#WrestleNewDelhi

Kakran Clinches 68kg Gold as Indian Women Get off to Strong Start Before Home Crowd

By Ken Marantz

NEW DELHI (Feb. 20) -- Divya KAKRAN (IND) shed tears of joy after clinching a gold medal for host India, while compatriots advanced to three of the four other finals as women’s wrestling got started Thursday at the Asian Championships.

Kakran won all four of her matches by fall at 68kg, which, with just five entries, is being competed in a round-robin format. With no matches remaining in the night session, she secured her first Asian gold after finishing third in 2019 and second in 2017.  

Kakran’s key victory came in the fourth round of matches over reigning world junior champion Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN), when she was losing 4-4 on criteria but locked up her opponent’s arms from the bottom and tipped her over backwards to secure a fall at 4:20. 

“That’s my best move,” Kakran said through tears. “Before coming here, I thought that I wanted to pin everyone.”

Sarita SARITA (IND) is one of three Indian Day Three finalists. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

In the night session, India will have a chance to pick up more golds through Devi NIRMALA (IND) at 50kg, Pinki PINKI (IND) at 55kg and Sarita SARITA (IND) at 59kg. Japan has two finalists, including world 76kg silver medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), as does Mongolia, while Kyrgyzstan has one.

India’s American coach Andrew Cook, hired a year ago as a “women’s foreign expert,” said he was proud of the team’s showing in a competition that unfortunately is missing women’s powerhouses China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea due to circumstances related to the new coronavirus.

“I think the last two months or so we’ve had some of the best training that I’ve [seen] in the year that I’ve been in India,” Cook said. “Cohesion with coaches, cohesion with athletes. I think the training program is right on point.

“I’m happy with the things they are showing. They’re actually doing what we do in practice. That’s a big deal.”

Cook said his concerns about how his charges would deal with the pressure of competing before the home crowd at K.D. Jadrav Wrestling Stadium were swiftly alleviated.

“I was a little bit worried, because through the weekend, they all split off and went to their homes and I didn’t really see them until this morning,” Cook said. “So I was a tiny bit worried, how we were going to react, how were we going to wrestle. I also felt that they’re very comfortable in India, and they wrestle hard for their fans. I thought it would wash, and it washed strong.”

Miho IGARASHI (JPN) upset Valentina ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ), a world bronze medalist, and made it to the 50kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

In the 50kg final, Nirmala will face two-time world U-23 champion Miho IGARASHI (JPN), who pulled off an upset when she scored the decisive takedown with :15 left in a 5-3 victory over world bronze medalist Valentina ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ).

“I lost to her two years ago, and I was going for revenge,” Igarashi said. “Even though I cut it close, I thought if I stayed calm, I could turn her over. I kept my cool during the match and it paid off.”

Igarashi has extra motivation coming into her first senior continental championships—younger sister Saki already has an Asian gold, which she won at 55kg in 2018 in Bishkek.  

“My younger sister won the title before me, so I want to catch up and definitely win the championship,” she said with a smile.

Nirmala earned her place in the final by rolling to a 10-0 technical fall over Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB).

At 55kg, Pinki PINKI (IND) defeated Marina ZUYEVA (KAZ) 6-0 in the semifinals to set up a showdown for the gold with Dulguun BOLORMAA (MGL), who assured she will improve on her 2019 bronze medal by pinning Kana Higashikawa (JPN) in 44 seconds.

Battsetseng ALTANTSETSEG (MGL), a silver medalist a year ago in Xi’an, China, advanced to the 59kg final against Sarita with a 5-1 victory over Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ).

Sarita herself survived a scare against Yuumi KON (JPN), as she scored a 4-point move to go up 10-0, but because the action continued the technical fall was not called. Kon managed to reverse and put Sarita on her back, but she held out to clinch a 10-3 win.

Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN), the reigning world silver medalist, will wrestle in the 76kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

All but one of the weight classes used preliminary groups due to limited entries, and the 76kg final will be a rematch of Minagawa’s 3-0 victory over world U-23 bronze medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ).

