#NFRoundup

NF Roundup: Nov. 16-20

Monday, November 16, 2020 - 17:08 By United World Wrestling Press

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Nippon Sport Science University won the freestyle title at the All-Japan Collegiate Championships (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

Yamaguchi Leads NSSU to Japan Collegiate Freestyle Title
World junior champion Kaiki YAMAGUCHI made a successful move up to 65kg, helping lead Nippon Sport Science University to the team title as one of the school's three gold medalists at the All-Japan Collegiate Championships.

Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ) etched his name in Japan wrestling history when the Yamanashi Gakuin University senior captured the 125kg gold to become the ninth four-time champion in the history of the freestyle tournament, which was held Nov. 7-8 in Osaka. 

Yuto TAKESHITA, last year's Asian junior champion, won the 57kg gold and Kodai OGAWA triumphed at 61kg as NSSU swept the three lightest weight classes, and had three silver medalists in winning the team title for the 21st time with 71 points. 

Takushoku University, with two champions in Takuma TANIYAMA at 70kg and Kojiro SHIGA at 74kg, finished second with 46.

Yamanashi Gakuin picked up a second title as Takuma OTSU, the national senior champion and Asian silver medalist at 92kg, won the 97kg crown, while world U-23 bronze medalist Hayato ISHIGURO of Nihon University repeated as 86kg champion. 

Kaiki YAMAGUCHI led NSSU to the Japan collegiate freestyle title (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

Yamaguchi, the 2018 champion and 2019 runner-up at 61kg -- the weight class in which he won the world junior gold last year in Thailand -- was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler. 

He chalked up three technical falls before knocking off defending champion Ryoma ANRAKU of Waseda 3-1 in the semifinals, then edged Shinnosuke SUWAMA of Kokushikan University 2-0 in the final. 

Takeshita, the Asian junior champion, pulled off the biggest win of the tournament in the quarterfinals, when he posted a 6-2 win over world junior champion Toshiya ABE of Kokushikan. He took the gold with a 7-0 victory over Senshu University's Daiki ARAKI.

Almantay, coming off winning a third straight Greco title in October, maintained his domination of the college heavyweights, winning three of his four matches by technical fall, including a 10-0 win in the final over NSSU's Haroon ABID of Pakistan. The former world junior bronze medalist did not surrender a point. 

By winning a fourth title in a row, Almentay joined a elite group that includes two-time Olympic medalist Kosei AKAISHI (Nihon, 1983-1986) and 2014 world silver medalist Sosuke TAKATANI (Takushoku, 2008-2011), who will be aiming to qualify for a third Olympics in March. Of the nine who have accomplished the feat, he is the fourth from Yamanashi Gakuin.

Kojiro SHIGA claimed the title at 74kg (Photo: Tateo Yabuki/Japan Wrestling Federation)

In the 74kg final, Takushoku's Shiga overwhelming NSSU freshman Yudai TAKAHASHI by 10-0 technical fall for his third straight title in a clash between two of Japan's national team members at the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan.

Shiga, the Asian silver medalist at 70kg, finished seventh in that weight class in Nur-Sultan, while Takahashi dropped down from 79kg, the weight in which he finished second at the All-Japan Championships last year as a high school senior. 

The national-level tournament was latest in recent months to be held employing strict restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That included prohibiting spectators and testing all competitors. 

So far, there have been no reports of infections in the weeks following any of the tournaments. 

