#JapanWrestling

Ozaki grabs Paris ticket at 68kg with thrilling win over Ishii

Sunday, January 28, 2024 - 02:51 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (January 27) -- Ever since she started wrestling as a schoolgirl, the single-leg takedown has been Nonoka OZAKI's most reliable weapon. It didn't let her down when she needed it most -- with a ticket to the Paris Olympics on the line.

Ozaki launched a last-ditch single-leg in the final nine seconds and it paid off with a takedown, giving the two-time world champion a dramatic 5-4 victory over Ami ISHII in a playoff for Japan's spot in Paris at women's 68kg on Saturday at Tokyo's National Training Center.

"I'm really happy, but it still hasn't sunk in that I've taken a step closer to my dream," said a jubilant Ozaki, for whom the road to Paris has been a roller-coaster of emotions.

Ozaki was the 2022 world champion at 62kg, but missed out during the domestic qualifying process for Paris in that weight class. She then decided to take a shot at 68kg when that became her only remaining option.

Ozaki set up the playoff with Ishii by winning the 68kg title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships last December. Ishii, the world silver medalist in 2022, had finished fifth at last year World Championships in Belgrade -- good enough to secure a Paris berth for Japan but not enough to fill it herself.

The victory gave Ozaki her fifth win in five career meetings between the two, who are only three months apart in age. The older Ishii turned 22 in December. Ozaki threw down the gauntlet in their most recent clash, defeating Ishii 6-2 in the first round of the Emperor's Cup.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Ami ISHII scores a go-ahead takedown late in the second period. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

On Saturday, Ishii looked like she might have finally found an answer. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, she received a passivity point, then broke through Ozaki's defenses to score a takedown at the edge in the final seconds that was upheld in an unsuccessful challenge (the Ozaki side wanted it called a stepout) to take a 4-3 lead.

"She got the points in the last 10 seconds and I thought for a moment all was lost," Ozaki said. "During the challenge, I thought, 'I don't want the match to end this way.' Those on my side had a look on their faces of 'you can still do it.'...There was nothing left but to go for it."

During the challenge, the mat chairman also had the clock reset from four seconds and change to 9.89. Ozaki wasted none of it, lunging for the single-leg and quickly finishing it off with a few seconds to spare.

"I didn't practice that, shooting right off the whistle, but I believed in myself," Ozaki said. "It was good they put the clock back to 10 seconds, if it was four seconds, it would have been a problem. I can't say I was calm, but there was nothing else to do. The fact that I didn't have time to think, 'What should I do?' was a good thing."

Ozaki also cut it close with her first-period takedown, which she scored with six seconds left off a counter that she said she practiced in preparation for the match. Ishii likes to work an underhook, and as soon as she made a move for a leg, Ozaki dropped down and clamped on her head, then used her speed to spin behind.

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka OZAKI defeats Ami ISHII in the women's Olympic 68kg playoff. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

For Ishii, the agony of defeat was excruciating. In disbelief, she dropped to the mat and sobbed uncontrollably, which continued even after she was escorted by teammates off the mat. Her wails of anguish reverberated throughout the room, in contrast to Ozaki's celebrations with her contingent.

The playoff was held on one of the six mats in the spacious wrestling room on the basement floor of the National Training Center. Aside from a smattering of media and federation officials, each wrestler was accompanied by a small contingent of fans or teammates.

Ishii just could not seem to process what had happened. Speaking in a barely audible voice through tears to the media, she said, "It's like someone you know has died, but you don't feel like they're gone. I don't feel like Paris is gone, but I have to accept that it is."

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Nonoka Ozaki finishes up a quick-fire takedown in the final seconds of the second period to clinch the victory. (Photo by Ikuo Higuchi / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Ozaki could commiserate with her vanquished opponent. She had been on the losing end in a battle for the 62kg place with Ishii's Ikuei University teammate Sakura MOTOKI, a 2022 bronze medalist at 59kg who moved up to the Olympic weight and made it hers. (Another Ikuei wrestler, world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, will be going to Paris at 57kg.)

