Asian Games

Japanese Women Jolted in Jakarta, Fail to Strike Gold as World Champs Falter

Monday, August 20, 2018 - 19:26 By United World Wrestling Press

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For most countries, four medals in four weight classes would be cause for celebration. But not if you're the Japan women's team and none of those medals are gold, particularly with two world champions in the competition--neither of whom made it to the finals.

Instead it was Mongolia, North Korea (twice) and, for the first time ever, India who had cause to smile as the women's wrestling competition at the Asian Games  got underway Monday on the second day in Jakarta. 

Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) pulled off the feat of the day when she won a clash of world champions, scoring a victory by fall in the 62kg semifinals over Risako KAWAI (JPN), who is also a reigning Olympic champion and had not lost in nearly three years.

Purevdorj followed that up by crushing Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) with an 11-0 technical fall in the final to add the Asian Games gold to the 2017 world championship she won at 62kg in Paris. 

Tynybekova is no slouch herself, having won the Asian gold and a world bronze medal at 58kg in 2017. But she was no match for Purevdorj, who has now won 10 consecutive international tournaments, including the gold at the Asian Championships in Bishkek earlier this year.

Purevdorj also holds the distinction of being one of the few wrestlers on the planet to have beaten four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN), having scored a technical fall victory over the legend in the final at the Yarygin Grand Prix in 2016.

In the semifinal against Kawai, Purevdorj was trailing 2-0 in the second period when she sent the Japanese to her back and finished her off with a fall at 3:47. The devastated Kawai spent a long while after the match sitting against a wall sobbing. 

"I was caught off guard in an instant," Kawai told the Japanese press. "That is the fear of wrestling."

Kawai managed to compose herself and return for the bronze medal match, where she easily disposed of Thi My Hanh NGUYEN (VIE) by 10-0 technical fall in 2:58. RIM Jong Sim (PRK) snared the other bronze.


 Kawai, who won the Paris 2017 title at 60kg and Rio 2016 Olympic gold at 63kg, will drop to 59kg in an attempt to defend her world title in Budapest in Hungary. So for now, there will be no rematch for Purevdorj. 

For Yuki IRIE (JPN), a rematch with Vinesh VINESH (IND) produced the same disappointing result, but this time at a higher cost. 

Meeting in the 50kg final, Vinesh took a 4-0 lead in the first period, then held off the Japanese national champion for a 6-2 victory. That was similar to the outcome of their semifinal encounter at Bishkek 2018, where Vinesh won 4-4 on big point en route to the silver medal. Irie won a bronze. 

The victory made Vinesh, who knocked off Rio 2016 bronze medalist SUN Yanan (CHN) in the first round, the first Indian woman in history to win an Asian Games wrestling gold medal. It was against Sun in Rio that Vinesh suffered a serious leg injury that scuttled her Olympic hopes. 

KIM Son Hyung (PRK), a bronze medalist at Paris 2017, and KIM Hyungjoo (KOR) won the playoffs for the bronzes. 

For Irie, falling short of the gold was a particularly hard blow as she missed out on making Japan's team to the world championships. She defeated world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) at the national championships in December to earn a berth to Jakarta, but subsequently lost out to Susaki in a playoff for Budapest. 

Japan's other current world champion in action in Jakarta, Haruna OKUNO, was also tripped up on the path to the final, suffering a heartbreaking 7-7 loss in the 53kg semifinal to Bishkek 2018 champion PAK Yong Mi (PRK). 

Okuno, the Paris 2017 gold medalist at 55kg, trailed 4-1 after the first period, but fought back to go ahead 7-6 with 30 seconds left---only to give up a point for stepping out in the last five seconds to concede the victory on last point to Pak. 


Pak went on to win the gold with a one-sided 11-0 technical fall in 5:29 over Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ), a Bishkek 2018 bronze medalist and New Delhi 2017 silver medalist. 

Okuno and Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL), the runner-up to Pak in Bishkek, took the bronze medals with first-period falls in the third-place playoffs. 