Both wrestlers won their semifinals by fall, with Minagawa topping Arlunjargal GANBAT (MGL) and Medet Kyzy decking Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ), a 2018 bronze medalist who placed fifth at last year’s World Championships. 

Minagawa, who scored all of her points against Medet Kyzy on stepouts, is aiming for her third Asian title and first since 2015, and sixth medal overall. She was second to Chinese opponents in both 2018 and 2019.

Meanwhile, the fifth-round match at 68kg between Matsuyuki and Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) will ostensibly decide the silver and bronze medals. 

Results

Women’s Wrestling
50kg (8 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Miho IGARASHI (JPN) df. Valentina ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ), 5-3
SEMIFINAL - Devi NIRMALA (IND) df. Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 3:29

55kg (6 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Pinki PINKI (IND) df. Marina ZUYEVA (KAZ), 6-0
SEMIFINAL – Dulguun BOLORMAA (MGL) df. Kana Higashikawa (JPN) by Fall, :44 (2-0)

59kg (7 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Battsetseng ALTANTSETSEG (MGL) df. Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ), 5-1
SEMIFINAL – Sarita SARITA (IND) df. Yuumi KON (JPN), 10-3

68kg (5 entries)
Round-Robin Standings (through 4 rounds)
1. Divya KAKRAN (IND), 4-0;
2. Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN), 2-1;
3. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) 2-1;
4. Albina KAIRGELDINOVA (KAZ), 0-3;
5. Azoda ESBERGENOVA (UZB), 0-3.

76kg (7 entries)
SEMIFINAL – Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) df. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ) by Fall, 2:48 (4-1)
SEMIFINAL – Hiroe MINAGAWA (JPN) df. Arlunjargal GANBAT (MGL) by Fall, 1:33 (5-0)

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Lopez secures unprecedented place in Olympic history

By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 6) -- Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) now has a place in a pantheon on his own.

In the 128-year history of the Summer Olympics, no athlete had ever won five gold medals in the same event in any sport. Until Tuesday, when Lopez accomplished the feat at the Paris Olympics with a dominant performance at Greco 130kg.

The 41-year-old Lopez defeated Cuban-born and former training partner Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) 6-0 in the final before a packed crowd at the Champs de Mars Arena that included International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

“I'm happy, it has been an important achievement in my life, in my career," Lopez said. "It has also been an achievement of all my coaching team, my mom, my dad, my family in general, that have been helping me in every single one of my tasks in the sport. And what better celebration than to have achieved this gold medal.”

In other finals, Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) captured the Greco 60kg that eluded him at his home Olympics three years ago, while rising star Amit ELOR (USA) triumphed at women's 68kg to become the second wrestler to add an Olympic gold to world titles on all four age-group levels.

After a delay for Bach to be seated and the arena in an expectant buzz, Lopez started the featured match of the tournament by scoring a 2-point roll off par terre in the first period against Acosta, who had made history himself by giving Chile its first-ever Olympic wrestling medal.

Lopez added a takedown in the second period to clinch the victory in his first competition since winning the gold three years ago in Tokyo.

There will be no sixth gold. After slamming his coach to the mat in celebration and acknowledging the cheers of the adoring crowd, Lopez took off his wrestling shoes and left them in the middle of the mat, the universal sign of a wrestler's decision to end his career.

"It's a moment to demonstrate that someone has retired officially from the sport of wrestling and that also leaves a path wide open for the younger generation to continue inspiring others," said Lopez, who dedicated the victory to his late father.

Coming into Paris, Lopez had been one of six athletes who had won four golds in the same event along with fellow wrestler Kaori ICHO (JPN), sailing's Paul ELVSTROM (DEN), athletics' Al OERTER (USA) and Carl LEWIS (USA), and swimming's Michael PHELPS (USA). Swimmer Katie LEDECKY (USA) and shooting's Vincent HANCOCK (USA) joined the group in Paris.

