Rio Silver Medalists Ota, Higuchi Take Drastic Measures in Quest to Make Tokyo 2020

Monday, December 2, 2019 - 13:13 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (Dec. 2) --- A pair of Japanese silver medalists from the Rio 2016 Olympics, denied during their preferred routes to Tokyo 2020, will be trying desperate measures in last-ditch efforts to make Games in their host country---which presents a weighty problem for both.

Shinobu OTA, the Rio 2016 silver medalist at Greco-Roman 60kg, has moved up to two divisions to 67kg for the upcoming All Japan Championships, which will serve as the final qualifier for either filling an Olympic berth that Japan has already secured, or earning the chance to win a spot at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in March.

Conversely, Rei HIGUCHI, who failed to gain an Olympic ticket at freestyle 65kg, has gone the other way, dropping two weight classes down to 57kg, the division in which he won the silver in Rio, according to the list of entries recently released by the Japan federation for the tournament to be held Dec. 19-22 in Tokyo.

At the World Championships in Nur-Sultan in September, Japan clinched eight Olympic berths in the 18 weight classes --- two in freestyle, one in Greco-Roman and five in women's wrestling. As incentive, the Japan federation decreed that any wrestler who won a medal in the Kazakh capital would automatically fill the Olympic spot themselves.

That resulted in five wrestlers clinching Olympic spots: Mayu MUKAIDA (53kg), Risako KAWAI (57kg), Yukako KAWAI (62kg) and Hiroe MINAGAWA (76kg) among the women, and Kenichiro FUMITA (60kg) in Greco-Roman. None of the five are entered in the All Japan tournament.

When Fumita won the gold to regain the world title he had won in 2017, it also closed the door on Ota in that weight class. Having been beaten by Fumita for the 60kg place on the team to Nur-Sultan, Ota moved up to 63kg --- and won his first world title. But that being a non-Olympic weight class, he knew he had to take drastic measures to get to Tokyo 2020.

Shinobu OTA, the reigning 63kg world champion, will be moving up to 67kg with hopes of improving his silver medal from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

So he has moved up further to 67kg, where he will challenge defending national champion Shogo TAKAHASHI. Takahashi was eliminated in the third round in Nur-Sultan, leaving Japan without an Olympic spot at this point. Others who Ota might have to deal with are Katsuaki ENDO, the 2018 world U-23 champion at 63kg, and Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA, a former world team member who was second to Takahashi last year.

Ota, who won two international tournaments in Hungary and Belarus this year at 63kg, had planned to get a test run at 67kg at the World Cup in Iran, but the tournament was postponed due to unrest in that country.

After winning a silver in Rio, Higuchi moved up to 61kg, where he won the 2016 All Japan title and a bronze medal at the Asian Championships. But with eyes on Tokyo 2020, in late 2017 he made the jump up to 65kg, but, at just 1.62 meters, found the size difference difficult to overcome.

Still, he won the world U-23 gold in 2018, then pulled off a surprising victory over world champion Takuto OTOGURO at the All Japan Invitational Championships, the second of the two qualifiers for the world team. That set up a playoff between the two, but Otoguro, having recovered from a recent knee injury, totally dominated the encounter.

Assuming he can successfully get down to 57kg, Higuchi will challenge former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI, who has had a domestic stranglehold on the lightest division for the past three years. Takahashi kept the door open to the Olympics when he fell in the fourth round in Nur-Sultan. Also in the mix will be a pair of world junior champions, Toshiya ABE and Kaiki YAMAGUCHI, the latter dropping from 61kg.

Otoguro still has some unfinished business himself. He secured the 65kg berth for Japan in Nur-Sultan, but by losing in the bronze-medal match, left himself needing a win at the All Japan (also referred to as the Emperor's Cup) to seal the deal. His biggest concern looks to make sure he is healthy for the competition.

Rio Olympic champion Sara DOSHO will be challenged by U23 world champions Masako FURUICHI and Yuka KAGAMI at 68kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Rio Olympic champion Sara DOSHO is in the same boat at Otoguro. Her fifth-place finish at 68kg left her short of the Olympics and raised doubts about whether she had fully recovered from the shoulder surgery she underwent earlier in the year. She will have some tough company in her bid to secure the Tokyo ticket.

World U-23 champion Masako FURUICHI gave Dosho a run for her money in the final at the All Japan Invitational last June, losing 4-3 on a last-second takedown. After that loss, Furuichi moved up to 72kg for the senior World Championships, where she took home a bronze medal.

