#JapanWrestling

Nanjo, Ozaki deny Kawai sisters tickets to Belgrade

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (July 17) -- When sisters Risako and Yukako KAWAI won gold medals together at the Tokyo Olympics, they were the toast of the nation, appearing on countless TV shows and being treated as celebrities.

That was then and this is now, and two years after their triumph, neither sibling was able to make Japan's team to this year's World Championships, even after taking a shot at a non-Olympic weight class.

Risako, who now goes by her married name of KINJO, suffered a stunning last-second loss to Sae NANJO at 59kg, while Yukako was outdueled by Nonoka OZAKI at 65kg in playoffs for Japan's world team in non-Olympic divisions on Monday at Tokyo's National Training Center.

"Even if it's not [to qualify] for the Olympics, I wanted to go to the World Championships as sisters with Yukako," said Kinjo, the two-time Olympic champion and three-time world gold medalist. "It's very hard to take that I lost, but I felt I was better than at the Meiji Cup."

Both Nanjo and Ozaki went on to win their respective weight class in the ladder-style format to secure their tickets to Belgrade, along with Haruna OKUNO at 55kg and Miwa MORIKAWA at 72kg.

In Greco-Roman, Shohei YABIKU, a Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist at 77kg, claimed the spot at 82kg, while teenage Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA triumphed at freestyle at 92kg to earn his first trip to a World Championships on any level.

Under the criteria set by the Japan federation, any wrestler who finished in the top two in an Olympic weight class at the two domestic qualifiers for the World Championships -- the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held last December and the Meiji Cup All-Japan Championships held in June -- but failed to make the world team in that division, either outright or in a playoff, could challenge for a spot at a non-Olympic weight.

The competition to qualify in the Olympic weights was fierce, as the federation proclaimed that any wrestler winning a medal in Belgrade will automatically fill the spot at the Paris Olympics that comes with it.

In Monday's playoffs, the winner of the Meiji Cup in each non-Olympic weight class was placed at the top of the ladder. But the real competition came in the earlier rungs, when those who failed to make an Olympic weight class clashed in pairings equivalent to a global championship.

Sae NANJOSae NANJO scores two points over Risako KINJO during their 59kg bout. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

Nanjo, who had lost out at 57kg to world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, set up her clash with Kinjo by defeating Sara NATAMI by an 11-1 technical fall.

Kinjo, who had lost to Sakurai in the semifinals at the Meiji Cup to end her quest at 57kg, was eligible for the playoffs because she won the 59kg title at the Emperor's Cup, her first major competition after returning from childbirth.

Kinjo looked to be well on her way toward gaining a shot at a fourth world title when she stormed to a 6-0 lead over Nanjo, scoring a first-period takedown, then adding another early in the second period that she topped off with a lace-lock roll.

Nanjo knows something about losing last-second decisions -- Sakurai has done it to her three times, including at the Olympic weight class playoffs on July 1 -- so she was not yet ready to concede to her elder fellow Shigakkan University alum.

"When she turned me with the ankle hold and made it a six-point lead, I thought it might be over," Nanjo said.

Nanjo got on the scoreboard with a single-leg takedown, then levered Kinjo over for another two while very nearly ending the match with a fall. Kinjo manages to squirm out for a tenuous two-point lead.

In the final 10 seconds, Nanjo went for broke and secured a headlock, then desperately tried to twist Kinjo over at the edge. With just a couple of ticks on the clock remaining, she managed to expose Kinjo's back for a dramatic 6-6 victory.

Nanjo said she found strength in the woman in her corner, fellow Japan Olympic Academy product and former world champion Masako FURUICHI, who has always been there to encourage her when times are rough. "Whenever she is there, it gets me looking forward," Nanjo said.

Nanjo, a two-time world U23 champion who finished third in her lone appearance at a senior worlds in 2021, secured her ticket to Belgrade with a 10-0 technical fall over Sena NAGAMOTO in less than a minute.

"After I lost the 57kg playoff, it was tough to get back in the right frame of mind," said Nanjo, who graduated from Shigakkan in March and joined Toshin Construction company, which sponsors several elite wrestlers. "But I regained the desire to fight, more for all the people who support me than myself."

