#WrestleAlmaty

Japan Announces Squads for Asian Olympic Qualifier, Asian Championships

By Japan Wrestling Federation

Two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI heads a contingent of 10 Japanese who will aim to earn tickets to the Tokyo Olympics at next month's Asian Qualifying tournament in Kazakhstan, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced.

The federation also announced the squad to be dispatched to the Asian Championships that will follow the Olympic qualifier at the same venue in the Kazakh city of Almaty. Among those entries are seven wrestlers who have already qualified for the Tokyo Games, four of whom are also defending Asian champions.

The Olympic qualifying tournament will be held April 9-11, with competition in the six Olympic weight classes in each style. That will be followed by the Asian Championships, to run April 13-18 in all 10 weight classes.

It will mark the first time Japan has sent a team overseas since last year's Asian Championships in New Delhi in February 2020.

For the Tokyo Olympics, Japan has already qualified at freestyle 65kg and 74kg, Greco-Roman 60kg and women 53kg, 57kg, 62kg, 68kg and 76kg, based on results from the 2019 World Championships. The top two finishers at the continental qualifier will earn Olympic berths for their country.

Susaki will be looking to earn her first Olympic spot at women's 50kg. She and the others earned the right by winning titles at the 2019 national championships. Even when the Tokyo Games were postponed a year, they were allowed to keep their places.

Also hoping to qualify for Tokyo will be 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI at freestyle 57kg and Sosuke TAKATANI, who will be aiming to make his third Olympics and first at freestyle 86kg.

The team for the Asian Championships consists mainly of the champions at the most recent national championships held in December 2020. In cases where the champion opted out or was unavailable, the runner-up or a third-place finisher filled the spot.

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Takuto OTOGURO, Japan's '18 world champion, will wrestle at 65kg at the Asian Championships. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

The wrestlers who have already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and are entered for the Asian Championships are brothers Takuto and Keisuke OTOGURO at freestyle 65kg and 74kg, respectively, and the female quintet of Mayu MUKAIDA (53kg), Risako KAWAI (57kg), Yukako KAWAI (62kg), Sara DOSHO (68kg) and Hiroe MINAGAWA (76g).

Kenichiro FUMITA, Japan's lone current Olympic qualifier in Greco-Roman, has opted to skip the tournament and the chance to defend his 2020 Asian title at 60kg. He earned his Olympic ticket by winning the 2019 world title.

Takuto Otoguro, the Kawai sisters and Minagawa are the reigning Asian champions in their weight classes. Mukaida will be looking to improve on her silver medal from 2020.

At the 2020 tournament in New Delhi, Japan took home seven medals in freestyle, but with the exception of Otoguro, none of the other medalists earned a return trip this year. Also missing out are two women's champions from 2020, Miho IGARASHI and Naomi RUIKE.

Here are the squads:

Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament  (April 9-11, Almaty)

Greco-Roman
67kg: Shogo TAKAHASHI
77kg: Shohei YABIKU
87kg : Masato SUMI
97kg: Yuta NARA
130kg: Arata SONODA

Women
50kg : Yui SUSAKI

Freestyle
57kg : Rei HIGUCHI
86kg : Sosuke TAKATANI
97kg : Naoya AKAGUMA
125kg : Tetsuya TANAKA

Asian Championships (April 13-18, Almaty)

Greco-Roman
55kg: Yu SHIOTANI
60kg: Ayata SUZUKI
63kg: Kensuke SHIMIZU
67kg: Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA
72kg: Taishi HORIE
77kg: Kodai SAKURABA
82kg: Satoki MUKAI
87kg: So SAKABE
97kg: Masayuki AMANO
130kg: Sota OKUMURA

Women
50kg: Remina YOSHIMOTO
53kg: Mayu MUKAIDA
55kg: Tsugumi SAKURAI
57kg: Risako KAWAI
59kg: Akie HANAI
62kg: Yukako KAWAI
65kg: Miwa MORIKAWA
68kg: Sara DOSHO
72kg: Masako FURUICHI
76kg: Hiroe MINAGAWA

