5-2 and avenge a loss to the Egyptian in the bronze-medal match at last year's World Championships.

At women's 68kg, world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) finally managed to finish off a takedown and it came at the buzzer to defeat teenager Sol Gum PAK (PRK) 4-2.

Tosun had two stepouts sandwiched around Pak's second-period takedown to trail on criteria 2-2. But with the seconds ticking down, she fought off Pak's whizzer and got behind just as time ran out, denying Pak's bid to become the first-ever women's Olympic medalist for DPR Korea.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) assured she would have something to show for her ordeal of moving up two weight classes to be in Paris by defeating Tokyo silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 3-0 for the other women's 68kg bronze.

Ozaki scored with a sweeping single that sent Oborududu directly to her back in the first period. She added an activity point in the second and never allowed Oborududu an opening.

Ozaki was the 2022 world 62kg champion who missed out on Japan's Olympic spot in that weight class. After a stop at 65kg last year to add a second world title, she secured her ticket to Paris at 68kg with a last-second victory over Ami ISHII (JPN) in a domestic playoff.

Despite winning the gold at the Asian Championships in April in her international debut at 68kg, she struggled in Paris against the naturally heavier opponents and saw her gold-medal hopes end with a late loss to Zhumanazarova in the quarterfinals.

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Liguo CAO (CHN), 4-1

BRONZE: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 3-1
BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) by TF, 8-0, 1:11

77kg
SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 3-1
SF 2: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 6-1

97kg
SF 1: Artur ALEKSANYAN df. Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), 5-3
SF 2: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Mohamad GABR (EGY), 6-0

130kg
GOLD: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI), 6-0

BRONZE: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE: Lingzhe MENG (CHN) df. Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY), 5-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
SF 1: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) df. Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), 5-0
SF 2: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), 5-0

68kg
GOLD -- Amit ELOR (USA) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 3-0

BRONZE -- Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Sol Gum PAK (PRK), 4-2
BRONZE -- Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), 3-0

2nd Irie Knocks Off World Champion to Make Japan's World Team; Ota Gains 63kg Spot

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Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history