Kinjo knows that the path to a third Olympic gold is all but closed, and she says she will not be rooting for Sakurai to slip up in Belgrade and reopen it. But neither does she say we have seen the last of her.

"If I am asked if I will retire because this time I wasn't able to make it to the World Championships, I will say I'm not going out that easy," the 28-year-old said. "I've been given a job by my company because of wrestling, so we'll have to talk it over, but I won't be easily saying 'sayonara.'"

Nonoka OZAKINonoka OZAKI controls Yukako KAWAI after a takedown at 65kg. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

Earlier, younger sister Yukako's fate was decided by Ozaki, the world champion at 62kg who lost out to Sakura MOTOKI in that weight class.

Ozaki scored a takedown in each period for a 4-0 victory that left Kawai empty-handed in her attempts to make it to Belgrade in three different weight classes during the process.

Kawai had lost to Motoki in the 62kg semifinal at the Emperor's Cup, then came up short again when she moved up to 68kg at the Meiji Cup, losing to Morikawa in the final.

It was the second career meeting between the Ozaki and Kawai. Ozaki took the first clash, a 3-1 win in the 2022 Meiji Cup final at 62kg that clinched her place on the team to last year's worlds, where she won her first senior title.

Ozaki punched her ticket to Belgrade by overwhelming Meiji Cup champ Mahiro YOSHITAKE by fall in 51 seconds after building a 10-0 lead.

"I failed in the Olympic weight class, that was heartbreaking because that was what I was aiming for," Ozaki said. "To decide to go up a weight class to 65kg was a big deal. It was not easy to turn the switch back on. But it was important that I decided to do it."

Haruna OKUNOHaruna OKUNO will be aiming for her third world title in Belgrade. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

At 55kg, two-time former world champion Okuno scored all of her points in the second period to chalk up a 7-2 victory over 2021 world U20 and U23 champion Moe KIYOOKA in the preliminary round. She then forged a 4-1 victory over Rina KATAOKA to secure the world team spot.

"Today, my goal was to decisively win out," Okuno said. "After the Meiji Cup was over, I tested some different things and I was able to use some of it on the mat. It really hit me that there's a big difference between practice and actual matches."

Okuno was the first of the five wrestlers in history who have completed the grand slam of all four age-group titles -- Yui SUSAKI made it a "golden" slam by adding an Olympic title. Furuichi is another, and Ozaki and Amit Elor (USA) joined the club last year. Okuno won world golds as a cadet in 2016, a junior in 2019, at U23 in 2017, 2019 and 2022, and on the senior level in 2017 and 2018.

Since that last appearance at the senior worlds in 2018, Okuno's path to global glory at 53kg was first shut off by Tokyo Olympic champion Mayu MUKAIDA, and in recent years by the phenomenal 2021 world champion Akari FUJINAMI.

Even at 55kg, Okuno has to be considered a title favorite this year in Belgrade, having suffered just two losses to non-Japanese opponents in her entire career. The first was a 6-4 loss in the third round at the 2014 world cadets to Alina Kazymova (RUS), and the second a 7-7 nail-biter to Yong-Mi PAK (PRK) in the semifinals at the 2018 Asian Games.

Miwa MORIKAWA65kg world champion Miwa MORIKAWA will be competing at 72kg in Belgrade. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

Morikawa, the world champion at 65kg who lost out to Ami ISHII in an attempt to make it to Belgrade at 68kg, had her hands full with the extra weight at 72kg but made it through with a 4-1 victory over Sumire NIIKURA and a 4-2 win over fellow Nippon Sports Science University alum Mei SHINDO.

"Yesterday we practiced together," Morikawa said of Shindo. "We have made each other stronger, but in a match, we both go out with the aim of beating the other."

Having moved up two weight classes, Morikawa said she feels the added weight of her opponents but looks forward to the challenge, particularly a possible meeting with defending champion Elor.

"I can't compare it with last year," Morikawa said. "The opponents, it may be rude to say, are monsters two weight classes up. I know that you can't take the World Championships lightly. But no matter the weight class, I want to show I can be the champion. As long as I'm entered, I'm there to win."

YABIKUShohei YABIKU, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist at 77kg, claimed the spot at 82kg. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation)

In Greco, Yabiku earned a trip to a fifth World Championships -- he has never placed higher than 13th -- by defeating Meiji Cup champion Yuya OKAJIMA by injury default.