The semifinal losses by Kawai and Okuno came on the heels of a loss at the same stage in freestyle 57kg by fellow world champion and compatriot Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) the previous day. 

JONG Myong Suk (PRK) gave North Korea its second gold of the night when the two-time world bronze medalist scored a 5-4 victory in the 57kg final over Bishkek 2018 champion PEI Xingru (CHN). 

Jong chalked up four points with a double-leg takedown in the first period, then held on as Pei battled back with her own 4-point move in the second. 

The bronze medals went to Battsetseg ALTANTSETSEG (MGL) and Katsuki SAKAGAMI (JPN). 


Meanwhile in the lone remaining weight class in freestyle, Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI) successfully defended his 125kg title to give Iran golds in the top half of the six divisions on the program. 

Hadibasmanj had little trouble in forging a 7-0 decision in the final over DENG Zhiwei (CHN) to add to the golds won the previous day by Iranian compatriots Hassan YAZDANI at 86kg and Alireza KARIMI at 97kg. 

Hadibasmanj's biggest challenge came in the semifinals, where he managed to scrape together an 11-8 win over man-mountain and Bishkek 2018 champion Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB).

Modzmanshvili and NAM Koungjin (KOR) came away with the bronze medals. 

On Day 3 of the four-day competition on Tuesday, the women will finish up with the two upper weights, 68kg and 72kg, while the Greco-Roman gets started with the two lightest divisions, 60kg and 67kg. 

Freestyle

125kg (19 entries)

Gold - Parviz HADIBASMANJ (IRI) df. DENG Zhiwei (CHN), 7-0 
Bronze - NAM Koungjin (KOR) df. Tayab REZA (PAK), 9-0
Bronze - Davit MODZMANASHVILI (UZB) df. Sumit SUMIT (IND), 2-0 

SF - Hadibasmanj df. Modzmanashvili, 11-8
SF - Deng df. Nam by Fall, 1:08 (6-0)

Women's Wrestling

50kg (11 entries)

Gold - Vinesh VINESH (IND) df. Yuki IRIE (JPN), 6-2
Bronze - KIM Son Hyang (PRK) def. Eka SETIAWATI (INA) by TF, 10-0, 2:11
Bronze - KIM Hyungjoo (KOR) def. Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB), 6-0

SF - Vinesh df. Yakhshimuratova by TF, 10-0, 1:15 
SF - Irie df. Kim, 13-4

53kg (13 entries)

Gold - PAK Yong Mi (PRK) df. Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) by TF, 11-0, 5:29
Bronze - Haruna OKUNO (JPN) df. CHIU Hsinju (TPE) by Fall, 2:19 (6-0)
Bronze - Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) df. LEE Shinhye (KOR) by Fall, 1:49 (3-2)

SF - Eshimova df. Erdenechimeg, 12-11
SF - Pak df. Okuno, 7-7

57kg (12 entries)

Gold - JONG Myong Suk (PRK) df. PEI Xingru (CHN), 5-4 
Bronze - Battsetseg ALTANTSETSEG (MGL) df. UM Jieun (KOR), 5-2 
Bronze - Katsuki SAKAGAMI (JPN) df. Pooja DHANDA (IND), 6-1

SF - Jong df. Dhanda by TF, 10-0, 5:09
SF - Pei df. Altantsetseg, 4-1

62kg (11 entries)

Gold - Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL) df. Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) by TF, 11-0, 4:14
Bronze - Risako KAWAI (JPN) df. Thi My Hanh NGUYEN (VIE) by TF, 10-0, 2:58
Bronze - RIM Jong Sim (PRK) df. Sakshi MALIK (IND), 6-1

SF - Tynybekova df. Malik, 9-7
SF - Purevdorj df. Kawai by Fall, 3:47 (2-2)
 

#JapanWrestling

Another Ono rises: Konami follows brother's footsteps

Friday, August 29, 2025 - 02:52 By Ikuo Higuchi

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TOKYO (August 27) -- When you think of the name Ono from Shimane Prefecture, many will recall Masanosuke ONO (JPN), a world champion who is quickly becoming a global star, who now primarily competes in the United States.

