Rising Sun: Chinese Star Aims for Olympic Glory in Land of Top Rivals

Friday, October 18, 2019 - 17:10 By Ken Marantz

Once SUN Yanan (CHN) made the bold decision at 15 to leave home for the unknown to pursue a wrestling career, she knew there was no turning back.

"At the beginning, I told myself I needed to be independant, because I already left home," she recalls. "I cannot go back. If I go back, it would be shameful."

Sun has never looked back and, despite her late start in the sport, has forged a solid career that includes a world gold medal, an Olympic bronze and numerous other laurels. After a setback at the recent World Championships, the 27-year-old has her sights set firmly on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"Step by step, I felt I really enjoyed wrestling and it already became part of my life," Sun says of her development in the sport. "And I wanted to realize my dream to be more confident and become a perfect lady because of wrestling. I really grew up."

Yanan SUN celebrates during a match with Japan's Yui SUSAKI. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

The 27-year-old Sun speaks easily and openly through an interpreter during an interview at last week's Tokyo 2020 test event, a women's tournament in the six Olympic weights. While Sun attended with the Chinese team but did not take part, the trip gave her a first glimpse of the Olympic venue, located in the Makuhari Messe convention center in neighboring Chiba city.

"I'm very excited when I imagine that next year maybe I will compete here at the Olympics," she says. "I hope I can be much stronger and show my best next year."

Sun secured a spot for China at 50kg by placing fifth at the World Championships in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan last month. Although she finished out of the medals, she showed she could still be a factor in the weight class.

Throughout her career, Sun has inevitably found herself in high-level clashes with opponents from powerful Japan, and the draw in Nur-Sultan put her into a quarterfinal against Yuki IRIE (JPN). Irie, who knocked off two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) to make the Japanese team, had beaten Sun in their last two meetings over the past two years.

But on this September day in Central Asia, Sun got the best of her nemesis with the kind of confidence and audacity that develops by leaving home as a teenager to strike out on one's own.

Sun built up a 9-1 lead with two bold moves before holding on for a nail-biting 13-12 win.

The first big move was a backdrop off a front headlock, a 4-point move more likely to be seen in Greco-Roman matches. She had used the move before in a 15-7 win over Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) in India's Pro Wrestling League in January 2018.

"In China, the women also practice that move," Sun says. "[The one against Vinesh] was better than this one."

She topped that soon after, getting behind Irie in the standing position and popping a slick back suplex for 5 points. That proved crucial as she saw an 11-3 lead with 1:30 left whittled down before coming away with the win.

After falling 6-4 to eventual champion Mariya STADNIK (AZE) in the semifinals, Sun lost the bronze-medal match to Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS), although she can take some solace in the way she fought back from a 9-3 deficit with :19 left, scoring 6 points but losing on big-point criteria (the difference was 4-point headlock throw with :40 left).

That experience reaffirmed her policy of not concentrating solely on the Japanese, who will have to earn their own Olympic spot at 50kg at the Asian qualifier in March.

"I haven't only focused on Japan," Sun said. "Because my dream is to become the Olympic champion, so no matter if [the opponent] is Japanese or from other countries, I need to win, I need to improve myself."

As a rambunctious daughter of an electric welder growing up in Fengsheng village in Lioaning Province, located near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Sun stood out for her prowess in sports, particularly for her speed as a runner. It caught the eyes of local sports officials.

"When I was young, I was really good at sports," Sun says. "Sprinting, all kinds of sports. One of the wrestling coaches went to my school and found me and invited me to train, and I found that it was very interesting."

One month after completing her studies at the time, Sun left home for the sports school. While she developed a passion for the sport, "at the time, I missed my home very much," she says, adding she returned home for visits just three times in two years. It's during those trips home she can indulge in her favorite dishes from the region, her mom's chicken mushroom stew and pickled cabbage with boiled pork.

Sun, who has a brother nine years her junior who also wrestled but has since stopped, says her family was concerned about her leaving at first, but always supported her efforts.

