Japan Wrestling

Homebound for Now, Susaki Never Wavers from Revived Quest for Olympic Gold

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO -- Having seen her Olympic dream all but crushed, and then suddenly revived through a twist of fate over which she had no control, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) knows she must take advantage of whatever opportunities life throws her way. 

And if she has to wait another year to achieve her goal at the Tokyo Olympics, then she is going to look for the silver lining in the delay of her quest for gold. 

"This is the first time for me to be away from wrestling for so long," Susaki said in an interview by email. "I really want to wrestle again as soon as possible. Even so, there is also the plus side that I can use this time to do image training while watching videos, and put together a training regimen for the parts where I am weakest."

In what area Susaki, who will turn 21 on June 30, has a weakness, or if she has any at all, might be up for debate, but the two-time senior world champion in the women's 50kg class does not want any more missteps along the way. Like the majority of the sports world, Susaki has spent the past month training at home, preparing for the day when she can get back on the mat. 
 


There is a possibility that the National Training Center might be reopened following the lifting of the nationwide state of emergency by the Japanese government, but as of this writing, a definite date had not yet been decided. Susaki also cannot train at Waseda University, where she is a student and which has been closed since March. 

So, limited to keeping in shape at her home in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, Susaki said she goes through two workouts a day of about an hour each. She runs three to five kilometers and exercises or weight trains in a local park or at home. 

She does get a chance for some wrestling-oriented training. Her older sister Mai joins Yui to work on takedowns. Like their father Yasuhiro, Mai wrestled at Waseda, and once finished third at the Klippan Lady Open. "On the weekends when my sister is not working, we train together with takedown drills," Susaki said.

The family reunions are a welcome bonus as they deal with the societal effects of the crisis, which means an absence of contact with friends and teammates. For Susaki, it is the longest she has spent time with her family since she left home in the second year of junior high school to join the Japan Olympic Committee Elite Academy.

"To spend so much time with my whole family is really a fresh feeling and I'm really happy," Susaki said. "The time is so valuable. They look forward to seeing me perform on big stages like the Olympics and World Championships, and are with me through their support. This really hit me as we spend so much time together. My determination [for success] is also for my family."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) starts each match off in her patented low-level stance. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

In between her training sessions, Susaki participates in online classes at Waseda, where she is enrolled in the Faculty of Sports Sciences, which includes among its professors two-time Olympic freestyle medalist Akira OTA (JPN). It was significant that Susaki opted to follow in the family footsteps and enroll in Waseda instead of going to wrestling powerhouse Shigakkan University. 

Shigakkan, previously known as Chukyo Women's University, has produced every Japanese Olympian in women's wrestling since it was added to the Olympic program at Athens 2004. That includes such luminaries as Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) and Kaori ICHO (JPN), and current stars Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN), who will aim to defend the Olympic titles they won at Rio 2016. 

Under the assumption that the Tokyo Olympics will be held as rescheduled in summer 2021, Shigakkan's monopoly will end as world 76kg silver medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), who competed collegiately at Ritsumeikan University, has already clinched her place on the Japan squad.

For Susaki to join her, she needs to first secure a place at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament, currently set for Xi'an, China, in March 2021. At the time that she won the 50kg title at the All-Japan Championships in December last year to earn the right to enter the qualifier, she had two months to prepare. Little did she or anyone else know that it would stretch to 15 months after first being moved out of China then postponed altogether. 

"It was very difficult to prepare myself for the competition under the circumstances where we didn't know if it would be held or not,"  Susaki said. "When it was postponed a year, I thought about the positive side, as it gives me another year to get stronger. From now, I will get stronger."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) celebrates after defeating rival Yuki IRIE (JPN). (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

A 0.01 Percent Chance
That Susaki will be taking the mat in Xi'an, barring injury or other unforeseen circumstances, is a testament to the unpredictability of sports. 

Susaki's Olympic dream appeared to be shattered when she lost a playoff to nemesis Yuki IRIE (JPN) for a place on the team to the World Championships in Nur-Sultan last September. That held major significance, as an expected medal in the Kazakh capital would have clinched a place at the Tokyo Olympics for Irie, the only wrestler in the world who has beaten Susaki since elementary school. 

But Irie suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 loss in the quarterfinals to Rio 2016 bronze medalist SUN Yanan (CHN). Then, more significantly for Susaki and her fans around the globe, Sun was beaten by eventual champion Mariya STADNIK (AZE) in the semifinals--knocking Irie out of a place in the repechage and a chance for a bronze medal. 

Susaki had continued practicing, taking to heart her coach Shoko YOSHIMURA's words that "if there is still a 0.01 percent chance, you have to keep fighting."

"I had practice at the time, so I didn't see the match between Sun Yanan and Irie in real time," Susaki said. "I did see the match between Sun Yanan and Mariya Stadnik."

That unlocked the door to the Olympics, but to open it up, she first had to make it to the Asian qualifier. And to do that, she had to beat Irie--and Rio 2016 gold medalist Eri TOSAKA (JPN), for that matter--which she did with a razor-thin 2-1 victory in the final at the All-Japan, also known as the Emperor's Cup.

 "I went into the match against Irie at the Emperor's Cup regarding myself as the 'challenger'," Susaki said, adding that she told herself, "'This is your last chance. Definitely make this yours and get to the Tokyo Olympics.' That feeling was so strong. 

"When I lost in the playoff, I was confused and lost confidence in myself. But making use of that time, I was able to compete confidently at the Emperor's Cup, for all of the people who believed in me and supported me as well as myself."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) celebrates with her coach after winning her second consecutive senior-level world title. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Success Comes Early, Often
Her Olympic aspirations began burning not long after Susaki started wrestling as an elementary school first-grader at the local Matsudo Junior Wrestling School. By third grade, she had her first age-group national title and began dreaming of emulating Yoshida and win an Olympic gold.

The next year in 2009, she lost in the fourth-grade 26kg final to future world junior champion Saki IGARASHI (JPN)--Susaki would not lose again until 2015--but came back to take the national crowns in fifth grade and sixth grade. 

Success continued in junior high school, where she won both of the major national titles all three years and never tasted defeat. She also made her mark on the global stage, winning cadet titles at the Klippan Lady Open three years in a row, and the first of three consecutive world cadet golds. 

In her second year of junior high school, she was recruited to join the JOC Elite Academy under Yoshimura, a former five-time world champion who still mentors her today. 

Asked what sets Susaki apart from other top wrestlers, Yoshimura said, "The skill and physical strength to achieve a goal cannot be gained without having the will. Since she has a strong will and the energy, she can increase the amount of practice, effort, and training. She thinks of a methodology for applying various things to wrestling."

Moving on to high school, Susaki followed up her victory at the 2015 world cadet by making the final in her debut at the Emperor's Cup. In the gold-medal match, she was dealt the first of three career losses by Irie, who rolled to a 10-0 technical fall. That ended an 83-match winning streak dating back to her first year of junior high school and not including elementary school, although she came back the next year to win her first All-Japan title.

In 2017, she made the jump directly from cadet world champion to senior world champion, winning the 48kg gold in Paris, which made her the first high schooler to win a world title since Icho in 2002. That year began and ended in vastly different ways, as she won at the Yarygin Grand Prix in her senior debut, but lost to Irie in the Emperor's Cup semifinal, snapping a 63-match winning streak.

Entering Waseda in April 2018, she beat Irie at the All-Japan Invitational Championships, then again in a playoff to earn a ticket to that year's World Championships in Budapest, where she manhandled Stadnik in the 50kg final for her second straight gold. That victory came a little over a month after she added a world junior title to her collection.  

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) smiles after a win at the '19 Women's Wrestling World Cup. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The Joy of Wrestling
In the video of her rout of Stadnik, the American commentator made this observation of Susaki: "She absolutely loves wrestling. When you see her wrestle, she smiles, she's really enjoying it, she's having fun, she's relaxed out there."

Asked if this was an accurate assessment, Susaki confirmed that it was. 

"Yes, it's accurate," she said. "I really love wrestling and always enjoy being in a match. It's fun for me when I get the most out of my abilities to win a gold medal at the World Championships or I defeat a powerful opponent. 