Freestyle
57kg: Yuto TAKESHITA
61kg: Shoya SHIMAE
65kg: Takuto OTOGURO
70kg: Jintaro MOTOYAMA
74kg: Keisuke OTOGURO
79kg: Ryuki YOSHIDA
86kg: Hayato ISHIGURO
92kg: Yuto IZUTSU
97kg: Takashi ISHIGURO
125kg: Taiki YAMAMOTO

#WrestleBelgrade

World Championships GR 60kg, 72kg, 97kg semis set

By Ken Marantz & Vinay Siwach

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 22) -- With only three weight classes on Friday, the World Championships is entering its final days. Greco-Roman stars in 60kg, 72kg and 97kg will take the mats with 60kg and 97kg being the Olympic weight classes.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER | DAY 6 RESULTS

The semifinals for the evening session:

72kg
Robert FRITSCH (HUN) vs. Shingo HARADA (JPN)
Selcuk CAN (TUR) vs. Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)

60kg
Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) vs. Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) vs. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ)

97kg
Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) vs. Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) vs. Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI)

14:50: Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) overpowers U20 world champion Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN) 8-5 in the 97kg quarterfinal. Both exchanged four-pointers before Khaslakhanau was awarded a point for Rosillo's foul. But the Cuban hit another four and was close to a fall but ultimately won 8-5

14:47: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) returns to the semifinals at 97kg as he beats Felix BALDAUF (NOR) 4-1. Saravi got a turn from par terre to lead 3-0. Baldauf got two passivity advantages in the second period but failed to score. During the second par terre, Saravi stopped him mid-turn and scored a reversal. 

14:42: Once again, Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) was put on top of par terre first and never gave his opponent a chance to be on offense again. Aleksanyan reeled off four rolls against Artur OMAROV (CZE) to end their 97kg semifinal 9-0 in just under two minutes. Later today, Aleksanyan, who last year won his fifth career title, will attempt to make his eighth world final against Mindaugas VENCKATITIS (LTU), who ended the gold-medal hopes of local favorite Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) with an 8-0 technical fall.

14:35: Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) jumps out to a 7-0 lead in the first period against Christopher KRAEMER (GER), and that's how it ends as he advances to the 60kg semifinal and a shot a defending world champion Sharshenbekov.

14:34: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) got a turn from par terre and then defended his par terre position against Liguo CAO (CHN) to complete a 3-1 victory and set up a semifinal against  Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM)

14:31: A 9-0 shutout victory for world champion Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) as he gets two four-pointers using underhooks against Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB). The world champion will take on Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) in the semifinals.

14:26: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) has dominated today! He now moves into the semifinals at 72kg after a 9-0 domination of Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ).

14:24: In a wild match with a bizarre finish, European champion Robert FRITSCH (HUN) is through to the 72kg semifinals by beating local favorite and defending champion Ali ARSELAN (SRB). It was ended by fall, but the Serb seemed to give up from exhaustion. He had taken a 9-5 lead with a pair of front headlock turns in the first period, but became a limp body when Fritcsh scored a takedown and easily turned him over.

14:20: Japan continues its incredible run at this World Championships as Shingo HARADA (JPN) beats returning silver medalist Ulvi GANIZADE (AZE) 6-4 after being 3-1 down. He will take on Robert FRITSCH (HUN) who pinned world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB)

Quarterfinal action now in 72kg, 60kg and 97kg

14:10: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) executes three powerful gut wrenches from par terre and he advances at 97kg with a 7-1 win over Gerard KURNICZAK (POL). That was the final match before the start of the quarterfinals, which will begin simultaneously on the four mats starting with 72kg.

13:59: Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) gets put on top in par terre against Josef RAU (USA), and that only spells trouble for the American. Aleksanyan easily turns him over with a series of tilts and rolls for a 9-0 win in just over two minutes to advance to the 97kg quarterfinals.

13:55: The literally gray-beard Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) jumps out to a 4-0 lead against Gabriel ROSSILLO (CUB) at 97kg, but the 39-year-old two-time world medalist gives up a takedown and a 4-point throw to lose 6-4.

13:47: Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) continues to get it done at 97kg, forging a 7-5 victory over Tamas LEVAI (HUN), a bronze medalist a year ago at 82kg. Kajaia gets three gut-wrench rolls from par terre, while limiting Levai to two front headlock turns, and that was the difference.