"This is a world of competition, and I came here to get the ticket [to Paris] also," Ozaki said. "I know how much she wanted to win, but the competition is harsh and one of us has to lose. I won in the last few seconds, but that could have gone either way. I could have just as easily lost. I am grateful to her for giving me such a high-level match."

Ishii had won the world silver at 68kg in 2022 and could have locked up her place in Paris with a repeat performance last year in Belgrade. The Japan federation had decreed that any wrestler who won a medal in an Olympic weight class would automatically fill the Paris berth themselves.

As it turned out, 68kg was the only women's weight class out of the six in which the Japanese entry did not medal.

Sadly for Ishii, an 8-8 loss in the bronze-medal match to Irina RINGACI (MDA) had dire consequences. Ishii would win the fifth-place playoff to secure the Paris berth for Japan, but it left the door open for others to poach.

Ozaki was also in Belgrade, having decided that she needed to move forward and put her failure at 62kg behind her. She won a spot on Japan's team at the non-Olympic weight of 65kg and picked up her second world gold. But her heart was hardly into it. Of more concern was seeing Motoki clinched her place in Paris by winning the 62kg silver.

"When I look back, it's enough to make me cry, it was so tough," Ozaki said. "Right now I'm happy, but up to last year's World Championships, there was no joy at all in my life. It's like the person I was up to then was lost, it was someone I didn't know like I had run into a wall. I wanted to fight hard but I couldn't make the effort.

"I thought that I don't even want to watch a Paris Olympics that I'm not in. When I won the 65kg playoff here, I had convinced myself that I had to keep moving forward. It wasn't an Olympic weight, but I thought if I could be No. 1 in the world again, it would be an opportunity to start over.

"That's how I felt going to the World Championships. But before my final, the 62kg [berth] was secured. I didn't take a victory lap and I was crying -- it makes me cry now to recall this -- because I was thinking, 'The Olympics is over for me.' I felt resentment. But as I told the media, I was the one responsible and had to accept it. 'I'm not going to retire, and I'll keep fighting,' I said. I had never thought that in the end, I would be going to the Olympics at 68kg."

Nonoka OZAKI (JPN)Ikuei University teammates try to console a devastated Ami Ishii. (Photo by Ken Marantz / United World Wrestling)

Less than two years ago, Ozaki was on top of the world at 62kg, having won 2022 world golds on the senior, U23 and U20 levels over two months. Her eyes were firmly on Paris, and the Japanese press buzzed over her budding rivalry with Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

But her well-laid plans began to unravel just a few months later when Motoki decided to make a challenge for the Olympic spot at 62kg in a field that included Tokyo Olympic champion Yukako KAWAI.

After Motoki won their clash at the Emperor's Cup, they never got to meet in the second qualifier -- the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in June 2023 -- as Ozaki was handed a stunning 6-6 defeat in the quarterfinals by Yuzuku INAGAKI. Motoki won the title to clinch the ticket to Belgrade, and the rest is history.

In preparation for Paris, Ozaki plans to enter one tournament at 68kg, the Asian Championships in Bishkek in April. She is also carrying some injury concerns, having hurt her right knee at the Emperor's Cup and having problems with her left thumb for the past year which she says affects her grip.

But that is all secondary to having made it to the Olympics, even if it means facing opponents larger than she is accustomed to.

"A year ago, I would never have thought of taking the path of 68kg," Ozaki said. "I'm still only 66 kilograms, but I'll work to fill out to 68. Without being inferior in strength, I will use my speed to my advantage. I'll work on counters for underhooks and throws, and maybe even be able to hit some throws of my own. I'll continue to make progress and I'll be ready."

Ozaki, a product of the JOC Academy, took the academic route when it came to choosing a college and currently attends the prestigious Keio University. That means that outside of national team camps, she has to hit the road for training. Her preparation for the playoff took her to Kanagawa University, a club team in Kanagawa Prefecture and a high school in Yamanashi Prefecture. Several of the male wrestlers at the latter were on hand Saturday.

Whether she can win the gold will likely come down to how effective her old friend, the single-leg tackle, will be for her.