Amazingly, Lopez was appearing in his sixth Olympics, having finished fifth in his debut at the 2004 Athens Games. He was also a five-time world champion and three-time silver medalist dating back to his first title in 2005. His last defeat came in the final of the 2015 World Championships to rival Riza KAYAALP (TUR).

Reflecting on his remarkable career, Lopez commented, "To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things."

Asked to describe each gold medal in one word, he replied: "Beijing: youth. London: transcendence. Rio: effort. Tokyo: sacrifice. Paris: joy."

Before Lopez made history, Fumita won the Greco 60kg gold that had been an obsession since that tearful day at the Tokyo Olympics, when he lost in the final to Luis ORTA (CUB).

Fumita put together a masterful match, scoring from par terre in the first period and keeping Liguo CAO (CHN) at bay throughout to notch a 4-1 victory and end a 40-year drought for Japan in Greco at the Olympics.

"The number one thing that clearly comes to my mind now is the final from three years ago," Fumita said. "[The three years] was a difficult period that I had never experienced before. But there were also good times in there as well. In total, there were more plusses, which is why I could win the title today."

In the intervening years, the 28-year-old Fumita, a former two-time world champion, got married and became a father. He also lost in the final at last year's World Championships in Belgrade to Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), a loss that gave him a new perspective on his career -- and which he avenged in the semifinals in Paris on Monday.

He said he was motivated by his family and a large group of supporters who made the trip to Paris. "If it wasn't for my family, I might not have tried again [for the Olympics]," he said. "All the people who have helped me along the way have made this special."

As for becoming Japan's first Greco champion since Atsuji MIYAHARA (JPN) won the 52kg gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Fumita responded, "It's something to accomplish a feat for the first time in 40 years. But honestly speaking, my bigger feeling is of disappointment that we haven't won for 40 years. I hope that Japan Greco makes great progress in the next 40 years."

Fumita had previously won world titles in 2017 and 2019 before winning a bronze in 2022 and a silver last year. Including his Tokyo silver, none will ever compare with the gold he just won.

"I don't know how many grams its weighs, but it's heavier than any medal I've won up to now," he said. "But it's not just its actual weight. The long time I have aimed at getting it, all of the emotions that went into it, I feel [the weight of it] all hanging from my neck."

In the final match of the night, two-time world 72kg champion Elor put up a wall of defense that Tokyo bronze medalist Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) was unable to penetrate in a 3-0 victory in the women's 68kg final.

"It was one of the best moments in my life," Elor said. "And when I experience something like that, it just reminds me that everything is worth it. All the hard days the grind, it's all worth it for moments like these."

The 20-year-old Elor, who cut weight for the first time in her life to make her first Olympics, scored the lone technical points of the match with a takedown off a counter, then added an activity point as she kept the 2021 world champion at bay with an underhook that thwarted any tackle attempts.

"I actually wrestled her a few times in international training camps when I was younger," Elor said of the 24-year-old Zhumananarova. "She's a little bit older than me, so those were pretty tough bouts. I know she is an extremely solid, strong wrestler, so my mindset going into the match was to be patient, stay in good position, and to trust in my style of wrestling and in my skills."

With the Olympic gold, Elor joins Yui SUSAKI (JPN) as the only wrestlers who have completed the "Golden Grand Slam" of titles, having previously won the world cadet (U17) in 2021 and the world U20, U23 and senior titles in 2022.

"I think the number one thing that's helped me develop mentally has been experience," Elor said. "For the past two years, I've done three world championships in one summer. Those experiences have not only helped me stay focused and solid under pressure, they've also helped me improve as a wrestler and as a person."

Elor became the third American woman to win Olympic gold after Helen MAROULIS (USA) at Rio 2016 and Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA) last year in Tokyo, while preventing Zhumanazarova from becoming Kyrgyzstan's first Olympic gold medalist in any sport.

Elor already has an added incentive to defend her title in 2028. "Other than becoming an Olympic champion, my biggest dream of all time is to go to the 2028 Olympics, because I'm from California.