Yabiku executed a throw from par terre that did not expose Okajima's back but was good for 2 points and a 3-1 lead. But Okajima landed awkwardly on his left foot and was unable to continue the match.

In freestyle, Yoshida scored a pair of stepouts and a takedown before holding on for a 5-3 victory at 92kg over Yudai TAKAHASHI.

Yoshida, whose father is Iranian and runs the kids wrestling club where he started the sport, had won the Meiji Cup title after capturing an impressive gold at the Asian Championships. He represents Japanese hope for future glory in the upper weights.

Among other weight classes, Kodai OGAWA denied high schooler and Meiji Cup champion Rin SAKAMOTO a trip to the senior worlds at freestyle 61kg by breaking open a close match in the second period and rolling to an 11-4 victory.

Japan's World Championships team

Freestyle
57kg: Rei HIGUCHI
61kg: Kodai OGAWA
65kg: Takuto OTOGURO
70kg: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI
74kg: Daichi TAKATANI
79kg: Yuto MIWA
86kg: Hayato ISHIGURO
92kg: Arash YOSHIDA
97kg: Takashi ISHIGURO
125kg: Daiki YAMAMOTO

Greco-Roman
55kg: Taiga ONISHI
60kg: Kenichiro FUMITA
63kg: Ryuto IKEDA
67kg: Kyotaro SOGABE
72kg: Shingo HARADA
77kg: Nao KUSAKA
82kg: Shohei YABIKU
87kg: Masato SUMI
97kg: Yuta NARA
130kg: Sota OKUMURA

Women
50kg: Yui SUSAKI
53kg: Akari FUJINAMI
55kg: Haruna OKUNO
57kg: Tsugumi SAKURAI
59kg: Sae NANJO
62kg: Sakura MOTOKI
65kg: Nonoka OZAKI
68kg: Ami ISHII
72kg: Miwa MORIKAWA
76kg: Yuka KAGAMI

#JapanWrestling

Otoguro, Susaki avoid carnage to secure tickets to Belgrade

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (June 18) -- Japanese stars Takuto OTOGURO and Yui SUSAKI managed to avoid the carnage that all but knocked their fellow Tokyo Olympic champions out of the running for a repeat in Paris.

Otoguro overcame a severe right foot injury to take the freestyle 65kg title, and Susaki withstood a late flurry to triumph at women's 50kg at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships on Sunday, the final day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym.

With their victories, both Otoguro and Susaki clinched places on Japan's team to this year's World Championships in Belgrade, where they will have their first chance to secure a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics by winning a medal.

"I knew that leading up to the Olympics the matches would be tough, so I'm happy that I was able to win them one by one," said Otoguro, who defeated Ryoma ANRAKU 9-0 in a match that was far closer than the score indicates.

The Meiji Cup was the second of Japan's domestic qualifiers for the Belgrade worlds, combined with the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held last December. A victory at both in an Olympic weight class assures a ticket to Belgrade; if the champions are different, the two will face each other in a playoff on July 1.

Both Otoguro and Susaki repeated victories in the Emperor's Cup finals against the same opponents on Sunday.

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN)Takuto OTOGURO defeated Ryoma ANRAKU 9-0 in the 65kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation / Takeo Yabuki)

Otoguro, who had been unable to walk off the mat under his own power after his semifinal win on Saturday, had considered defaulting to Anraku and letting the world team spot come down to a playoff but opted to go for it upon consultation with his coaches.

"Talking it over with my coaches, they said it would be a good experience to win amid such adversity, and instead of a playoff, we should get it done now," said Otoguro, who would not reveal details of the injury, only to say it was "serious."

Otoguro, seemingly hesitant to attack, scored the bulk of his points with defensive counter moves in the final minute of the match, in which he had been given a 2-0 lead with a pair of activity points.

Otoguro was himself on the clock when Anraku got in deep on a single leg, but Otoguro perfectly timed a counter-lift for 2, then went back the other way for 2 more. An unsuccessful challenge added a point, then Otoguro got a takedown in the final seconds off a desperation shot by Anraku.

"There wasn't anything particularly bad, but I'm not really satisfied," Otoguro said of his performance. "The good things were few."