Final Results
57kg: Yuto TAKESHITA (NSSU) df. Daiki ARAKI (Senshu), 7-0
61kg: Kodai OGAWA (NSSU) df. Keita SHIMIZU (Takushoku), 7-5
65kg: Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (NSSU) df. Shinnosuke SUWAMA (Kokushikan), 2-0
70kg: Takuma TANIYAMA (Takushoku) df. Kazuki SAITO (Meiji) by TF, 10-0, 1:31
74kg: Kojiro SHIGA (Takushoku) df. Yudai TAKAHASHI (NSSU) by TF, 10-0, 3:45
86kg: Hayato ISHIGURO (Nihon) df. Tatsuya SHIRAI (NSSU), 4-1 
97kg: Takuma OTSU (Yamanashi Gakuin) df. Keiwan YOSHIDA (Nihon), 8-6
125kg: Bakhdaulet ALMENTAY (Yamanashi Gakuin) df. Haroon ABID (NSSU) by TF, 10-0, 4:19

Coronavirus Crashes Olympic Party for Wrestler-Coach Couple
LINK: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/11/cb0540320eda-coronavirus-crashes-olympic-party-for-wrestler-coach-couple.html

Despite these most uncertain of times, when the Tokyo Olympics might not even take place, Japanese wrestler Mayu Mukaida has seized control of her situation, preparing step by step for whatever comes next.

Had the global health crisis not disrupted her life and the sports calendar, the 23-year-old would have made her Olympic debut at the games this past summer and then married her coach Shota Shidochi.

"I want no regrets later, whether the Olympics go ahead or not. I will prepare the best I can," Mukaida told Kyodo News in a recent interview.

In February, Mukaida and Shidochi moved their training base to Tokyo from Aichi Prefecture in central Japan to get used to the host city environment, but in March the Olympics were postponed until 2021.

After the initial disappointment of having to wait another year for her shot at Olympic glory as well as her wedding day, Mukaida finally came to terms with the reality of having to re-plan everything in August.

Vinesh Phogat Gets Surprise Help in Solving Mukaida Problem

"But the tenacious Indian champion and her coach has now got a helping hand from Japan to solve the puzzle named Mayu Mukaida. During their training trip in Norway, Vinesh who has already qualified for Tokyo Olympics with the help of her Hungarian coach Woller Akos trained with multiple time world champion Haruna Okuno of Japan. Okuno who fights in the same category as Mukaida in 53kg recently won the Under 23 world championship and also has two senior world championship titles to her name. Training sessions with Okuno has given Vinesh insight into the wrestling style of her nemesis Mukaida. According to Vinesh’s coach Akos practicing in the Japanese style, wrestling has really helped the Indian champion."

 

FULL STORY: https://wrestlingtv.in/vinesh-phogat-gets-helping-hand-from-japan-itself-to-solve-the-mayu-mukaida-puzzle/

UWW Launches Legends v. Stars Freestyle Bracket on Instagram

Click HERE to visit the UWW Instagram feed and vote for your favorite wrestlers.

Free Download Available for Bundesliga Magazine:
HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j8ivQ5bTSgK69oVXVeK5XmQpbeXCQy0u/view 

ALT91A

 

Five-Time Olympic Champ Lopez Joins China as Greco Coach

Monday, March 30, 2026 - 13:12 By United World Wrestling Press

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Mijain LOPEZ, coach Ruis DIAZ, and all members of the Chinese Greco-Roman wrestling team

By Yang Boyi and Wang Chujie for Xinhua News

BEIJING, China (March 30) -- 18 years ago, Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) claimed his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing, launching an unprecedented reign of five consecutive Olympic titles, a feat unmatched in Olympic wrestling history.

Now the 42-year-old Cuban legend has returned to the Chinese capital, not as a competitor, but as a specially recruited foreign coach for China's national Greco-Roman team.

He arrived alongside Raul DIAZ, the lifelong mentor who guided him through the most dominant stretch of his historic career. Both now serve as United World Wrestling (UWW) Development Ambassadors, making this far more than a routine visit.

It is a homecoming to the city where Lopez's legend was forged, and a full-circle moment for two men whose fates have intertwined with Beijing and each other for nearly two decades.

Ruis DIAZRaul DIAZ (CUB) with the Chinese Greco-Roman national team. (Photo: Xinhua News)

Although Diaz and Lopez first bonded in 1999, their fates did not officially intertwine until after Lopez claimed his maiden Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Diaz then serving as a coach for the Portuguese national team.