"To have the opportunity to compete and represent not only my country, but my state, and to compete in my own state, is incredible. I have been excited about that ever since I heard about it."

Sharshenbekov, Mirzazadeh, Ozaki take home bronzes

Sharshenbekov added an Olympic bronze to his two world golds when he got the roll in par terre in the first period and defeated Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) 3-1 at Greco 60kg.

Sharshenbekov completed a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then held his ground while on bottom in the second to close with a victory after seeing his streak of 10 consecutive tournament titles ended by Fumita in the semifinals.

In the other bronze-medal match at Greco 60kg, Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) saw his bid to become Venezuela's first-ever Olympic medalist in wrestling end in just over a minute when he was soundly defeated by Se Ung RI (PRK) 10-0.

Ri, a Youth Olympic champion back in 2014 who returned to global competition at the 2023 Asian Games and came home with a bronze medal, followed a takedown with three successive rolls to end the match in 1:11.

At Greco 130kg, reigning world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) secured the bronze medal that he missed out on in Tokyo with a 4-0 win over Iranian-born Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), the 35-year-old who was looking to add to his bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Mirzazadeh went ahead 3-0 with a gut wrench from par terre in the first period, then picked up a fourth point by keeping the pressure on and receiving a second passivity point. Although he was unable to turn Shariati again, he was never in danger and went on become Iran's first-ever Olympic medalist in the heaviest Greco weight.

Shariati, who suffered a gash over his right eye that had to be bandaged during the match, got a ride on the shoulders of Mirzazadeh after the match as a sign of respect. Shariati then left his shoes on the mat.

Lingzhe MENG (CHN) won the other 130kg bronze, scoring two takedowns in the second period to defeat Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY) 5-2 and avenge a loss to the Egyptian in the bronze-medal match at last year's World Championships.

At women's 68kg, world champion Buse TOSUN (TUR) finally managed to finish off a takedown and it came at the buzzer to defeat teenager Sol Gum PAK (PRK) 4-2.

Tosun had two stepouts sandwiched around Pak's second-period takedown to trail on criteria 2-2. But with the seconds ticking down, she fought off Pak's whizzer and got behind just as time ran out, denying Pak's bid to become the first-ever women's Olympic medalist for DPR Korea.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) assured she would have something to show for her ordeal of moving up two weight classes to be in Paris by defeating Tokyo silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) 3-0 for the other women's 68kg bronze.

Ozaki scored with a sweeping single that sent Oborududu directly to her back in the first period. She added an activity point in the second and never allowed Oborududu an opening.

Ozaki was the 2022 world 62kg champion who missed out on Japan's Olympic spot in that weight class. After a stop at 65kg last year to add a second world title, she secured her ticket to Paris at 68kg with a last-second victory over Ami ISHII (JPN) in a domestic playoff.

Despite winning the gold at the Asian Championships in April in her international debut at 68kg, she struggled in Paris against the naturally heavier opponents and saw her gold-medal hopes end with a late loss to Zhumanazarova in the quarterfinals.

Day 2 Results

Greco-Roman

60kg
GOLD: Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Liguo CAO (CHN), 4-1

BRONZE: Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI), 3-1
BRONZE: Se Ung RI (PRK) df. Raiber RODRIGUEZ (VEN) by TF, 8-0, 1:11

77kg
SF 1: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), 3-1
SF 2: Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 6-1

97kg
SF 1: Artur ALEKSANYAN df. Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB), 5-3
SF 2: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Mohamad GABR (EGY), 6-0

130kg
GOLD: Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) df. Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI), 6-0

BRONZE: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) df. Sabah SHARIATI (AZE), 4-0
BRONZE: Lingzhe MENG (CHN) df. Abdellitif MOHAMED (EGY), 5-2

Women's Wrestling

50kg
SF 1: Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) df. Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), 5-0
SF 2: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), 5-0

68kg
GOLD -- Amit ELOR (USA) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 3-0

BRONZE -- Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Sol Gum PAK (PRK), 4-2
BRONZE -- Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), 3-0