ASTANA (March 18) – Shinobu OTA (JPN) kicked off the Asian Olympic Games qualifying tournament Friday with a stunning victory over world and Olympic champion Hamid SORYAN (IRI) and will now ride that emotion all the way to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“My only thought before the match was ‘just do it’,” Ota said after his 7-4 triumph at Daulet Sports Center. “I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I just wanted to keep the pressure on him.”

But even with the win over the London 2012 gold medalist, Ota had to advance to the finals at 59kg in Greco-Roman to secure his ticket for Rio.  He did so by scoring a pair of back-arching throws for a technical fall win over KIM Seung-Hak (KOR) in the semifinals.

“I’m so happy with the win and now I want to focus on winning an Olympic medal,” said the 22-year-old recent graduate of Nippon Sports Sciences University.

Ota’s win also jump-started an effort that resulted in two more tickets to Rio in freestyle for fellow national team newcomer, Rei HIGUCHI (57kg) and 2014 world silver medalist Sosuke TAKATANI (74kg).

“Takatani has been injured and hasn’t been doing much sparring, so his win was really impressive,” freestyle national team head coach Takahiro WADA (JPN) said after Takatani secured a semifinal victory, 4-2, over Asian Games gold medalist Rashid KURBANOV (UZB).

Along with Japan’s three berths in host Kazakhstan grabbed two with 2014 world team member Galimzhan USSERBAEV (KAZ), advancing to the finals in freestyle at 74kg, and Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ), who won all four of her bouts at 69kg in the morning session.

With only five wrestlers in her event, Syzdykova recorded a pair of falls and racked up four wins without a loss to secure a ticket to Rio after finishing in seventh place in Las Vegas – just outside the qualifying zone of the top six.

China also earned a pair of trips to Rio in Greco-Roman with WANG Lumin (59kg), who finished eighth in Las Vegas, and Asian Games bronze medalist FENG Pei (85kg)

NGUYEN Thi Lua (VIE) secured her second trip to an Olympic Games with a come-from-behind victory by fall over Zukra MUSTANOVA (UZB) in the 53kg semifinals. 

Results

Freestyle

57kg (8 entries)
Semifinals – Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) df. Rahul AWARE (IND) by TF, 10-0, 1:09
Semifinals – YUN Jun-Sik (KOR) df. Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ), 9-8

Gold – Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) v YUN Jun-Sik (KOR)
Bronze – Berdi ATBAYEV (TKM) v Rahul AWARE (IND)
Bronze – LI Liang (CHN) v Samat NADYRBEK UULU (KGZ)

74kg (10 entries)
Semifinals – Galimzhan USSERBAEV (KAZ) df. Ilgiz DZHAKYBEKOV (KGZ), 6-4
Semifinals – Sosuke TAKATANI (JPN) df. Rashid KURBANOV (UZB), 4-2

Gold – Galimzhan USSERBAEV (KAZ) v Sosuke TAKATANI (JPN)
Bronze – Azamat SUFIEV (TJK) v Ilgiz DZHAKYPBEKOV (KGZ)
Bronze – Dauletmurat ORAZYLOV (TKM) v Rashid KURBANOV (UZB)

Women's Wrestling
 
53kg (8 entries)
Semifinals – ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL) df. Kumari BABITA (IND), 15-8
Semifinals – NGUYEN Thi Lua (VIE) df. Zukhra MUSTANOVA (UZB) by Fall, 4:48 (4-5)

Gold –ERDENECHIMEG Sumiya (MGL) v NGUYEN Thi Lua (VIE)
Bronze – LEE Shin-Hye (KOR) v Kumari BABITA (IND)
Bronze – CHIU Hsin-ju (TPE) v Zukhra MUSTANOVA (UZB)

69kg (5 entries, Nordic system)
1. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ), 4 wins, 0 losses, 14 classification points
2. CHEN Wen-ling (TPE), 2-1, 6 CP
3. Kaur NAVJOT (IND), 1-2, 4 CP
4. JEONG Eun-Sun (KOR), 1-2, 4 CP
5. Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA (UZB), 0-3, 1CP
 
RR5 – Bakhtigul BALTANIYAZOVA (UZB) v CHEN Wen-ling (TPE)
RR5 – Kaur NAVJOT (IND) v JEONG Eun-Sun (KOR)

Greco-Roman

59kg (10 entries)
Semifinal – WANG Lumin (CHN) df. Kara AL BETHANI (IRQ) by TF, 10-0, 2:16
Semifinal – Shinobu OTA (JPN) df. KIM Seung-Hak (KOR) by TF, 10-2, 5:36

Gold – WANG Lumin (CHN) v Shinobu OTA (JPN)
Bronze – Ravinder SINGH (IND) v Kara AL BETHANI (IRQ)
Bronze – Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB) v KIM Seung-Hak (KOR)

85kg (8 entries)
Semifinal – PENG Fei (CHN) df. Azamat KUSTUBAEV (KAZ), 2-1
Semifinal – Yanarbek KENZHEEV (KGZ) df. Taichi OKA (JPN) by TF, 8-0, 1:41

Gold – PENG Fei (CHN) v Yanarbek KENZHEEV (KGZ)
Bronze – Thirayut BUNPHET (THA) v Azamat KUSTUBAEV (KAZ)
Bronze – Ravinder KHATRI (IND) v Taichi OKA (JPN)