Since winning the gold at Makuhari Messe in 2021, Otoguro's lone competition was at the Emperor's Cup, which he won with a 4-0 victory over Anraku.

A 2022 world U23 bronze medalist, Anraku won a bronze at this year's Asian Championships in Astana that Otoguro had planned to enter, but pulled out after suffering his foot injury at a training camp in January.

Otoguro's main focus over the next three months is to prepare for Belgrade, where he will aim to secure his ticket to Paris by regaining the title he won in 2018, which made him at 19 years 10 months Japan's youngest-ever male world champion.

The Japan Wrestling Federation has decreed that any wrestler winning a medal in an Olympic weight class in Belgrade will automatically fill the spot themselves at the Paris Olympics, without going through any further qualifying process.

"First of all, I have to get healthy, then at the World Championships gain the Olympic spot, then aim for the gold in Paris," said the 26-year-old Otoguro.

Yui SUSAKIYui SUSAKI managed to roll over Remina YOSHIMOTO from here to score the winning points in the 50kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation / Takeo Yabuki)

Susaki secured her ticket back to Belgrade, where she won a third career world title last year, with a 4-3 victory over rival Remina YOSHIMOTO that wasn't decided until a challenge sorted out the points from a flurry in the final seconds.

"This was a tournament for contending for [places at] the World Championships and subsequently Paris, and I came into it determined to win," Susaki said. "The final did not go very well, but I was able to win and get to the World Championships, so it was good that I cleared that task."

Like Otoguro, Susaki had received an activity point in each period before being put on the activity clock, although the time ran out on her, leaving her with a 2-1 lead.

With 20 seconds left, Yoshimoto got in on a single leg, which Susaki defended by slipping the side and reaching over for the far leg, attempting a counter lift. Yoshimoto went with the lift and charged over the top, putting Susaki onto her back with :06 on the clock. But in the final one second, Susaki managed to finish off the roll.

The original call was 2 for Susaki; the challenge awarded 2 to each wrestler, still leaving Yoshimoto on the short end and giving Susaki her sixth win in six career meetings between the two.

"I knew she would do her homework on me," Susaki said of Yoshimoto, who won the 2021 world gold while Susaki was on a post-Olympic hiatus. "In the final, she got in on a tackle and my response was not enough and made things difficult for me.

"I have to practice to be able to take advantage of opportunities that come my way."

Like Otoguro, Susaki had a health issue on Saturday, when she suddenly cut short her post-match press conference after one question without disclosing the reason. "I'm sorry, I wasn't feeling well," she said, adding that it had no effect on her performance on Sunday.

The Japanese women in particular realize the importance of getting to this year's World Championships, as there is a high likelihood that those who go to Belgrade in the Olympic weights will win a medal, meaning there will be no future chances for others.

At the 2019 World Championships, Japan's women medaled in four of the six Olympic divisions, and Susaki knows personally the anxiety of leaving one's fate in other hands.

Susaki ended up at the Tokyo Olympics only because Yuki IRIE shockingly failed to medal at 50kg in Nur-Sultan, and Susaki took full advantage of the second chance. She doesn't plan to let her chance slip away in Belgrade.

"I didn't get to the Tokyo Olympics solely on my own power," Susaki said. "For Paris, I want to control my own fate and get there and win the gold."

Waiting in the wings for another chance -- however slim -- will be Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Mayu SHIDOCHI (formerly MUKAIDA), Risako KINJO (formerly KAWAI) and Yukako KAWAI.

All three suffered losses over the four-day tournament to eliminate them from contention for places on the world team, meaning their only hopes for Paris lie in the representative in Belgrade failing to make the podium.

And even after that, they would have to earn a place on Japan's team for the Asian or world Olympic qualifiers in 2024, most likely with victories at this year's Emperor's Cup, no small task in itself.

Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN)Tsugumi SAKURAI scores a takedown against Sae NANJO in the 57kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation / Takeo Yabuki)

Sakurai upends Nanjo

For the third time in four matches between the two, world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI pulled off a last-second victory over world U23 champion Sae NANJO, giving her the women's 57kg title and setting up another clash in the July 1 playoff.

"The result was a victory, but I was nervous and I wasn't able to put into practice what I've done in training," said Sakurai, who ousted Kinjo in the semifinals on Saturday. "If I go on like this, two weeks from now, I will lose again. First, I have to reflect on today's match."

Sakurai was awarded a takedown with less than a second left on the clock, and the call was upheld on a challenge for a 5-2 victory over the Emperor's Cup champion.

Sakurai had opened the match with a go-behind takedown, to which Nanjo responded with a single-leg takedown to lead 2-2 on criteria going into the second period.

With a half-minute left, Sakurai got in on a single leg, and fought to get behind as Nanjo kept a firm clamp on Sakurai's right arm as the seconds ticked off. With the clock at 0.48, the referee was finally convinced and gave Sakurai the 2, and the challenge confirmed the points.

"I was running out of steam," Sakurai said. "There was a time when I was injured and couldn't train. But I knew that if I didn't do something, I would lose. I knew if I lost here, I wouldn't go to the Olympics. It would be a loss that I would always regret."

At the Emperor's Cup, Nanjo had finally gotten the best of Sakurai by taking a five-point lead and holding on for a 5-4 win in the semifinals. That had avenged last-second losses to Sakurai at both the 2021 Emperor’s Cup and last year's Meiji Cup.

Maito KAWANAMaito KAWANA scored thrilling 5-4 win to win the Grec-Roman 60kg gold medal at the Meiji Cup. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation / Takeo Yabuki)

In the other Olympic weight class up for grabs, Asian bronze medalist Maito KAWANA won a 5-4 thriller in the Greco 60kg final over Kaito INABA, earning him a place in a playoff against Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA.

Kawana, who was trailing 4-4 on criteria, forced a stepout with :36 left to secure the victory and set up a rematch of his 6-0 loss to Fumita in the Emperor's Cup final.

Fumita, the 2017 and 2019 world champion, withdrew from the tournament due to a torn hamstring suffered in practice. He wrote on Twitter that he would do his utmost to recover in time for the playoff.

At freestyle 61kg, Rin SAKAMOTO of Tokyo's Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School defeated collegian Hayato FUJITA 6-2 in the final, making him just the second high schooler in the history of the Meiji Cup to win a freestyle title since the tournament was started in 1997.

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

61kg (14 entries)
GOLD - Rin SAKAMOTO df. Hayato FUJITA, 6-2

BRONZE - Kaito MORITA df. Takumi YOSHIMURA, 7-2
BRONZE - Kosei IDE df. Fuga SASAKI, 5-2

Semifinal - Rin SAKAMOTO df. Kaito MORITA, 9-4
Semifinal - Hayato FUJITA df. Fuga SASAKI by TF, 14-4, 3:19

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD - Takuto OTOGURO df. Ryoma ANRAKU, 9-0

BRONZE - Kaiki YAMAGUCHI df. Kaiji OGINO, 6-0
BRONZE - Kaito MORIKAWA df. Makoto HOSOKAWA, 10-2

Greco-Roman

60kg (11 entries)
GOLD - Maito KAWANA df. Kaito INABA, 5-4

BRONZE - Yu SHIOTANI df. Ayata SUZUKI by Def.
BRONZE - Kosei TAKESHITA df. Koto GOMI by TF, 9-0, 2:12

72kg (11 entries)
GOLD - Shingo HARADA df. Yuga KASUGAI by TF, 10-0, 2:00

BRONZE - Hajime KIKUTA df. Seiya TERADA by TF, 11-0, :55
BRONZE - Tomohiro INOUE df. Takahiro YAMAMOTO, 5-1

Semifinal - Yuga KASUGAI df. Hajime KIKUTA, 10-6
Semifinal - Shingo HARADA df. Tomohiro INOUE, 5-3

Women

50kg (13 entries)
GOLD - Yui SUSAKI df. Remina YOSHIMOTO, 4-3

BRONZE - Umi ITO df. Riko KASAI by TF, 10-0, 4:53
BRONZE - Miyu NAKAMURA df. Miu OBATA, 8-3

57kg (13 entries)
GOLD - Tsugumi SAKURAI df. Sae NANJO, 5-2

BRONZE - Umi IMAI df. Hana KIKUTA by TF, 11-0, 3:57
BRONZE - Sara NATAMI df. Risako KINJO by Def.