#UWWRankings

Four USA women top ranked after continental championships

Friday, May 27, 2022 - 14:48 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (May 26) -- In the last three months, wrestlers have been busy competing at the continental championships to attain ranking points.

With the four tournaments now over, the rankings present a clearer picture of where the wrestlers stand in terms of ranks with only three more events remaining to earn more points.

Bolat Turlykhanov Cup in Almaty, Matteo Pellicone in Rome and Zouhaier Sghaier in Tunis are the Ranking Series events that will help wrestlers earn points and get seeds for the September World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia where the top eight wrestlers will get seeded.

Women's rankings saw major changes and as the points get closer, more wrestlers are entered for the next ranking series event in Almaty.

50kg
Her Olympic bronze, World Championships silver and now the Pan-Am gold has steered Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) clear at the top spot at 50kg. The USA wrestler now has 84200 points while world champion Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) is second with 55000 points.

Yoshimoto won the Asian title in April to move ahead of Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) who has 51000 points. The two are expected to compete against each other for a spot on Japan's World Championships team.

European silver medalist Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) takes the fourth spot with 49900 points while bronze medalist Emilia VUC (ROU) has 49100 points at the fifth position.

Yanan SUN (CHN), Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RWF) and Mariya STADNIK (AZE) occupy the sixth to ninth positions but have not competed since the Olympics or Worlds last year.

Namuuntsetseg TSOGTOCHIR won a silver medal at home at the Asian Championships to increase her points to 31000 and is 10th in the rankings followed by African champion Sarra HAMDI (TUN) [30980 points] at 11th  and Pan-Am silver medalist Madison PARKS (CAN) [29200 points] at 12th.

European champion Evin DEMIRHAN (TUR) broke into the top-15 with her gold and now has 21600 points.

Bolortuya BAT-OCHIR (MGL)Bolortuya BAT-OCHIR (MGL) is the top ranked wrestler at 53kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

53kg
Olympic bronze medalist Bolortuya BATOCHIR missed the Asian Championships but is still the top-ranked wrestler at 53kg with 56200 points, thanks to her gold at the Istanbul Ranking Series. 

But the battle for the top five is intense as world champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) won her first Asian title as well and is now second with 55000 points.

European Championships bronze Iulia LEORDA (MDA) takes the third spot with 53700 points. She received 6500 points for the effort in Budapest. Luisa VALVERDE (ECU) won silver at the Pan-Am Championships and jumped to fifth spot and has 51000 points, the same as Olympic champion and fourth-placed Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN).

Qianyu PANG (CHN) has 41400 points for the sixth spot but Samantha STEWART (CAN) can overtake her soon as she has 39000 points after finishing fifth at the Pan-Ams.

World bronze medalist Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL) is eighth after her bronze at the Euros with 37500 points, 2700 points more than European champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) [34800 points]. Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BWF) rounds off the top-10 as she trails Malmgren by just 600 points at the 10th position.

From 11-16, the ranking gets even closer as Annika WENDLE (GER) has 27520 points at 11th, Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR) has 25000 points at 12th, Zeynep YETGIL (TUR) has 23200 points at 13th, Pan-Am champion Dominique PARRISH (USA) has 23200 points at 14th, while two Tokyo Olympics fifth -- Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) and Joseph ESSOMBE (CMR) -- are 15th and 16th with 23000 points each.

Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)World champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) continues to be at the top at 55kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

55kg
World champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) continues to lead the rankings with 43000 points. However, she won her first Asian title at 57kg and is expected to stay in that weight. The next best then comes Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR) with 37000 points after her silver medal at the European Championships for 8000 points.

World silver Nina HEMMER (GER) is third with 35000 points while bronze at the same tour Jenna BURKERT (USA) is fourth with 29000 points. European champion Andreea ANA (ROU) has 26200 points after her gold which helped her break into the top five.

India's PINKI (IND) is sixth with 23000 points, followed by Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RWF) [23000 points] and Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) [19000 points], Mehlika OZTURK (TUR) [18100 points] and African champion Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) [15000 points] in the top-10.

Pan-Am champion Karla GODINEZ (CAN) debuted in the rankings with 10000 points and takes the 12th spot.

Helen MAROULIS (USA)Helen MAROULIS (USA) leads the 57kg rankings with 79200 points. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Helen MAROULIS (USA) skipped the Pan-Am Championships but her bronze at the Olympics and gold at Worlds have helped her pocket 79200 points to be number one in the rankings.

A close second is Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) with 72200 points as she won the Istanbul Ranking Series gold after her Olympic bronze and later added a European silver medal. World silver medalist Anshu MALIK (IND) won another silver at the Asian Championships to be back in the top three with 58500 points.