Another notable entry at 68kg is high schooler Yuka KAGAMI, who this year added world junior and U-23 titles to the two cadet golds she had previously won. While she mostly competed at 72kg, the weight in which she won the junior title, she also moved up to 76kg to challenge Minagawa for the world team spot, but was unsuccessful (her U-23 title came in that division). Dropping to 68kg will mark her first competition under 72kg since she won the Klippan Lady cadet at 65kg in February 2018.

The Olympic spot at freestyle 74kg that was secured by Mao OKUI's fifth-place in Nur-Sultan will also be up for grabs, and there is no shortage of scavengers looking to come away with the spoils. Yuhi FUJINAMI, a 2017 world bronze medalist at 70kg who was not at 100 percent when he lost a world team playoff to Okui, will be looking for revenge, and will be joined in the hunt by world junior silver medalist Jintaro MOTOYAMA and Asian silver medalist Kojiro SHIGA, who placed seventh at 70kg in Nur-Sultan.

Kaori ICHO did not enter the All Japan Championships, which ends her quest for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

End of the road for Icho
Meanwhile, living legend Kaori ICHO officially ended her quest for an unprecedented fifth straight Olympic gold when she decided not to enter the tournament.

Icho had lost out for the women's 57kg spot to fellow Rio Olympic champion Risako Kawai, who punched her ticket to Tokyo 2020 with a gold in Nur-Sultan. When Mukaida and Yukako Kawai also secured their spots at the weight classes immediately above and below, the only avenues left were at 50kg and 68kg --- and Icho didn't see much hope in either choice.

It was at women's 50kg that Japan suffered one of its bigger shocks in Nur-Sultan, as Yuki IRIE suffered a heartbreaking 13-12 quarterfinal loss to SUN Yanan (CHN) and failed to clinch an Olympic berth.

That opened the door for two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI, who had lost a world team playoff to Irie. Those two will be joined at the Emperor's Cup by Rio 2016 champion Eri TOSAKA in the latest round of the trio's battle royale.

There was speculation that former world champion Haruna OKUNO, who lost out to Mukaida for the 53kg spot, might drop down to 50kg in a bid to keep her Olympic dream alive. But that ended when she was entered at 53kg.

That could result in an intriguing rematch with Nanami IRIE, Yuki's younger sister. When Okuno failed to knock off Mukaida, she entered the world team playoff at 55kg, only to lose to Irie, who went on to win the silver medal in Nur-Sultan.

#JapanWrestling

Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold

Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 14:47 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 18) -- Kaisei TANABE didn't have to deal with one Olympic champion in moving halfway to his goal of achieving a historic double of national titles in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. He likely won't be able to avoid another to complete the mission.

Tanabe powered his way to his first national crown in Greco with a victory at 63kg at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Thursday, the opening day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"While I feel relieved, I have my 'real job' of freestyle 65kg the day after tomorrow, so I have to get my mind ready and do the best I can," said Tanabe, the defending champion at freestyle 65kg who will face a potential major hurdle this year in Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA.

In other action, another potential future star with Iranian roots emerged on the scene after Waseda University's Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI captured the freestyle 79kg gold, while a clash of reigning world champions between Ami ISHII and Miwa MORIKAWA was set up for the women's 68kg title.

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Olympic weight classes are being contested over two days, while non-Olympic divisions are completed in a single day.

Kaisei TANABE, left, works to get behind Ryota KOSHIBA in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Tanabe acknowledged that he dodged a bullet when Paris 60kg gold medalist Kenichiro FUMITA withdrew on the eve of the tournament due to injury. Fumita was entered at 63kg in what would have been his first competition since his triumph in Paris.

As both are Nippon Sports Science University alumni and still train at the campus, Tanabe said he has spent some time sparring with Fumita.

"Part of me wanted to face him [today]. But in practice, I've never scored a point," he admitted. "It was a crummy feeling. But if we faced each other in an actual match, I would never give up and try my best to win. Without him here, this became my tournament and I felt I had to take the title."

On Thursday, Tanabe showed he was clearly the best of the rest, sailing through the field with three straight technical falls. He capped his day with 4-point throw that finished off an 8-0 victory in the final in just under two minutes over Ryota KOSHIBA, another NSSU alum who happens to also dabble in freestyle.

Tanabe, whose father Chikara TANABE was a freestyle 55kg bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a current NSSU coach, said he likes to integrate techniques from the two styles into each other.

"To put it as simply as I can, Greco is mostly about throws and often has big 4-point moves, while freestyle is mainly precise techniques," Tanabe said. "Amid that, I want to add the fine, small moves to Greco and, amid the small moves in freestyle, aim for the big move that gives me a point spread."