"That tackle has been a part of everything I've accomplished up to now," Ozaki said. "It's my weapon, one that I believe in completely. I've always relied on it and won with it. I owe a debt of gratitude to the technique."

Japan's Paris-bound women

50kg: Yui SUSAKI (world champion)
53kg: Akari FUJINAMI (world champion)
57kg: Tsugumi SAKURAI (world champion)
62kg: Sakura MOTOKI (world silver medalist)
68kg: Nonoka OZAKI (world champion 65kg)
76kg: Yuka KAGAMI (world champion)

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Tazhudinov strikes gold; Japan finish with eight

Sunday, August 11, 2024 - 17:21 By Ken Marantz

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PARIS (August 11) -- A little less than a year ago in Belgrade, Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) announced himself to the world by knocking off two of the sport's biggest giants -- both literally and figuratively. On Sunday, he accomplished the one feat that makes a name live on forever.

Tazhudinov added the Olympic gold to the one he won at last year's World Championships, scoring an opportunistic fall over Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) in the freestyle 97kg final on the last day of competition at the Paris Olympics.

"This is the Olympic Games, all of the fights are difficult. I just did it," said the Russian-born Tazhudinov, who became Bahrain's first-ever Olympic champion in a sport outside of athletics. "I trained hard. My family, brothers and [training] partners helped me become what I am today."

Japan capped a spectacular showing in Paris by grabbing the two other gold medals at stake, with world champion Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) prevailing at women's 76kg to become the country's first-ever champion in the heaviest weight class, and unheralded Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) taking the freestyle 65kg title to join a childhood wrestling club teammate as Olympic champion in Paris.

Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)

The 21-year-old Tazhudinov turned the wrestling world upside down in Belgrade last September when he swept aside in succession both Kyle SNYDER (USA) and Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN), who between them had won every world or Olympic 97kg title dating back to 2015, en route to the gold.

Few had been aware of Tazhudinov up to that point, although he did give a hint of things to come by winning the Asian Championships earlier that year. The native of the wrestling hotbed of Dagestan had changed his nationality to Bahrain in the autumn of 2022.

A month after his triumph in Belgrade, Tazhudinov added the Asian Games gold, then prepped for Paris this year by winning the Antalya international tournament and successfully defending his Asian title in Bishkek.

On Sunday, Tazhudinov shone brightest on the biggest stage of all, beating Snyder in the semifinals before securing the gold before another packed crowd at the Champs de Mars Arena.

In the final, two-time reigning European champion Matcharashvili threw caution to the wind at the start and attempted a bold arm throw. It would be a fateful decision, as Tazhudinov stopped the move and Matcharashvili left on his back. That provided the opening for him to pounce on top, securing the fall at 1:52 for his seventh straight major tournament title.

"It was a counterattack, and I caught him on this move," said Tazhudinov, who has not lost since falling 6-4 to Vladislav BAITCAEV (HUN) in the quarterfinals of the Alexandria Ranking Series tournament in February 2023.

Kagami doesn't put up the big numbers like Tazhudinov, but she steadily wears down opponents and gains enough openings to score with her deceptive speed.

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN)Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) after winning the 76kg final against Kennedy BLADES (USA) in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

In the women's 76kg final against Kennedy BLADES (USA), Kagami trailed 1-1 on criteria when she connected with a double-leg tackle, driving the American out of bounds for a takedown that was originally scored a stepout to lead 3-1.

After that Kagami never let the taller Blades, who defeated six-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA) at the U.S. Olympic trials to get to Paris, get even a whiff of her legs as she secured the historic victory for Japan.

“She was definitely strong, and her positioning was great," said the 20-year-old Blades, last year's world U23 silver medalist. "I knew going into the match that Japan is very disciplined on positioning, so I think that’s what made it a little tough. I’m just going to go back to the drawing board and start working on my stuff again.

“She was ready for what I was going to do, and I was ready for what she was going to do. It was definitely a scramble. It was a fun match. Of course, I do want to be on top, always. But honestly, at the end of the day, it was a battlefield."