Iryna KURACHKINA (BWF) has 51600 points to be fourth followed by Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) [51000 points]. Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF) is sixth with 35200 points.

In the absence of Maroulis, Giullia DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) had a chance to win the Pan-Am gold but she ended up with a bronze which gave her only 6500 points. She now has 32180 points at the seventh spot.

Silver at Pan-Ams Alma ESCOTO (MEX) is 10th with 29300 points while Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR) is 11th with 25000 points.

Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL) and Valeria KOBLOVA (ROC) were fifth at the Olympics and are 12th and 13th in the rankings with 23000 points each.

Junior world champion Nilufar RAIMOVA (KAZ) comes in at number 14 with 20500 points while Bolortuya KHURELKHUU is at 15th with 17900 points.

Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)Second placed Sarita MOR (IND), right, has the best chance to replace world champ Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) at the top at 59kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

59kg
No one has been able to overtake world champion Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL) as the top-ranked wrestler. She has 45000 points from the Worlds and still sits at the top. Silver to her at Worlds Akie HANAI (JPN) is third with 37000 points.

Separating the two is bronze medalist Sarita MOR (IND) with 38050 points. She moved past Hanai with a bronze at the Asian Championships for 3250 points. Fourth is Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) with 35000 points after her silver medal at the Asian Championships.

She was fourth at the European Championships but the 58000 points helped Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE) move from ninth to fifth as she now has 28300 points, 3300 points more than sixth-placed Maya NELSON (USA). Sara LINDBORG (SWE) has 25000 points in the seventh spot while Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) has 24400 points to be eighth.

European champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) has 21000 points as she also won the Istanbul event. Linda MORAIS (CAN) has 18200 points to be ranked 10th.

Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (SWE) has 17000 points at 11th, Krystsina SAZYKINA (BWF) has 15500 points at 12th, Ebru DAGBASI (TUR) has 10880 points at 13th and Elif YANIK (TUR) has 10600 points at 14th.

African champion Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR) debuts in the rankings at 15th with 10000 points.

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) has 94400 points at the top at 62kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

62kg
She may not have won gold medals at Istanbul Ranking Series and Asian Championships but Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) has an enormous lead over her opponents at 62kg. She won a silver at Olympics, gold at Worlds and silver at Asians to have 94400 points at the top.

The next best wrestler is Olympic bronze and European champion Taybe YUSEIN (BUL) with 53200 points followed by World and Pan-Am silver medalist Kayla MIRACLE (USA) who has 51200 points. Yukako KAWAI (JPN) has 51000 points at fourth with Lais NUNES (BRA) at fifth with 43900 points.

Japan's new sensation at 62kg Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) is fifth with 41000 points as she won bronze at the Worlds and gold at the Asian Championships.

Two Ukraine wrestlers take the seventh and eighth spots as Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) has 34200 points while Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) has 31500 points.

World bronze medalist Gantuya ENKHBAT (MGL) has been pushed down to ninth as she has 31000 points while Pan-Am champ Ana GODINEZ (CAN) has risen to 10th with 27000 points.

African champion Marwa AMRI (TUN) added 10000 points to be 12th in the rankings as she now has 24000 points.

Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) with 21300 points is 15th in the rankings.

Forrest MOLINARI (USA)Pan-Am champion Forrest MOLINARI (USA) is the top ranked wrestler at 65kg. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

65kg
Forrest MOLINARI (USA) had replaced world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) at the top by winning gold in Istanbul and now she is 5000 points clear at the top with the Pan-Am title. She now has 49000 points against Ringaci's 45000 points. Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) added the Asian title to her World silver to be third with 42000 points.

The rest of the field lags behind in points as fourth-placed Malin MATTSSON (SWE) has only 31000 points followed by Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL) at fifth with 25000 points. Maryia MAMASHUK (BWF) also has 25000 points but is sixth.

European silver medalist Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) has 24400 points at the seventh position while bronze medalist Kriszta INCZE (ROU) has 23220 points to be eighth. Dinara KUDAEVA (RWF) [19350 points] takes the ninth spot.

European champion Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) breaks into the top-10 at 10th with 19000 points for her title and 11th position at the World Championships.

The points she collected at the Olympics and World Championships -- 18200 -- take Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) to the 11th spot. Asli DEMIR (TUR) is 12th with 17000 points and Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ) is 13th with 15500 points.

After winning a bronze at the Istanbul Ranking event, Khadija JLASSI (TUN) won a silver medal at the African Championships to earn 14200 points and move to the 14th spot. Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL) rounds off the top-15 with 13280 points.

Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) has 91600 points at the top spot at 68kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

68kg
Olympic champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) missed the gold at World Championships and then skipped the Pan-Am Championships which allowed world champion Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) to take the top spot at 68kg with 91600 points. Mensah has 80000 points at the second position. Zhumanazarova, however, will rue the fact that she could not create a bigger cap as she missed out on gold at the Istanbul event and Asian Championships.

In Istanbul, Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) won gold and followed that up with the African title to be ranked third with 74400 points.

Others are playing catch-up in the rankings as Khanum VELIEVA (RWF) is fourth with 49200 points followed by world silver Rin MIYAJI (JPN) with 35000 points.

Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR) is sixth with 34200 points and 1000 points behind her is Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) at seventh. Tokyo Olympics fifth-placers Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL) and Sara DOSHO (JPN) take the eighth and ninth spots as both have 23000 points each. Fith at the World Championships Olivia DI BACCO (CAN) also has 23000 points and is 10th.

The top-15 places are rounded off by Feng ZHOU (CHN) [16200 points], Anastasiia LAVRENCHUK (UKR) [16200 points], Ambar FLORES (MEX) [15400 points], Anna SCHELL (GER) [13500 points] and Danute DOMIKAITYTE (LTU) [13500 points].

Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) remains the top ranked wrestler at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

72kg
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) continues to be at the top at 72kg with 48000 points while Anna SCHELL (GER) is second with 45400 points as he moved ahead of arch-rival Buse TOSUN (TUR) 41000 points who is fourth. Separating them at third is Masako FURUICHI (JPN) who has 43000 points.

Fifth-placed Davaanasan ENKH-AMAR (MGL) is lagging behind with just 26250 points followed by Cynthia VESCAN (FRA) who has 23000 points. Divya KAKRAN (IND) takes the seventh spot with 16200 points.

Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BWF) with 15000 points is eighth while Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL) is ninth with 13500 points. Junior world champion Kylie WELKER (USA) tops off the top-10 as she has 12300 points.

Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) has 10200 points at 11th, Kseniia BURAKOVA (RWF) is 12th with 9400 points,  Zsuzsanna MOLNAR (SVK) has 7000 points at 13th, Kendra DACHER (FRA) takes the 14th spot with 6500 points.

Yuliana YANEVA (BUL) has 6500 points to finish in the top-15 rankings at 72kg.

Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), blue, can overtake world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) at the top at 76kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

76kg
Adeline GRAY (USA) will not be at the World Championships which means Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) has the opportunity to take the top rank and seed. Gray still leads the ranking with 86400 points but Medet Kyzy has 77000 points and has three tournaments to go past Gray.

World bronze and African champion Samar HAMZA (EGY) will also fancy her chances for the top seed as she has 61100 points at third. But it will a big task for her. Moreover, European silver medalist Epp MAE (EST) has 60000 points at fourth and can go past Hamza.

Olympic champion Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) has 51000 points for her gold but is retired and cannot move up. But bronze medalist in Tokyo and European champion Yasemin ADAR (TUR) can break into the top three as she has 44200 points at the sixth spot.

Qian ZHOU (CHN) is number seven with 34200 points and is likely to get a seed at Worlds if she is registered in September.

Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR) and Kiran GODARA (IND) have 25000 points each to take the eighth and ninth positions respectively while Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN) rounds off the top-10 with 23000 points.

Francy RAEDELT (GER) has 21500 points at 11th, Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) has 19700 points at 12th and Zagardulam NAIGALSUREN (MGL) has 18200 points at the 13th position.

Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) takes the 14th spot with 17000 points while Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ) is 15th with 16700 points.

#WrestleParis

Japan gold medalists meet fans, looking to inspire their successors

Thursday, August 29, 2024 - 14:15 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (August 29) -- It may not compare to the punishing six minutes on the mat in an Olympic final, but standing for over two hours shaking hands, taking photos and signing autographs can take its toll -- and be rewarding in its own way.

Rei HIGUCHI was among five of Japan's eight gold medalists at the Paris Olympics who participated in a meet-and-greet on Sunday in Tokyo, where over 500 people turned out to see this new group of heroes.

"I don't want this to be the last event, so we can help make wrestling more popular," Higuchi said at a press conference following the session. "That's one of the responsibilities of the top athletes. I want to do all that I can."

Higuchi, the freestyle 57kg champion, was joined by fellow freestyle gold medalist Kotaro KIYOOKA (65kg), Greco winner Nao KUSAKA (77kg) and women's champions Tsugumi SAKURAI (57kg) and Sakura MOTOKI (62kg), as well as freestyle 74kg silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI.