Kaisei TANABE finishes up his victory over Ryota KOSHIBA with a four-point throw in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

This fall, Tanabe was among a number of Japanese wrestlers who participated in the German Bundesliga, where he said he sometimes worked on Greco with his teammates. And at times for fun, the Greco wrestlers and him would do freestyle.

Tanabe won his first national title at freestyle 61kg in 2024, then moved up to 65kg last year and won the gold in the absence of Kiyooka, who like other Olympic medalists was on an extended post-Olympics hiatus. He just missed out on the two-style double that year when he lost in the Greco 67kg final to Katsuaki ENDO.

Tanabe won the freestyle 65kg gold at the Asian Championships in March, then finally clashed with Kiyooka -- also an NSSU alum -- two months later at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which is the second of the two domestic qualifiers for major international tournaments.

Tanabe held his own in a close 4-3 loss in the final, but Kiyooka dominated a playoff for the team to the World Championships with a one-sided 13-2 victory. Kiyooka went on to take the silver medal in Zagreb.

Should Tanabe manage to capture the gold on Sunday, it would make him the first wrestler to complete the Greco-freestyle double at the same tournament since Mitsuo YOSHIDA did it back in 1973 with victories in the 100kg weight classes.

As it is, Tanabe's victory on Thursday made him the first to achieve a career double since Atsushi MATSUMOTO switched to Greco and won at 85kg in 2016 after winning the first three of four national freestyle titles at 84/86kg between 2011 and 2014. He returned to freestyle and won again at 92kg in 2018.

Ironically, another wrestler could beat Tanabe to the punch. Taishi NARIKUNI, the 2022 world champion at freestyle 70kg, is entered in that weight class as well as Greco 72kg. Both divisions will be completed before Sunday, when the freestyle 65kg final will be held.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, right, spins behind Kanata YAMAGUCHI in the freestyle 79kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At freestyle 79kg, Gharehdaghi used effective counters to score an 8-0 victory in the final over Kanata YAMAGUCHI, a world U20 bronze medalist at 74kg who had beaten him in two previous encounters.

That followed up on Gharehdaghi's victory at the Meiji Cup in May, which was tempered by a loss in the world team playoff to last year's Emperor's Cup champion Ryonosuke KAMIYA, who has moved up to 86kg.

"Losing the playoff was devastating, and I was determined to work hard so that I wouldn't lose again," said the 19-year-old Gharehdaghi, a product of the JOC Elite Academy.

Gharehdaghi was born and raised in Japan to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. Through the influence of his father, who works in the automobile industry, he started wrestling at age 3.

Although he shares a compassion for the sport with his ancestral homeland, he has only been there on visits and cannot speak Persian.

His background is similar to that of one of Japan's top rising stars, world 97kg bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA, one of six siblings in the sport who use their mother's family name. They all started the sport at a kids wrestling club outside of Tokyo run by their father.

"I'm well aware of them," Gharehdaghi said. "I really respect them. Every one of them is strong. Their father was here today and gave me some advice."

In other finals on the opening day, Asian bronze medalist Takashi ISHIGURO went on the offensive in the second period to notch a 6-3 victory at freestyle 92kg over Daisuke MASUDA to defend his crown and claim a fifth career national title.

Kenta OGUSU won the Greco 55kg gold by completing a 9-1 technical fall with one second left over Mizuki ARAKI, who had knocked off Asian champion Kohei YAMAGIWA in the semifinals.

At women's 65kg, 2024 world U20 champion Nana IKEHATA defeated Haruka KOBARA 6-0 for her first national title, while Mahiro YOSHITAKE defeated Chisato YOSHIDA 7-2 for her third national crown and first at 72kg.

World champion Ami ISHII scores a takedown in the women's 68kg semifinal against Kaede MATSUYAMA. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Ishii, Morikawa set up clash; Kagami sharp in return

In Olympic weight classes that were competed through the semifinals, a blockbuster final was set up at women's 68kg when Ishii, the reigning world champion, advanced to a showdown with Morikawa, the winner at 65kg in Zagreb.

Ishii won both of her matches by one-sided technical falls -- giving up a lone takedown in her opening match when she lost her balance.

"I didn't think my matches went very well," Ishii said. "Especially in the first match, I rushed it too much. I want to be the aggressor and have crushing victories."

Morikawa met some stiff resistance in her semifinal with world U20 champion Ray HOSHINO, scoring two first-period takedowns before holding on for a 6-2 victory. Hoshino had knocked off three-time world medalist Masako FURUICHI 8-6 in the quarterfinals.

