#WrestleSofia

Datunashvili Denies Rio champ Chakvetadze Ticket to Tokyo; Armenia Grabs 2 Greco spots

Saturday, May 8, 2021 - 23:03 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

SOFIA, Bulgaria (May 8) -- After appearing in two Olympics for his native Georgia, Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) will now get to represent his adopted country of Serbia. It took a victory over the defending Olympic champion to do it, and one that also spoiled Russia's perfect record in qualifying.

Datunashvili did what needed to be done to forge out a 1-1 victory on criteria over Rio 2016 gold medalist Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS) in the semifinals at 87kg, earning his country one of the 12 Greco-Roman spots allocated at the final world Olympic qualifying tournament on Saturday night in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Both wrestlers were limited to a passivity point, but Datunashvili's came later to give him the victory as the semifinal winners in each of the six weight classes clinched tickets to Tokyo for their country.

In the last 10 seconds, the Georgian-born Chakvetadze got in on a body lock, but Datunashvili whizzered his way out of danger to give Serbia a third Greco spot at the Tokyo Games.

"It's been hard for me," said Datunashvili, who won his third career European championship this year and first for Serbia. "He is also a Georgian and I am, too. We wrestled in training when we were younger. This is the first time we met in a competition and I won."

Competing for Georgia, Datunashvili finished seventh at the London 2012 Olympics, then dropped to 18th four years later in Rio. He made his debut for Serbia last year.

"I had many problems in Georgia but Serbia adopted me," he said. "I say thanks to them."

For Russia, Greco 87kg will be the only weight class without an entry, after the country completed the sets in freestyle and women's wrestling on the first two days of the tournament.

In Greco, only Cuba will have the full six-member squad.

In the other 87kg semifinal, Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) stuffed a tiring Kristoffer BERG (SWE) on a back drop in the last 50 seconds for 2 points, then added a stepout for a 4-1 victory to give Croatia a second Olympic spot.

"I wrestled him in camp but this was the first time in competition," Huklek said. "This will be my first Olympics and I am going to take a medal from Tokyo."

Huklek added he was dedicating his triumph to his sister who died recently.

It was a good night for Armenia, which doubled its allotment of Greco places with victories by Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) at 60kg and Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) at 67kg. For both, the ability to convert in the par terre position became the difference between victory and defeat.

Melikyan coverted from the down position in the first period, then added a late takedown for a 5-2 victory over Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), one of just two Asians who appeared in the semifinals.

Both lost.

The other winner at 60kg was Victor CIOBANU (MDA), the 2018 world silver medalist who finally made it to the Olympics in his third try with a stunning victory by fall over Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO).

Ciobanu used an arm throw to get behind, and when Chkhartishvili tried to escape by sitting out, the Moldovan sucked him back to put him on his back, then clamped down for a fall at 2:11.

"This was so hard but I kept on fighting," Ciobanu said. "I just thought to continue wrestling and thank God I won in this manner."

Aslanyan's victory at 67kg came at the expense of Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA), as he was able to convert in par terre after his opponent couldn't for a 3-1 victory.

In the other semifinal, 2018 world junior bronze medalist Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) scored a pair of four-point moves in the first period of a 10-3 victory that denied Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN) a spot in the Olympics in his home country.

The Czech Republic became the 61st and last country to grab a ticket to Tokyo in wrestling when Artur OMAROV (CZE) secured one of the two places at 97kg.

Omarov, who finished third at at last December's Individual World Cup, outclassed Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU) in an 8-0 technical fall in 5:12 that he capped with his third stepout point of the match.

A transplanted Georgian came out on the losing end in the other semifinal, in which Alex SZOKE (HUN) defeated Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA) 6-1 after scoring a pair of two-point rolls from the par terre position.

"The scoreboard shows that it was an easy match but it was not easy," said Szoke, who finished second at the Individual World Cup. "It was hard but I was very strong mentally to win this and qualify."

Host Bulgaria came away with an Olympic spot at 77kg -- although there were no spectators at Arena Armeec Sport Hall to appreciate it -- when Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) defeated Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) 3-2.

Mnatsakanian, a two-time world bronze medalist at 72kg, gave up a stepout and a passivity point before getting a takedown to go ahead on criteria. He received a passivity point in the second period then protected the lead to the end.

In the other 77kg semifinal, Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) scored a pair of takedowns in the first period and defeated former world champion Viktor NEMES (SRB) 4-1.