The adoring fans came in all ages and sizes, from parents with toddlers to schoolkids sporting their wrestling club t-shirts to senior citizens, all waiting patiently in line for the chance to get up close and personal with a handful of the stars who had brought glory to their country.

For the wrestlers themselves, it was a way to express their thanks for the support they received, and to help inspire the next generation that can hopefully someday match or exceed the wrestling squad's outsized performance in Paris, where it won 11 medals in the 13 weight classes in which it had entries.

"It's amazing, more people showed up than I thought would," Sakurai said. "It really shows the value of the Olympics. I get a sense of how it gives the children dreams to shoot for.

"When I was little, I saw an Olympic gold medal and it really inspired me to work hard in wrestling. In the same way, it makes me happy if it inspires others by seeing my medal."

The event was held in the entranceway at the Komazawa Indoor Ball Sports Arena (Komazawa Gym is being renovated) in conjunction with the third day of the national collegiate championships. Many of the collegians came out for a peek at the medalists, some of whom are still, or until recently were, their teammates.

With the six lined up against a backdrop of posters of the Olympic squad, each person or group would hand their phone to a volunteer, who would snap photos as they were surrounded by the wrestlers.

The wrestlers flashed a smile and held up their medal for each shot, and sometimes one would put their medal around a young fan's neck. They all had no qualms about letting the fans touch the medal and feel its weight (and it's heavy, alright).

"I'm really happy to have so many people come to this and get a chance to touch the medal," Higuchi said. "Kids who are wrestling also came, and I am happy if this helps nurture those who will follow us. It seems that a lot of people watched the Olympics. I wanted to put [the medal] around the neck of every one, and I felt bad that there was a problem with time.

After the photos, they all took a few steps over to a table, where the wrestlers would sign autographs on t-shirts, notebooks or "shikishi," the traditional white cardboard used for such occasions. In some cases, they signed their names directly on a t-shirt that the fan was wearing.

Keito Ota, a 12-year-old from Tokyo whose mother allowed him to stay up and watch the Olympic finals that started at 4 a.m. Japan time, came to meet his favorite wrestler, Kiyooka.

"Kiyooka-san is so cool, so that's why I came to this autograph session," said Ota, a national schoolboy fifth-grade champion who was wearing his Figure Four Club t-shirt. "I was really glad [they are here], I'll work hard to become an athlete like them. The team that will be made up from my generation, we'll try to get more than eight medals."

The six medalists, from left, Rei HIGUCHI, Kotaro KIYOOKA, Tsugumi SAKURAI, Sakura MOTOKI, Nao KUSAKA and Daichi TAKATANI, pose together after the event. The six medalists, from left, Rei HIGUCHI, Kotaro KIYOOKA, Tsugumi SAKURAI, Sakura MOTOKI, Nao KUSAKA and Daichi TAKATANI, pose together after the event.

Needing to spread the word

It some ways, the event could be considered a case of preaching to the choir. There is no way of knowing how many came who had no interest in wrestling prior to the Olympics, but the Japan federation does have a problem when it comes to raising the popularity of the sport to match the country's achievements in it.

Overall, Japan won 20 gold medals in Paris, which means that nearly half were won in wrestling. But the media leans toward highlighting Gen-X favorites like skateboarding and rock-climbing, or gymnastics and table tennis in which the top competitors have become household names.

Going into Paris, the main focus when it came to wrestling was on women's 50kg star Yui SUSAKI, mainly because she was the only Japanese champion from the Tokyo Olympics who was defending her crown in Paris.

The national championships have not been regularly televised since the years when three-time Olympic champion Saori YOSHIDA was a media darling back in the early 2000s. In recent years, the only time it made the airwaves was when Rio Olympic champions Kaori ICHO and Risako KAWAI squared off to make the team to Tokyo.

"We wrestlers won eight of the 20 gold medals [won by Japan in Paris], and overall, we had 13 wrestlers and 11 won medals," the 28-year-old Higuchi said. "But it's not just about that result. From now, we have to use opportunities like this to make more people aware of the sport of wrestling.

"If wrestling stays unknown and is just a sport that comes up once every four years, there will be nobody coming up to follow us. We need to do activities that spread the word.

"It's because of those who support these events and tournaments that we were able to become wrestlers. We appreciate them, which includes the media, as we continue to do everything in our power to promote the sport."

Higuchi pointed out the vast difference between the crowd at the Japan college championships, which was maybe in the hundreds, and those at the U.S. NCAA tournament, which draws in the tens of thousands. "The intensity is completely different," he said.