Ishii and Morikawa have met three times, with Ishii holding a 2-1 advantage. She won their first meeting 5-2 in the 2022 Emperor's Cup final. They clashed again in the semifinals at the 2023 Meiji Cup, with Morikawa winning 8-5. That set up a world team playoff between the two, which Ishii won 2-1.

Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI, left, competes for the first time since her victory in Paris. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Olympic 76kg champion Yuka KAGAMI looked sharp in her first competition since her victory in Paris, scoring a technical fall before beating defending champion and Asian bronze medalist Nodoka YAMAMOTO 13-4 to advance to the final.

Kagami, who was limited to an activity point in the first period by Yamamoto, was being pressured at the edge early in the second when she neatly reversed the tide and dumped her opponent for a 4-point takedown.

Kagami padded the lead and, despite giving up a takedown and roll, she was never in danger. In Friday's final, she will face veteran Yasuha MATSUYUKI.

At Greco 87kg, rising teen star Taizo YOSHIDA, a world senior and U20 bronze medalist at 82kg, posted two technical falls, each inside of two minutes, to advance to the final. Two-time defending champion So SAKABE was a late withdrawal.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

57kg (18 entries)
SF 1: Yamato OGAWA df. Kento YUMIYA, 6-4
SF 2: Fuga SASAKI df. Yamato FURUSAWA, 3-1

79kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 8-0
BRONZE: Kaiyo IMAI df. Hirotaka ABE, 7-0
BRONZE: Subaru TAKAHARA df. Kojiro SHIGA, 5-2

SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Hirotaka ABE by TF, 10-0, 2:06
SF 2: Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Subaru TAKAHARA by TF, 12-2, 3:45

92kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Daisuke MASUDA, 6-3
BRONZE: Satoshi MIURA df. Sorato KANAZAWA,6-2
BRONZE: Ryogo ASANO df. Takato UCHIDA by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Sorato KANAZAWA, 7-5
SF 2: Daisuke MASUDA df. Takato UCHIDA, 4-1

125kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Akinari ORIYAMA by TF, 10-0, :50
SF 2: Taira SONODA df. Hibiki ITO, 3-2

Greco-Roman

55kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Kenta OGUSU df. Mizuki ARAKI by TF, 9-1, 5:59
BRONZE: Kohei YAMAGIWA df. Daisuke MORISHITA, 5-0
BRONZE: Sanshiro TAKAHASHI vs Taketo NINOMIYA by TF, 9-0, 2:00

SF 1: Mizuki ARAKI df. Kohei YAMAGIWA, 6-5
SF 2: Kenta OGUSU df. Sanshiro TAKAHASHI by TF, 9-1, 4:04

63kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Kaisei TANABE df. Ryota KOSHIBA by TF, 8-0, 1:54
BRONZE: Kazuki YABE df. Shoya ITO, 7-0
BRONZE: Toya MINAMI df. Miruto TOKUHIGA, 7-5

SF 1: Kaisei TANABE df. Kazuki YABE by TF, 8-0, 1:12
SF 2: Ryota KOSHIBA df. Miruto TOKUHIGA by TF, 9-0, 3:56

87kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Genki YAHAGI by TF, 9-0, 1:59
SF 2: Daisei ISOE df. Chihiro MOTOHASHI, 10-5

97kg (16 entries)
SF 1: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Koki MATSUMOTO by TF, 9-0, 4:12
SF 2: Takahiro TSURUTA df. Kanta SHIOKAWA, 5-0

Women's Wrestling

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA df. Haruka KOBARA, 6-0
BRONZE: Suzu SASAKI df. Chika AKASHI by TF, 14-4, 2:59
BRONZE: Nanoha YASHIMA df. Rin MIYAJI, by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Nana IKEHATA df. Suzu SASAKI, 10-2
SF 2: Haruka KOBARA df. Nanoha YASHIMA, 6-4

68kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Ami ISHII df. Kaede MATSUYAMA by TF, 10-0, 3:41
SF 2: Miwa MORIKAWA df. Ray HOSHINO, 6-2

72kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Chisato YOSHIDA, 7-2
BRONZE: Ai SAKAI df. Miyu TAKAYAMA, 5-5
BRONZE: Yuka FUJIKURA df. Asahi NAKAMURA, 8-0

SF 1: Chisato YOSHIDA df. Miyu TAKAYAMA by TF, 10-0, 4:56
SF 2: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Yuka FUJIKURA, 4-0

76kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Yuka KAGAMI df. Nodoka YAMAMOTO, 13-4
SF 2: Yasuha MATSUYUKI df. Makoto KOMADA, 7-0

Rio Silver Medalists Ota, Higuchi Take Drastic Measures in Quest to Make Tokyo 2020

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Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold