Japan Wrestling

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

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 15:03 By Ken Marantz

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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

Teen Star Fujinami Misses Shutout but Rolls to 2nd National Title at 53kg

Sunday, December 19, 2021 - 16:00 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (December 19)--Teen phenom Akari FUJINAMI admits she's an attention-seeker who likes to stand out in the crowd, enough so that it motivated her to do something quite surprising after winning a world title in her international senior debut.

Less than three months later, it looks like Fujinami will be having a long stay in the spotlight after capturing a second national title just a month after her 18th birthday.

Fujinami gave up a rare takedown, but was otherwise unchallenged as she cruised to the women's 53kg title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships with an 8-2 victory in the final over former world silver medalist Nanami IRIE on Sunday at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"To win the title, I'm happy as usual, but looking at how I did it, there were some rough parts that I'll need to work on if I want to improve and get to where I want to be," said Fujinami, who won the gold medal at October's World Championships in Oslo with four straight technical fall victories and without surrendering a point.

Fujinami was one of three reigning world champions in action on the final day of the four-day tournament, which is serving as one of two domestic qualifiers for next year's World Championships in Belgrade, as well as for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The winners will also likely be selected for the Asian Championships, scheduled for April at a venue to be determined.

The results were mixed for the two other Oslo gold medalists, as Remina YOSHIMOTO managed to successfully defend her Emperor's Cup crown at women's 50kg, but Ken MATSUI went down to a humbling defeat in the Greco 55kg final.

Fujinami, who advanced to the final with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, capped her last tournament as a high schooler by extending a winning streak to 86 matches, dating back to her junior high school days in 2017.

Not that it matters to her. "The winning streak is in the past. I put more importance on now and what lies ahead," Fujinami said.

To qualify for Oslo, Fujinami won her first-ever events on the senior level, last year's Emperor's Cup and this year's Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, the second qualifier for Japan's world team held in May. She turned heads at both by handily defeating both Irie and two-time former world champion Haruna OKUNO.

This time, Fujinami only had beat the winner of a semifinal between those two, and that became Irie after riding a 4-point pancake to a close 5-4 decision over Okuno. But Irie, the 2019 world silver medalist at 55kg, proved a different foe for Fujinami than the one who was dealt shutout losses the first two times they met.

Fujinami, relying on her lightning-quick single-leg attack, had a 4-0 lead in the second period when Irie used a hard cross face to fend off a tackle and spin behind. It was only the second time in 19 matches this year that someone scored on Fujinami. In the first period, Irie managed to slip out of the grasp of a tackle attempt.

"In the final, there was a time where I had a hold [of a leg] and lost it," Fujinami said. "It was just sloppy. Part of it was that I rushed my tackles, so now I feel like I really have to work on the fine points in practice."

While the takedown might have been a moral victory for Irie, it was hardly enough, especially after Fujinami came back with a pair of takedowns to put the match away. But it makes Fujinami aware that ascending the throne means that others are going to look for ways to knock her off it.

"I'm grateful that people are studying me," Fujinami said. "If I can win even after they study me, then it shows that I am making progress."

Later, Fujinami's father, who is also her coach at Inabe Sogo Gakuin High School in Mie Prefecture, revealed that Akari did not practice in the two days before the tournament because of back pain. He said that that might have affected her movement in the final.

All that Fujinami has accomplished is shadowed by the fact that it has come without the presence of Tokyo Olympic champion Mayu MUKAIDA, who, like all of Japan's gold medalists, skipped the tournament. But Fujinami openly welcomes that battle, whenever it comes.

"I haven't faced her yet, but someday I think we'll meet up, and I believe that I will definitely win," said Fujinami, who has already committed to attending Nippon Sports Science University in the spring. "She's a strong opponent, but I have a strong determination to beat her."

Her fervent desire to be in the spotlight led to a surprise in Oslo beyond her gold-medal run. After her victory, she stunned the Japanese press by bypassing the translator and answering an English question in English. She had gone to an English-language school while in elementary school but had specially prepared for Oslo.

"I'm the type who likes to get attention, and I figured the Japan women's team would win a lot of titles and I had worked hard to be among them," Fujinami said. "But I was thinking, what can I do to stand out among them? I thought if I answer in English to English questions in an interview, that might do it.

"To do that, from about three months before the World Championships, my teacher and I would meet at lunch and practice doing an interview in English."

Asked how being a world champion has affected her life, she replied, "So many people were happy for me, it made me realize how awesome it is to win. I want to get even stronger and win more on the global stage."

YOSHIMOTORemina Yoshimoto, the 2021 world champion, became the national champion at 50kg (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

For Yoshimoto, her victory at 50kg may have best revealed how far she has to go to catch up to Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yui SUSAKI, who has beaten her in two career meetings.

Yoshimoto won a battle of activity clock points in the final against Umi ITO, receiving two in the second period for a dour 2-1 win over the teammate of Susaki's at Waseda University.

It was a rematch of the Meiji Cup final last spring but was a far cry from the 9-0 technical fall that Yoshimoto chalked up then.

"Without feeling pressure as the world champion, I was confident coming into here," Yoshimoto said. "I was able to win out against the tough competition, and that will be important for the future. That is part of making progress.

"But there were plenty of issues in my execution, and by drawing these out, I can work on them for the next tournament."

Yoshimoto knows she will have to pick up her game to have a chance against Susaki, who says she will enter next spring's Meiji Cup in a bid to earn a ticket to Belgrade and a third-world title.

"She's strong mentally," Yoshimoto said of Susaki. "She easily won at the Olympics, but she can find a way to win any match, even when she is losing. She's really amazing."

ShiotaniYu Shiotani humbled world champion Ken Matsui with an 11-0 win in the 55kg final. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

At Greco 55kg, Matsui's bid for a first career national title in what was billed as a clash of history-makers ended with a pair of thuds, as Asian champion Yu SHIOTANI slammed him to the mat with consecutive 5-point throws in an 11-0 technical fall.

"It was pathetic, I couldn't do anything," Matsui said. "I was on a high after winning at the World Championships, so I took it too lightly and went into the match thinking, 'I've got this won.'"

Shiotani, awarded the top position in par terre, lifted Matsui perpendicular into the air, then just fell forward and dumped him onto the mat. He then repeated the process, ending the match at 1:42.

"It's not that I particularly like [that move], but it's nice to win that way," said Shiotani, a student at Takushoku University.

Shiotani lost a chance to qualify for Oslo when he finished second at last year's Emperor's Cup for the second straight year, then missed this year's Meiji Cup due to injury. That opened the door for NSSU's Matsui, who won the Meiji Cup and then struck gold in Oslo.

"I couldn't compete sometimes or I was always finishing second," Shiotani said. "Matsui went to the World Championships and won the title. That was hard to take. But I was able to face him here and I thought this time I'll beat him."

Both have already earned places in Japanese wrestling history. Matsui's victory in Oslo at age 20 years 8 months made him Japan's youngest-ever world Greco champion, while five months earlier, Shiotani won the Asian title at age 19 years 5 months, making him the nation's youngest-ever continental champion.

Veteran Tomohiro INOUE won his sixth national title and first in three years with a 5-1 victory in the Greco 72kg final over defending champion Shogo TAKAHASHI -- who Inoue coached years ago at Ikuei High School in Hyogo Prefecture.

The 34-year-old Inoue, a member of the Japan team to Oslo, showed the master still had some life left in him by scoring a gut wrench from par terre in the second period, then adding a takedown when Takahashi seemed to lose his balance and fell backward.

The two previously met in the 66kg final in 2015, with Inoue winning by technical fall.

Takahashi, 27, has spent almost all of recent years at 67kg, where he won three national titles and a 2019 Asian bronze medal but came up short in two shots at qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

TakataniSohsuke Takatani is now the third wrestler in Japan to win 11 consecutive national titles. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

In freestyle, Sohsuke TAKATANI became the third wrestler in Japanese history to win 11 consecutive national titles and fifth with 11 overall when he successfully defended his 92kg crown.

The 32-year-old Takatani had little trouble storming to a 12-2 technical fall over 2020 Asian silver medalist Takuma OTSU, putting him into an elite group with Yasutoshi MORIYAMA (16 straight titles from 1982-95) and Kyoko HAMAGUCHI (12 straight from 1996-2007).

Takatani, the 2014 world silver medalist at 74kg, put together his streak over four weight classes. This summer, he appeared in his third Olympics at 86kg but fell in the first round. He was the only member of Japan's Olympic team to enter the Emperor's Cup.

HasegawaToshihiro Hasegawa dropped down from 61kg to win the gold at 57kg. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Toshihiro HASEGAWA, Japan's only freestyle medalist in Oslo when he won a bronze at 61kg, dropped down to 57kg and won his first national title with a 2-1 victory over Asian bronze medalist Yuto TAKESHITA.

Hasegawa, after giving up an activity clock point, used a slick duck under for a takedown with :05 left in the first period, and made that hold up to edge Takeshita, who ousted 2019 world junior champion Toshiya ABE 2-1 in the semifinals.

Day 4 Results

Freestyle

57kg (11 entries)
Final - Toshihiro HASEGAWA df. Yuto TAKESHITA, 2-1
3rd Place - Toshiya ABE df. Rikuto ARAI by TF, 14-4, 5:42
Semifinal - Takeshita df. Abe, 2-1
Semifinal - Hasegawa df. Arai, 4-2

92kg (12 entries)
Final - Sohsuke TAKATANI df. Takuma OTSU by TF, 12-2, 5:53
3rd Place - Yuto ITSUTSU df. Ryoichi YAMANAKA by TF, 10-0, 1:12
Semifinal - Takatani df. Itsutsu by TF, 17-4, 4:12
Semifinal - Otsu df. Yamanaka, 2-1

Greco-Roman

55kg (11 entries)
Final - Yu SHIOTANI df. Ken MATSUI by TF, 11-0, 1:42
3rd Place - Taiga ONISHI df. Kagetora OKAMOTO by Def.
Semifinal - Matsui df. Okamoto by Fall, 2:00 (9-0)
Semifinal - Shiotani df. Onishi by TF, 10-0, 2:15

72kg (12 entries)
Final - Tomohiro INOUE df. Shogo TAKAHASHI, 5-1
3rd Place - Seiya TERADA df. Daigo KOBAYASHI by Inj. Def., 0:44
Semifinal - Takahashi df. Terada, 5-1
Semifinal - Inoue df. Kobayashi by TF, 9-0, 4:23

Women's Wrestling

50kg (12 entries)
Final - Remina YOSHIMOTO df. Umi ITO, 2-1
3rd Place - Miho IGARASHI df. Haruna MORIKAWA by TF, 15-2, 6:00
Semifinal - Yoshimoto df. Morikawa by TF, 10-0, 1:13
Semifinal - Ito df. Igarashi by TF, 10-0, 1:27

53kg (12 entries)
Final - Akari FUJINAMI df. Nanami IRIE, 8-2
3rd Place - Haruna OKUNO df. Yumi SHIMONO, 5-3
Semifinal - Fujinami df. Shimono by TF, 10-0, 4:39
Semifinal - Irie df. Okuno, 5-4