13:34: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) would love nothing more than to win his second straight 72kg title before the home crowd, and he cut it close in his opening match. Arsalan reeled off three gut wrenches from par terre to take a 7-0 lead into the second period against Danial SOHRABI (IRI). But the Iranian gradually came back and even scored the tying takedown with two seconds, but Arselan took the win 7-7 on big-point criteria.

13:12: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), the 2021 champion and a bronze medalist last year, gets a pair of stepouts in the first period and he's through with a 3-1 win over Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) at 97kg.

12:52: Abubakar KHASLAKHANAU (AIN), two months after winning the world U20 gold at 97kg, starts his senior debut by rallying to beat Mathias BAK (DEN) 11-5. Khaslakhanau has to fight off his back in the first period, and goes ahead to stay with a 4-point takedown and 2-point throw in the second.

12:43: Mega-superstar Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) gets a wake-up call when Nicu OJOG (ROU) hits him with a 4-point arm throw to start their 97kg first-round match. But the multi-world and Olympic champion quickly rebounds, scoring a reversal and two gut wrenches, then adds a 4-point takedown to go into the break up 9-4. Aleksanyan adds a stepout for a 10-4 win.

12:41: Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) gets two gut wrenches from par terre, much to the joy of the home crowd, and he advances at 97kg with a 5-1 victory over Serhii OMELIN (UKR).

12:34: Returning bronze medalist Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE) has pulled out of his bout against Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU) after he expressed pain in his heavily strapped elbow. On Mat D, Artur SARGASIAN (AIN) also suffers an elbow injury in the bout against Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB).

12:30: Who would have thought that a 97kg Greco-Roman bout would turn into a slugfest? Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) comes back from 6-0 to beat Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) via fall after leading 10-7

12:15: World champion Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) had to work a little but he got the job done with a 10-2 victory over Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU) at 60kg. Big day for the Kyrgyz world champ. He faces Pridon ABULADZE (GEO) next

12:05: Two-time former world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) has a worry-free second match, scoring two tilts from par terre to defeat Helary MAEGISALU (EST) 5-1 and advance to the round-of-16 at 60kg.

12:00: Young gun Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) opens his World Championships with a 6-2 win over Kevin DE ARMAS (CUB) in 60kg, a weight class that is nothing less than a minefield.

11:56: Returning 60kg silver medalist Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) has fallen at the first hurdle, and fallen hard. Former European champion Gevorg GHARIBYAN (ARM) dominates the match and finishes off a 9-0 win with go-behind takedown.

11:50: Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (AIN), the 2021 world U23 champion at 60kg, beats the 2022 champion Kerem KAMAL (TUR) 11-5. Allakhiarov is trailing when he hits a 4-point front body lock throw, which gets a 2-point leg penalty tacked on, with 21 seconds to go.

11:38: Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) thrills the home crowd by holding off two-time former world champion Metehan BASAR (TUR) 2-1 at 97kg. Kajaia, a bronze medalist in 2018, gets a steput in the first period and that proves the difference.

11:19: Never give up. Patrick SMITH (USA) falls behind 7-2 at 72kg against European bronze medalist Kamil CZARNECKI (POL), but chips away at the lead against his tiring opponent. He cuts the lead to 2 before slamming him down for a fall with just under two minutes left.

11:17: Veteran Heiki NABI (EST) won't be going for his sixth career world medal after losing his 130kg repechage match to Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY), who gets both passivity points for a 2-0 win. The 38-year-old Nabi, the 2012 London Olympic silver medalist has won his five world medals over a 14-year span from 2006 to 2019.

10:57: What a way to get the session started! In a clash between former world champions that, in another place at another time could have been for the gold medal, Olympic silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) dodges a bullet and beats Victor CIOBANU (MDA) 3-1 at 60kg. As Fumita tries for the turn from par terre, Ciobanu reverses for 2, then scores an apparent 4 at the edge. But on challenge, Ciobanu is assessed a 2-point leg infraction penalty and his points are wiped out. Fumita holds on for the win. The two also met in the quarterfinals at the 2019 worlds, with Fumita notching a wild 12-5 win en route to his second career gold.

10:30: Welcome to day seven of the World Championships. All Greco-Roman day with 60kg, 72kg and 97kg wrestlers wrestling for the world title. 60kg and 97kg are the Olympic weight classes.