Ono's younger sister Konami, who was undefeated in the national tournament during her elementary school years, is just like her brother. She went on to attend Nippon Sport Science University Ohka High School in Tokyo, where she grew up steadily, winning the Inter-High School Championships in 2023 and also winning silver at the U17 World Championships the same year.

A shoulder injury caused her to slow down, but through repeated practice at Nippon Sport Science University she regained her former strength and won the East Japan Student Championships and the All Japan Amateur Championships [women's competition is open to university students as well] last week.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN), left, won a silver medal at the 2023 U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Being coached by 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medalist Chikara TANABE and Kaori ICHO, she described herself as being in "the best environment."

Ono had been suffering from pain in the right shoulder and had to undergo a surgery in June last year. She had initially aimed for a comeback last year at the All Japan Championships [Emperor's Cup] in December, but was forced to withdraw. She returned to competition in April of this year at the Junior Queen's Cup U20, where she won one match, but lost the next match to a junior from high school by technical superiority.

"There were times when my shoulder would dislocate just by walking. It was a frustrating year," said Ono with her voice becoming teary, as if the pain had returned. "I'm happy because I was injured and couldn't wrestle for a while," she said but added, "I realized I need to practice more and get stronger."

Inspiration from brother Ono

While she was off the mat, Konami watched her brother Masanosuke win the gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 2024 and later become the world champion at 61kg at the Non-Olympic World Championships.

"It's not something I could ever imitate," she says, and although he is someone she should "admire" rather than "target," he is also someone close to her, having competed alongside since childhood. "I want to study hard and catch up," she says.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN) with world and Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA). (Photo courtesy: Masaharu Ono) 

Earlier in spring, Konami accompanied her older brother to the United States, where he trains at Pennsylvania State University. She was still recovering and was unable to train, but she watched her brother's win against 2024 Paris Olympic silver medalist Spencer LEE (USA).

"I thought American wrestling was really amazing. It was inspiring," she said.

What made the biggest impression on Konami was how much fun her brother seemed to be having wrestling, even though he was in a foreign country.

"He really enjoys wrestling," she said. "I was amazed that there are people who love wrestling that much [laughs].

"My brother is my role model," she said. "I often watch his techniques and aspire to be like him."

What she finds particularly impressive is his speed, and the way he unconsciously develops his techniques. She herself sometimes has trouble deciding what to do next during a match, but her brother's body moves without a second thought. "I need to be able to come out with techniques one after the other," she said.

Training with Fujinami, Onishi

While Ono found his path in the United States, Konami is thinking of firmly establishing herself in Japan.

"I think that if I stay at Nippon Sport Science University, I will become really strong," she says, believing that his current environment is the place where she can develop the skills to compete on the world stage.

Not only is there an impressive coaching staff, but there are also world-class athletes such as 2024 Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) and Asian champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) in the 57kg and 59kg weight class, respectively. Fujinami won gold at the Olympics in 53kg.

"I practice with Akari every day. She's really strong..." she said, admiringly, and when she's not sparring, she's always following Fujinami's movements to study them.

Since they are both in the 57kg weight class, could she challenge Fujinami as early as the All Japan Championships in December? To that question, she gave no clear answer, saying, "I'm not at the level where I can fight yet..." and said that she might move up a weight class as her body grows, so it's still up in the air, but perhaps the day is approaching when the middleweight trio, including Onishi, will take to the world stage.

Rather than setting big goals, her current goal is to "compete in many matches and enjoy wrestling." She says that she is actually enjoying it, so perhaps she is getting closer to her brother's level. Her next concrete goal is the All Japan Women's Open Championships in October.

She vowed to make a leap forward, saying, "I want to train both my body and mind and become even stronger. I want to become a star from Shimane Prefecture!"