"At the beginning, my parents thought it would be very hard work," she says. "Later, they could feel that I am very happy when I am involved and I can fight for my team and country, and they supported me."

SUN Yanan smiles during a training session during the Toyko Test Event. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Three years after starting the sport, Sun was invited to train with the national team in Beijing for the first time. Like any youngster from a rural upbringing, she was awed by the big city and star-struck by the heroes with whom she trained.

"I felt that Beijing was a gorgeous city, the center of China, and I was very excited," Sun recalls. "I met so many world champions on the national team, and I so admired them.

"We trained with Wang Jiao, who was an Olympic champion [in 2008 at 72kg], and all I could do was just stare at her all the time," she says with a laugh. "Actually, Wang Jiao is also from Liaoning, the same team [as me], but I met her in Beijing."

Soon after arriving in the capital, she got her first taste of international competition at the 2010 Asian Junior Championships, although she did not have to leave the country. The tournament was held in the eastern China city of Huangshan, known for its World Heritage Site mountain peaks.

"At the time, it was my first time to see so many foreign faces," Sun says. "Some were fat, some were short, some were tall. It was very interesting to compete with so many foreigners."

Scaling her first wrestling mountain, Sun successfully reached the summit, and not surprisingly the final step to the top involved a Japanese. Sun faced Arisa TANAKA (JPN) in the 51kg final and came away with a hard-fought 2-0 (6-2, 9-6) win under the old scoring system.

"The final was with a Japanese wrestler, and I felt at the time the competition was very fierce," she says. "It was a very tough match for me."

Just over one month later, Sun made her first international trip, heading to Budapest for the junior World Championships. Once again, the title came down to her and a Japanese, and Sun walked off with the gold with a 2-1 (2-1, 3-3, 3-2) win over Haruka HIRANO (JPN).

In 2011, she achieved the Asian senior-junior double in tournaments held three weeks apart. Her first senior continental title came at 48kg in Tashkent in May, and the next month in Jakarta, she repeated as 51kg junior gold medalist. In both finals, she defeated Davaanchimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL).

In September that year, she made her first appearance at the senior World Championships, but finished eighth at 51kg in Istanbul after losing to eventual champion Zamira RAKHMANOVA (RUS) in the third round and Jessica MACDONALD (CAN) in the repechage.

After finishing second to MacDonald at the World Championships the following year in Strathcona County, Canada, Sun reached the top of the podium on her third try at 51kg in Budapest in 2013. After gaining revenge by beating MacDonald in the semifinals, she defeated Sumiya ERDENECHIMEG (MGL) for the elusive gold.

SUN Yanan gets emotional after defeating Yuki IRIE (JPN) at the 2019 World Championships. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

It took awhile for the magnitude of the accomplishment to sink in.

"At that time I didn't really pay that serious attention to the World Championships because I was still very young, even though I already attended many international competitions and in 2012, I got second [at the worlds]," Sun says. "It was my third time to attend the World Championships in 2013 and I was still feel very relaxed and did not know what it really meant, not like now."

From 2014, Sun dropped down to the Olympic weight of 48kg, which put her on a direct collision course with Japan's new lightweight star Eri TOSAKA (JPN). Tosaka, a year younger than Sun, was the 48kg champion at the 2011 Asian juniors, the year the Chinese won the 51kg title.

Their first encounter was a close one, with Tosaka winning 6-4 at the 2014 Women's World Cup. Six months later, the setting was the 48kg final at the Asian Games in Incheon, Korea, and the Japanese came away with a 5-1 win and the gold.

Sun would finally get the better of her rival at the 2016 Asian Championships in Bangkok, handing the three-time world champion her first defeat in almost 3 1/2 years with a dramatic victory in the semifinals.

Trailing 2-1, Sun turned Tosaka over with a crotch lift counter with :12 left, but in a final rolling flurry, Tosaka was awarded 2 points for an apparent 4-3 win. The Chinese side challenged the call, and it was amended to give each 2 points, reversing the outcome and making Sun a 5-4 winner.

Sun then went on to capture her second senior continental title with a 12-2 technical fall over Irina BORISSOVA (KAZ) in the final.