"This win is so hard for me because my opponent is a famous wrestler – world and European champion," said Huseynov, the 2020 European champion himself at 82kg and a former world silver medalist. "I am very happy to win this match.

"This is my first Olympics and I think I will be better there because after 2014 and after seven years, this is my first competition in this category."

For the 33-year-old Huseynov, much of the battle was with the scale in dropping to the lower weight.

"I reduced 12 kgs for this competition, but for the Olympics I will be good," he said. "I was very strong in March 2020 but then COVID happened. We had to wait. I was trying to go to 87kg, but we have strong wrestlers in that category. So I decided to drop to 77kg."

At 130kg, 2020 European champion Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) earned his third trip to the Olympics by putting up a solid wall of defense to shut out Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL) 5-0.

Alexuc Ciurariu scored his first two points on passivity calls, and even though he could not convert in the par terre position, he put the match out of reach with a spin-behind takedown. An unsuccessful challenge added the final point.

"Not many people believed in me but I always believed that I would qualify," Alexuc Ciurariu said. "The bouts were very hard but I wanted to win."

In the final bout of the night at 130kg, Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN) defeated Mykola KUCHMII (UKR) 1-1 on criteria, with both points allocated for passivity.

Interestingly, Kuosmanen opted to remain on his feet in lieu of the par terre position. In the end, it neither helped nor harmed him, as neither wrestler could launch an effective attack.

Day 3 Results: Greco-Roman

60kg (25 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Victor CIOBANU (MDA) df. Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) by Fall, 2:11 (2-1)
SEMIFINAL - Armen MELIKYAN (ARM) df. Hanjae CHUNG (KOR), 5-2

67kg (26 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) df. Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA), 3-1
SEMIFINAL - Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), 10-3

77kg (30 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) df. Viktor NEMES (SRB), 4-1
SEMIFINAL - Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) df. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR), 3-2

87kg (27 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) df. Davit CHAKVETADZE (RUS), 1-1
SEMIFINAL - Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) df. Kristoffer BERG (SWE), 4-1

97kg (21 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA), 6-1
SEMIFINAL - Artur OMAROV (CZE) df. Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU) by TF, 8-0, 5:13

130kg (19 entries)
SEMIFINAL - Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) df. Rafal KRAJEWSKI (POL), 5-0
SEMIFINAL - Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN) df. Mykola KUCHMII (UKR), 1-1

#JapanWrestling

Ono entered at 57kg, Susaki at 50kg for All-Japan Championships

Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 15:34 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

TOKYO (December 4) -- After winning both the U20 and senior world titles at freestyle 61kg within a two-month span in the autumn of 2024, Masanosuke ONO all but disappeared from the Japanese wrestling scene.

That culminated with his announcement in March this year that, having left Yamanashi Gakuin University, he had committed to wrestle at U.S. collegiate powerhouse Penn State. He has not been seen on the mats of Japan since.

Ono will compete once again in his home country, dropping down from 61kg to 57kg for the upcoming Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym, according to the entry list announced Thursday by the Japan Wrestling Federation.

The tournament, to be held December 18-21, will also serve as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the Asian Games and World Championships in 2026.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN)Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will compete at 50kg at the Emperor's Cup. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Among other notable recent absentees appearing on the entry list is Yui SUSAKI, the 2021 Tokyo Olympic champion at 50kg who had to settle for a bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She will compete at 50kg, putting to bed speculation that she might move up to the 53kg division.

"This will be a tournament to start me anew on the road to the Los Angeles Olympics," Susaki said in an online press conference with the Japanese media, as reported by Wrestling-Spirits.jp.

"In order to reclaim the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, as a challenger starting from scratch, I want to win in a Yui Susaki-esque way of wrestling."

The 21-year-old Ono had been a question mark with the tournament falling in the middle of the Penn State season. But the decision to redshirt Ono -- the system of allowing him to train with the team while withholding him from competition to maintain an extra year of eligibility -- opened the door for him to make the trip back to Japan.

Assuming he does not have trouble making weight, he should be the class of the 57kg field, with his toughest competition most likely coming from two-time Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI.

One opponent he won't have to contend with is Paris Olympic champion Rei HIGUCHI, who decided to continue delaying his return to action. Also missing is defending champion Rin SAKAMOTO, who was injured at the World Championships. With Sakamoto also across the Pacific at Oklahoma State University, it prevents a rare clash of U.S.-based wrestlers.

Susaki only returned to action in September, and both of her forays were at 53kg. That, and the well-publicized move up to 57kg by Akari FUJINAMI, the 53kg champion in Paris, fueled conjecture that Susaki might also move up.