Blades had advanced to the final by knocking off world silver medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) 8-6 in the semifinals Saturday.

That Japan is the dominant power in women's wrestling is beyond dispute -- the country won four of the six golds in Paris, with two bronzes -- but until Sunday, it had always come up short in the heaviest weight at the Olympics.

The last time a Japanese heavyweight even medaled was in Beijing 2008, when Kyoko HAMAGUCHI (JPN) won a second straight bronze at 72kg. Kagami was determined to rectify the situation.

"It is something that I have always been aiming for," Kagami said. "It's really a thrill to be able to accomplish something that no one else has. What I did today resulted from what I have done up to now and the choices that I have made."

After the victory, Kagami lifted up and twirled around coach Shogo MAEDA, who is not only a national team coach but was her coach at Toyo University, which she chose to attend instead of one of the established powerhouses.

Kagami is a product of the JOC Academy that also produced Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) and Nonoka OZAKI (JPN), who both won bronzes in Paris. Her effervescence and outgoing nature make her a favorite on the national team.

"To see everyone with tears of joy for me makes me the happiest," said Kagami, a two-time Asian champion and world bronze medalist in 2022.

"I had always aimed to be standing here. I thought to enjoy each and every match, each and every second. I was smiling, and I was nervous. But I spent this Olympics even enjoying the nervousness."

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) laces Amouzad KHALILI (IRI) during the 65kg final at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

At 65kg, Kiyooka was never considered a favorite in a stacked weight class, although he did earn some street cred by defeating Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) en route to qualifying for Paris.

“There was a certain degree of pressure to perform as well as my rival, but I was able to defeat the champion of the Tokyo Games," said Kiyooka, who finished ninth at the 2023 World U23 Championships. "I felt like there was an element of fate there having defeated a prior gold medalist."

His lightning-quick reflexes and solid techniques propelled him to the pinnacle of the sport, capped by a 10-3 victory over reigning Asian champion and 2022 world 61kg gold medalist Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI).

Amouzad got on the scoreboard first with a driving stepout while on the activity clock. Kiyooka responded with a single-leg takedown, then executed a lace-lock variant in which he puts his head between the legs while securing the thighs or ankles, a move often used by Japanese wrestlers.

Kiyooka reeled off a series of rolls, but a fourth that would have ended the match came after time expired, leaving him with a still-formidable 10-1 lead.

"That is my pet move, and if I can get into position, I'm confident I can get the turns," the 23-year-old Kiyooka said. "I had intended to end it right there, but time ran out.

"When I looked up it was 10-1. I was aiming to attack from the beginning in the second period to win by technical superiority, but he is not so easy of an opponent, so I couldn't finish it off."

It was Amouzad who would score the lone points of the second period, a 2-point exposure off a counter, but he never found a way through Kiyooka's defenses to close the gap any further.

“In this 65kg weight class, any athlete could have won gold," Kiyooka said. "It’s a very difficult and challenging weight class, and winning gold in this weight class is particularly important for me. That’s why I felt like the hero of my own novel."

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN)Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) celebrates with his childhood friend and fellow Olympic champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Kiyooka started wrestling at age 3 at a kids wrestling club in Kochi City on the central island of Shikoku. It was there he first met the 2-year-old daughter of the club's coach. Her name is Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), and she won the women's 57kg gold the previous day.

"I had to find a way to win," Kiyooka said. "Before the tournament, we knew that she would wrestle before me, so I told her to put pressure on me by winning. I converted that into motivation.

"We've had a great relationship leading up to this point and both of us won gold medals. We made each other stronger and had dreams of the Olympics together, and we could both win by encouraging each other. It's really incredible that we won titles at the same Olympics."

Asked about standing at the top of the medal podium, Kiyooka replied, "It's the most beautiful view in the world."

Japan finished its best-ever tournament with a total of eight golds, one silver and two bronzes from the 13 weight classes in which the country had qualified. With Kiyooka's victory, Nippon Sports Science University students and alumni combined for five golds, more than double any other country.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) denied Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the 97kg bronze-medal bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Snyder denied bronze; Albania wins 2nd

Snyder, who came to Paris looking to regain the Olympic title after taking silver in Tokyo, will leave empty-handed after being dealt a 4-1 defeat by 2022 world U23 champion Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI).