During and after the Olympics, the wrestlers got valuable chances to publicize the sport on news programs and variety shows, which were only too happy to capitalize on the Olympic enthusiasm by booking appearances from the Paris medalists.

In one segment, Greco 60kg gold medalist Kenichiro FUMITA demonstrated to an unsuspecting host just how tight the waist hold of a gut wrench can be. He also got on the bottom of par terre to show how he resisted his opponents in Paris and kept from being turned. The host could barely budge him.

"The way we are treated, they are so nice, it's like we've become a celebrity," Takatani said. "Even if I made an unusual request, they listened to it. It showed just how highly regarded the Olympics is. It's like I saw a whole new world."

Sakurai, who had won a third straight world title heading to Paris (at 55kg in 2021 and conseeutive titles at 57kg in 2022 and 2023), said she had never gained much attention from the general public for her previous exploits.

"It was very different from the World Championships," Sakurai said. "The responses and the excitement from everyone after the World Championships and after the Olympics are different.

"The Olympics were broadcast on television and everyone knows the results. People [at this event] were so happy, like they were meeting their idols, even just to shake hands...I'm not the talkative type and it's hard for me to respond, but I'll do what I can to make them happy again."

With the abundance of golds, Kiyooka fell under the radar and lamented that he had not been invited onto any TV shows. But he still got some well-deserved recognition back in his hometown, where he was honored with a Citizen's Certificate of Honor from both Kochi Prefecture and Kochi City.

"They even came to greet me at the airport," Kiyooka said, adding that there is a parade planned for him and fellow Kochi native Sakurai -- they both started wrestling in the kids club coached by her father -- in September.

Kiyooka appears to have the fine makings for an ambassador for the sport. Asked what he attributed the success of Japan's team in Paris to, Kiyooka replied, "On the wrestling team of Team Japan, every one of us loves wrestling from the bottom of our hearts. We all want to have an influence and uplift others, and in doing so, it produced this result."

What lies ahead

So what will the champions do for an encore? For the moment, they are content to relish the adulation and take some time for a well-deserved rest.

It looks like Kiyooka and Kusaka will be the first ones to get back on the mat in earnest, as both plan to participate in the German Bundesliga in October.

"It's a place I've always wanted to go and give me a new dream," Kiyooka said. "Then I will get down to the job of defending my title in four years."

Kusaka had prepared for the Paris Olympics by traveling solo using his own money to train in Germany and Hungary. He also took part in the Bundesliga, where now he will have more name recognition as an Olympic champion.

Higuchi said that at 28, he does not feel his age is a barrier at all. He is undecided on trying next year to add to the world gold that he won last year at 61kg, but would like to arrange visits to top U.S. colleges like Iowa in the winter.

More than the World Championships, he said his focus is on the 2026 Asian Games, which remains the only major laurel missing from his collection. Adding to the incentive is that the Games will be held in the central Japan city of Nagoya.

"The one thing that is still missing is the Asian Games title, so I will aim to qualify for that," Higuchi said.

Motoki will be taking a break for awhile, but has her sights on someday completing the Grand Slam of age-group world titles.

She won the world U17 in 2018 and U20 in 2022, but has come up just short on the senior level, winning a bronze in 2022 and silver in 2023. She has yet to enter the world U23, and will still be eligible to enter next year's tournament.

"I went through a tough year up to the Olympics and I like wrestling, so I will take a break," Motoki said. "I don't want to train for records or to win consecutive titles or things like that, but I do want to take a stab at completing the Grand Slam. That gives me a new challenge and it will be nice if I can get it."

Higuchi calls for weight allowance

Higuchi also talked from first-hand experience about the sad saga of Vinesh PHOGAT (IND), and called for some kind of weight allowance for second-day weigh-ins.

Phogat had handed Susaki her first-ever international loss en route to the women's 50kg final, only to be disqualified for failing to make weight on the second day.

Higuchi can certainly sympathize. Looking to make up for his loss in the final at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he infamously failed to make weight for the Asian Qualifier for the Tokyo Games, which indirectly led to him missing out.

"I certainly understand her feelings of despair," Higuchi said. "But we are competing under rules, and you can't reverse a decision that has been made. The second day weigh-in is more difficult than the first, and it's something I would like to have changed."

Higuchi said that giving the wrestlers an allowance of one or two kilograms would make a huge difference, both physically and mentally.

"After the matches are over on the first day, you have to lose two or three kilograms," Higuchi said. "It's tough after the matches, and if you lose in the first or second round, you have to prepare without knowing if you will have a match or not. It's really grueling. I'd really like them to do even a little to help us out.

"But that's something for UWW to decide. All I can do is go along with [the rules]."