In 2010, Diaz returned as Lopez's full-time head coach, guiding him through the next 14 years and four more consecutive Olympic gold medals from London 2012 to Paris 2024, cementing his status as the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all time.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked the final chapter of Lopez's storied career. After clinching his historic fifth title, he knelt to kiss the mat and left his shoes on the canvas - the universal ritual of retirement in wrestling.

"That moment was full of mixed emotions. I was overjoyed with the result, but also overwhelmed with sadness, because I had decided to close the book on my career," Lopez told Xinhua through an interpreter.

"I kissed the wrestling mat to express my gratitude for all the achievements in my wrestling career. This mat and my coach made me the champion I am today. I am thankful for all those days and nights we spent training together."

When asked whether Lopez would have won four more Olympic golds and completed the five-peat without his coaching, Diaz is quick to deflect the credit to his pupil's innate talent and unshakable character.

"Lopez is an exceptional athlete, one of a kind. What makes him great is not just his physical strength, but his mental fortitude," said Diaz. "He competes not for money or fame, but for his love for the Cuban people, wrestling and his family."

"He is family to me," Lopez said of his mentor. "A coach is more than an instructor; he is a guide who walks with you through every critical moment. I hope every athlete can experience this kind of profound connection."

Diaz recalled the words Lopez's father said to him on his deathbed: "Please, be a father to Lopez from now on." Over years of close companionship, the pair have become inseparable.

"I can no longer imagine my life without him," Diaz said.

Mijain LOPEZ (CUB)Reporter interviewing Mijain LOPEZ (center) and Shen SHIYAN (right), Spanish interpreter for the Chinese Greco-Roman team. (Photo: Xinhua News)

Lifetime to Understand China

For both men, China has never been a distant country. For Lopez, Beijing will always be the starting point of his legend. "I have an immense affection for China. It was here that I won my first Olympic gold, the medal that broke the ice and opened a whole new chapter of my career," he said.

Diaz's connection to China stretches back to childhood, with Chinese classmates and family friends. He still remembers the Chinese couple in Havana's Chinatown who always kept a meal warm for him.

"Those simple acts of kindness made me feel a deep closeness to Chinese people from the very beginning," Diaz recalled.

When Lopez stepped onto the mat in Beijing in 2008, Diaz watched with special pride - not just for his former pupil, but for a country he had long felt a bond with.

"The more you learn about China, the more you realize it may take a whole lifetime to truly understand this country," Diaz observed. "Chinese people are kind, honest and down-to-earth. Some countries refuse to see the real China out of prejudice, but there is no better way to know this country than to come here, to see it with your own eyes."

Passing the Torch

Diaz and Lopez have come to Beijing with a clear mission: to pass on decades of experience and training philosophy to help nurture China's next generation of wrestlers.

Zheng PAN (CHN), head coach of China's Greco-Roman team, noted that Diaz prioritizes efficiency in training. "We have more sessions now, but each is shorter. Raul always emphasizes that athletes must give their absolute all in every minute."

Diaz is full of praise for China's young wrestlers, citing their strength, speed, discipline, intelligence and work ethic. "The most important thing is to train with purpose and focus. Chinese wrestlers have every ability to compete with the top athletes in the world."

Lopez echoed his coach's optimism. "These young wrestlers have a bright future. We are here to give them that extra push, to help them stand firm on the world stage."

18 years ago, Lopez arrived in Beijing as a rising talent and left as an Olympic champion. Now they have returned together as legends, ready to pass on the torch and write a new chapter in the decades-long friendship between Cuban and Chinese wrestling.

In November 2025, Diaz received the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coaches Lifetime Achievement Award. Standing beside him to share the honor was his star pupil. "That moment felt like a dream," Diaz said. "I want to give all my love for wrestling, my knowledge, and everything I have to this sport."