"I get nervous before a match, but I know the effort I made preparing for the match, and how hard I practiced for the purpose of winning. I go into the match in the spirit that, 'I know I am OK. Now just put everything into enjoying the match.'"

Susaki's fierce determination and bubbly personality has endeared her to fans both at home and abroad. Given the chance to address her international fans in this UWW story, Susaki wanted to convey her gratitude for their support, and encourage them to continue efforts to overcome the pandemic.

"I am very happy to all my fans around the world and am grateful from the bottom of my heart," she said. "They encourage me when I lose, and they share the joy when I win. Thanks to all of the fans, I have able to do my best. 

"Right now, the coronavirus has caused a serious crisis around the world. We can all pull together to get through this and look forward to the day when we can wrestle again and have matches again. I'm going to do everything I can to make progress and again give everyone a good show on the world stage."

Japan Wrestling

Veteran Japanese Wrestling Writer Eyes Covering 2nd Tokyo Olympics, 56 Years Later

By Ikuo Higuchi

(The following is an abridged version of a story that recently appeared on the Japan Wrestling Federation website. Translation for UWW by Ken Marantz.)

Getting to cover more than one Olympics during a career can be considered an honor, but is not necessarily such a rarity for the world's top sports journalists. But to report on two Olympics held in the same city---and more than a half-century apart---that puts a writer into a class all their own.

Veteran Japanese wrestling writer Masayuki Miyazawa could pull off this astounding feat when the 2020 Tokyo Olympics open less than a year from now.

In the decades since covering the first Tokyo Olympics in 1964 for the Nikkan Sports daily, Miyazawa established himself as a leading fixture on the wrestling scene in Japan, not only as a peerless reporter, but as a magazine editor, Japan federation official, impromptu coach, and maverick of sorts.

"I don't want to go watch, I want to be on the scene reporting," says Miyazawa, who has long retired from Nikkan Sports and, his health willing, wants to be involved in some writing capacity at Tokyo 2020, when he will be 90.

Miyazawa still holds a position as an advisor in the Japan Wrestling Federation, but never forgets his roots. Although he has a seat on the dais reserved for federation officials at the All-Japan Championships, he always heads for the press section to sit among his "peers." "I'm a journalist for life," he says.

Miyazawa was not aware of the possibility of doing the Tokyo double and earning a place in journalistic history until a fellow press member mentioned to him, "You can get into the Guinness Book." That sparked Miyazawa's interest, the same inquisitiveness that led him to some of Japan sports' biggest scoops.

Miyazawa is praised for his long years of contribution to wrestling by JWF President Tomiaki Fukuda at an event heralding the first Olympic gold medal won by a wrestler (Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu) from Takushoku University, Miyazawa's alma mater, in 2012. (photo by Ikuo Higuchi)

It was during his days at Nikkan Sports that Miyazawa broke the story of the retirement of one of sumo wrestling's legendary champions, yokozuna Wakanohana I (the wrestler's wife phoned him to tell him). And at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, Miyazawa made use of the Indonesian he had studied at Takushoku University to land an exclusive interview with President Sukarno, who was engulfed in a political crisis at the time.

Miyazawa serves as a referee, one of his many functions, at the GANEFO (Games of the New Emerging Forces) held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1963. He was also a judge in judo, a coach in both sports, and a journalist covering the event. (photo courtesy of Masayuki Miyazawa). 

While he has mostly left his mark in wrestling, he covered many sports in his career, including judo, gymnastics, karate, modern pentathlon and the Paralympics. His prolific writing could fill volumes.

Finding the missing medalist
Miyazawa's greatest achievement was when he tracked down a Japanese Olympic medalist who had disappeared without a trace. It was Miyazawa who not only found Katsutoshi Naito alive and well in Brazil, but made it his life work to recount an amazing tale that very few Japanese even knew about.

The history of Japanese wrestling can pretty much trace its roots back to Naito, a judo competitor who took the rare and bold step in the 1920s of venturing overseas, in his case to enroll at Penn State University, currently a U.S. collegiate powerhouse. He joined the wrestling team and, in the days before the establishment of the NCAA, won the Eastern Intercollegiate title in 1924.