Susaki started at the National Sports Festival, where she competed at 53kg if for no other reason that it was one of only two women's weight classes in the competition. She lost a defensive-oriented 2-1 decision to 2024 world 55kg champion Moe KIYOOKA in the quarterfinals, marking her first loss to a Japanese opponent in six years.

"Losing at the National Sports Festival gave me the chance to look inside myself," Susaki said. "The result was really disappointing, but I'm glad I took part and was grateful for the opportunity."

Now 26, the four-time world champion is firmly determined to regain the Olympic gold that eluded her in Paris with a heart-breaking last-second loss to Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) in the opening round.

"I truly was shown just how difficult and challenging it was to win at the Paris Olympics. It also gave me a chance to reflect on the preparation process leading up to the competition and what was needed mentally for the Olympics. I will work hard to use that experience to make sure I win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics."

Susaki's top challengers at the Emperor's Cup appear to be world U23 bronze medalist Umi ITO and Haruna MORIKAWA, the world U23 champion at 53kg.

Meanwhile the presence of Fujinami, who added the world U23 title in October to her burgeoning resume, has been immediately felt at 57kg. Despite being an Olympic weight class, the division drew just nine others who will look to end the 21-year-old superstar's 147-match winning streak.

Her most potentially dangerous opponent could be Asian champion Sara NATAMI. At the National Sports Festival, she was losing 8-1 at 62kg to world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI when she countered a takedown attempt by slamming her to her back for a fall.

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)Paris Olympic and 2025 world champion Sakura MOTOKI (JPN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari) 

Golden trio at women's 62kg; returns of Paris champs Fumita, Kagami

As with any Japan competition that has world or Olympic berths at stake, a number of weight classes could see clashes between multiple wrestlers with global successes as they jockey for position in the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

And in one case, there are three at once, while two other weight classes could have direct clashes of champions from this year's worlds in Zagreb, Croatia.

At women's 62kg, Paris and 2025 world gold medalist Sakura MOTOKI will renew her rivalry with two-time former world champion Nonoka OZAKI, while Onishi moves up from 59kg to join the mix and can't be overlooked.

At women’s 68kg, reigning world champion Ami ISHII could lock horns with Miwa MORIKAWA, the gold medalist at 65kg, while at freestyle 74kg, we could see a battle between Zagreb winner Kota TAKAHASHI and 70kg titlist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI.

Like Susaki, all of Japan's large group of Paris medalists took some time off to bask in the spotlight before gradually returning to the mat over the past two years.

Two of the remaining gold medalist holdouts -- Kenichiro FUMITA and Yuka KAGAMI -- will both take the mat for the first time since their Paris victories at the Emperor's Cup.

Fumita, who won an elusive gold medal in Paris at Greco 60kg after taking the silver at Tokyo 2021, is entered at 63kg, where he will aim for a fifth national title and first since 2022. Kagami is entered at her gold medal-winning weight of women's 76kg. Their own rustiness may be more of a factor then the opponents.

While away from competition, Fumita spent the ensuing time experimenting with different methods as he looks to expand his reportoire.

"I have some anxiety, but I'm also looking forward to it," Fumita told Wrestling-Spirits.jp. "I achieved my goal in Paris, and on top of that, I've been taking a good look at wrestling. it. It was a year and four months full of new experiences. This will be a battlefield to reveal my new wrestling. I want to show wrestling that is free and unrestrained."

Fumita said he observed the nerves shown by fellow Paris gold medalists Nao KUSAKA (Greco 77kg) and Kotaro KIYOOKA (freestyle 65kg) when they returned to mat ahead of him at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships last spring.

"Before their matches, both of them looked pale," Fumita said. "I want to focus on fighting without putting too much pressure on myself. For better or worse, I want to fight thinking of myself as a different person than I was in Paris."

Other intriguing weight classes include freestyle 65kg, where Kiyooka may have to contend with Asian champion Kaisei TANABE, Asian 61kg champion Takara SUDA and two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI.

Two gold medalists from Tokyo who took time off for marriage and childbirth are back, with Mayu SHIDOCHI (nee MUKAIDA) challenging Moe Kiyooka at women's 55kg and Yukako INAMURA (nee KAWAI) entered at 59kg.

In Greco, rising star Taizo YOSHIDA, a bronze medalist at both the U20 and senior worlds this year at 82kg, has moved up to 87kg, where he will challenge two-time defending champion So SAKABE.