Azarpira scored a takedown in the first period and two stepouts in the second, then fended off everything Snyder threw his way to earn a bronze medal and repeat his 6-3 victory over Snyder in the final at the Zagreb Open in January.

The other 97kg bronze went to Russian-born world silver medalist Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE), who scored two takedowns in each period of a 10-0 victory over Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR).

Prior to the Paris Olympics, Albania had never won an Olympic medal in any sport. European champion Islam DUDAEV (ALB) gave the tiny European nation a second in wrestling in two nights.

The Russian-born Dudaev had just been tagged for a 4-point throw when he scored a reversal with :04 left, giving him a thrilling 13-12 victory over reigning world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) in a freestyle 65kg bronze-medal match.

“The match was very difficult," Dudaev said. "It was not the first bout I had with Muszukajev. We have already met several times, so I knew him quite well, and I knew what I was supposed to do to win against him.”

Dudaev started off the clash with a bang, getting 4 with a marvelous inner crotch throw and 2 more with an exposure. Musukaev cut the lead to 8-4 off a scramble, and a takedown whittled it further to 8-6 at the break.

Dudaev spread the gap again to six points with a takedown and roll, but Musukaev struck back again with a takedown, then used a front headlock to throw Dudaev to the mat for 4 to go ahead 12-12 on criteria.

But Dudaev squirmed out of the hold and got behind in time to secure a dramatic win and join compatriot Cherman VALIEV (ALB), also a native Russian, as a bronze medalist.

Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) scores the winning takedown against Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

There was also drama in the preceding 65kg bronze-medal match, as Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) scored a takedown in the final seconds to upend Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) 10-9, giving Puerto Rico just its second-ever Olympic wrestling medal.

"It was tough," Rivera said. "Everybody in the weight class was really tough. To get a medal, that’s what I expected and what I came here to do, so I’m happy I could fulfill my dreams."

Rivera prevailed in a back-and-forth match when Tumur Ochir, trying to clinch the victory, went for a headlock throw, but the Puerto Rican slipped out and got behind with eight seconds left.

Tumur Ochir appeared to have remained on all fours to avoid the takedown -- but a challenge revealed his knee hit down, giving Rivera the winning points.

Rivera had spotted Tumur Ochir a 4-0 lead in the first period, then went ahead himself 8-4 with a takedown and three exposures from an arm trap. Tumur Ochir took back the advantage 9-8 on a 4-point leg sweep and a lost challenge.

Rivera, who was born in the U.S. state of New Jersey and competed collegiately at Northwestern and Rutgers universities, joins Jaime ESPINAL (PUR), a silver medalist at freestyle 84kg at London 2012 as the only wrestling medalist in their nation's history.

At women's 76kg, world silver medalist Medet Kyzy was relegated to her second straight fifth-place Olympic finish when she was dealt a 6-0 defeat by Milaimy MARIN (CUB) in their bronze-medal match.

Marin fired out of the blocks with a big 4-point double-leg takedown, then went behind for a takedown in the second to deny the Asian champion.

In a rare Olympic medal match between South Americans, Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) gave Colombia its second-ever Olympic wrestling medal, defeating Genesis REASCO (ECU) 2-1 for the other women's 76kg bronze in a bout decided solely on activity points.

Day 7 Results

Freestyle

65kg
GOLD: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), 10-3

BRONZE: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) df. Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) 10-9
BRONZE: Islam DUDAEV (ALB) df. Ismail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), 13-12

97kg
GOLD: Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) df. Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) by Fall, 1:52 (2-0)

BRONZE: Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 4:29
BRONZE: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Kyle SNYDER (USA), 4-1

Women's Wrestling

76kg
GOLD: Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) df. Kennedy BLADES (USA), 3-1

BRONZE: Milaimy MARIN (CUB) df. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 6-0
BRONZE: Tatiana RENTERIA (COL) df. Genesis REASCO (ECU), 2-1