At that time, there was strong anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, and Japan was not exempt. Against that background, Naito kept a low profile but still managed to find success. A Japanese politician, hoping to improve relations between the two countries, arranged for Naito to compete at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Katsutoshi Naito, left, a star wrestler at Penn State who won Japan's first ever Olympics medal in wrestling, a bronze at the 1924 Paris Games. (JWF archives)

Naito followed up on his success at Penn State by winning the bronze medal in the freestyle 61kg class. It was Japan's first-ever medal in wrestling and only the third overall, following a pair of silvers won in tennis at the 1920 Antwerp Games.

Naito returned to Japan after the Olympics and tried to introduce wrestling into the country, but it could not compete with the home-grown sport of judo. Naito, who studied horticulture at Penn State, then left for Brazil, where a large Japanese immigrant population had developed. In addition to starting a horticulture business, Naito introduced judo to his new hosts.

It would not be until 1932 that the Japan Wrestling Federation was established. By then, Naito was all but forgotten, and no one associated with the sport knew his whereabouts.

That was the situation until Miyazawa decided it was time to find this "legendary hero." Driven by the spirit of a wrestling journalist, Miyazawa plunged wholeheartedly into finding this ancestor of Japanese wrestling. His efforts paid off and, through an exchange of letters, he confirmed that Naito was living in Brazil. Miyazawa then played an influential role in getting Naito and his wife to attend wrestling matches at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when the two met for the first time.

How proud Naito must have felt to see how wrestling had planted such firm roots in Japan, and how far it had come---enough to win a startling five gold medals.

Later, to properly chronicle Naito's tale, Miyazawa started his journalistic endeavors in earnest, and the story was first published in a leading Japanese magazine in October 1987. "I went to Brazil three times, and Penn State three times," he recalls. At Penn State, he was hosted by Hachiro Oishi, a long-time coach of the Nittany Lions.

In 1985, Miyazawa accompanied Tomiaki Fukuda, the current JWF president, and Kazuko Oshima, Japan's first female wrestler, to report on Oshima appearing in the first-ever international women's tournament in Clermond-Ferrand, France. Miyazawa stayed behind after the other two returned to Japan to visit sites of the 1924 Paris Olympics and get a sense of the path taken by Naito. Looking back, the 89-year-old Miyazawa recently revealed how well-versed he became in Naito's life, as he can still recall from memory, "July 14, that was the day that Naito won his bronze medal."

Miyazawa, center, poses in Brazil in February 1990 with Katsuhiro Naito, left, the oldest son of Katsutoshi Naito, and Tatsuo Oishi, older brother of former Penn State coach Hachiro Oishi and who was living in Sao Paulo. On the wall is the diploma Katsutoshi Naito received for winning the bronze medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics. (photo courtesy of Masayuki Miyazawa)

For the sake of posterity
Over a nearly quarter-century span, from after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to March 1990, Miyazawa served as editor of a monthly magazine published by the Japan federation, originally called Japan Amateur Wrestling, then later renamed Monthly Wrestling and now Olympic Wrestling. At that time, wrestling was a completely amateur sport relying on government funding, and money was in short supply. As such, it was an unpaid position for Miyazawa, and one he carried out in his spare time away from his fulltime job.

One JWF president used to plead with the press for coverage, even if it was negative news. But in reality, most members of the federation regarded media relations as frivolous. "Expending energy on public relations doesn't result in any gold medals," was a common refrain.

"I don't recall ever getting compensation for writing, editing, transportation or any other expenses," says Miyazawa, who also somehow found time to serve for a decade as manager of the wrestling team at his alma mater Takushoku University, after it had fallen to the third division of the regional league. In 2012, Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (freestyle 66kg) became the first-ever Takushoku wrestler to win an Olympic gold.

In the early days of the magazine, there was no fax machine or email, and Miyazawa had to meet the printer at Shinjuku train station in Tokyo to hand over the texts. They would meet again to get him a copy of the galley proof, then yet again so he could convey corrections. All of this in the precious time between newspaper assignments. The fact that results of tournaments often were published three or four months later hardly detracts from his impressive dedication.

Why did he do it? For Miyazawa, it was about fulfilling the journalist's mission of preserving an accurate history for future generations, in a sport he loved.

One day, a federation official said to Miyazawa, "If someone wants to look up results, they can just come to the federation office. Shouldn't you include more stories?" But Miyazawa was having none of that. For him, it was more important to have a depository for results to be left for posterity. He had his supporters, including one high-ranking official who noted that it would be easy for people living in Tokyo to visit the office, but all but impossible for many others. "Many people have an interest in seeing the results," the official said. "For the wrestlers, to see their name in print, even if it’s only on one line, would serve as motivation."

Others would later praise Miyazawa's efforts, saying the details and results included in the magazine were invaluable in determining qualifications for awards or putting together histories.

Miyazawa also revolutionized how wrestling terms were used in Japan. Back then, "period" was referred to as "round", and instead of the weight class in kilograms, terms like "flyweight" were used. It is suspected that the use of such boxing terms had been decided by journalists covering contact sports. Miyazawa became determined to unify Japan with the rest of the world after attending an international tournament. "When I mentioned the 'flyweight class,' a European wrestler had no idea what I was talking about," he recalls.

As wrestling in Japan was imported from the United States, Miyazawa wondered if it also used the boxing terms. But asking former Kokushikan University coach and longtime JWF website contributor William May, who wrestled collegiately in Minnesota, the American said had never heard of such a thing. Without consulting anyone, Miyazawa immediately started using "period" and "xx kg" in the magazine, and nobody complained.

Miyazawa, left, poses with Japan's first female wrestler Kazuko Oshima, 3rd from right, and others following an exhibition match for women held in conjunction with the Super Champions Cup in Tokyo in 1985. (photo courtesy of Masayuki Miyazawa)​

Still in the running
While Miyazawa hopes to attend the Tokyo Olympics in some writing capacity, he has also applied to be a runner in the nationwide torch relay. If he is selected, he knows that his unique link to both Tokyo Games will lead to him being the subject of interviews, instead of the other way around.

Of more serious concern, though, is his current health. In the fall of last year, he had gallstone surgery, at which time he was found to have prostate cancer. As the cancer was not malignant, the doctor said that hormone injections could guarantee another of five to 10 years of life. As that would take him through the Tokyo Olympics, Miyazawa agreed to the treatment.

Recently, Miyazawa's condition has stabilized. In the olden days, the lifestyle of a reporter could be considered anything but healthy. Irregular working hours and late nights were the norm, as well as drinking until morning with colleagues. Smoking while typing out a story on deadline was a common site. While Miyazawa himself was not a smoker, his work left him with little time to exercise and he rarely thought about his diet.

At 62, five years after he had reached retirement age and was working for Nikkan Sports on a contract basis, he paid his own way to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It was there that, seeing a photo of himself, he was shocked at how plump he had become. Thinking the problem might be more internal than a matter of diet, he underwent a physical exam upon returning to Japan, and was diagnosed with diabetes.

The doctor immediately recommended that Miyazawa see a specialist. Fortunately, his condition was not life-threatening, nor was he at a stage where amputation of a limb would be necessary. With medicine, a change to a healthy diet and the start of an exercise regimen, his condition vastly improved. Every day before going to work, he would go through a workout of walking in a pool. He managed to drop from 74kg to his current weight of 57kg, about the same as during his days as a wrestler at Takushoku.

Prior to his surgery last year, Miyazawa participated in an event hosted by the Daiichi Seimei Life Insurance women's athletics team, in which he ran two laps on a 400-meter track. He finished well behind the others. But as each leg of the Olympic torch relay will be 200 meters, it has given him confidence of being able to successfully complete the task.

One other obstacle could be getting credentials. When he covered the 1964 Olympics, criteria for getting a pass was very loose and he was very free to report on what he wanted. Nowadays with the IOC handling the process, it has become much more select.

Recently, an acquaintance took Miyazawa's quest a step further. "After covering the Tokyo Olympics for a second time, how about the [2024] Paris Olympics, which will mark 100 years after Naito won his bronze medal?"

"When the prostate cancer was discovered [last year], I was told the hormone treatment would give me another five or 10 years," Miyazawa replied. "I'd like to be around for that."