For Tosaka, the loss relieved some of the pressure she had put on herself, which would bear fruit when the two would meet with much more at stake six months later.

"Part of me feels relieved," Tosaka was quoted as saying on the Japan federation website at the time. "Up to now, I felt somehow I would always find a way to win. In the back of my mind, I would think, I'm still going to win. I didn't want to lose [today], but to win the gold medal at the Olympics, I think it was probably best to lose once."

That prove prescient, as Tosaka went on to win the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics, taking out Sun in the semifinals 8-3 when she scored a takedown, then ripped off three straight ankle-lace rolls. Sun made sure she didn't leave Brazil empty-handed, as she defeated Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ) by 10-0 technical fall for a bronze medal.

Following the Rio Games, Tosaka took time off and underwent foot surgery, but the 48kg hole (later to become 50kg) in the Japanese lineup was quickly filled by a new kid on the block, the teenaged Susaki. She marked her emergence by beating Sun 9-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Asian Championships in New Dehli before going on to win the gold. Sun finished fifth.

Sun suffered another setback the following year at the Asian Games in Jakarta, where Vinesh, who suffered a dislocated knee during their quarterfinal match at Rio 2016, made amends by defeating the Chinese 8-2 in the qualification round. Vinesh went on to win the title by beating Irie in the final.

Sun got back on track by winning a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Stadnik, whose subsequent loss in the final to Susaki gave the Japanese a second straight world title. At this year's Asian Championships, Sun took the silver after losing 6-4 in the final to Irie.

When Sun takes the mat at Makuhari Messe in pursuit of her dream of winning a gold medal at Tokyo 2020, there will be no shortage of rivals more than ready to burst her bubble.

Whoever earns the place for Japan---Susaki, Irie, Tosaka or anyone else---will have extra motivation in gunning for gold in front of the home crowd. And Stadnik, coming off her golden performance in Nur-Sultan, will surely be aiming to make up for her silver at Rio 2016 as her career winds down.

Sun, of course, is still young enough to be considered a candidate for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but she does not foresee sticking around for that one. Asked if she has considered retirement, she replied, "After this Tokyo Games and the year after, there is a National Games held once every four years. After that, maybe," then adds, "What I think most is how to realize my dream first. Then maybe travel around the world."

While an Olympic gold would certainly lead to more fame and fortune than she currently has accumulated like the medals in her trophy case, Sun says it would not have a personal effect on her.

"It will change nothing for me," she says. "I will still be myself. After this is realized, I will find my next dream and try to realize it."

And if it means leaving home, so be it. She will keep looking ahead.

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: Saravi wins Iran's first gold after beating Aleksanyan

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 - 22:46 By Ken Marantz

PARIS (August 7) -- Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) notched his first win in four career meetings with superstar Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), and it couldn't have come at a better time or place.

Saravi scored a late takedown against Aleksanyan in the Greco 97kg final on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics, giving him a 4-1 victory to improve on the bronze medal he won three years ago in Tokyo and assuring that the Armenian's fourth career Olympic medal would be a second straight silver.

"Thank God I got the first gold for Iran at Paris 2024, and my first gold at an Olympics after I took bronze at Tokyo 2020," Saravi said. "And thanks to my coaches. I’m so happy."

In other action at the packed Champs de Mars Arena, one day after Japan won its first Olympic Greco gold in 40 years, it got another when Nao KUSAKA (JPN) claimed the 77kg title, while Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) emerged victorious when the dust cleared on a chaotic day in the women's 50kg division.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) with his coach at the medal ceremony at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Saravi, winner of three tournaments this year including the Asian Championships, looked confident against the veteran Aleksanyan, who had previously beaten him in the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics and at both the 2019 and 2022 World Championships.

"It’s so sweet to win the gold medal after three attempts," Saravi said. "I have a lot of respect for my opponent in the final. He’s so professional, but I was able to beat him."

Both wrestlers were unable to score from the top in par terre, and Saravi held a 1-1 lead on criteria in the second period. In a quick flurry, Aleksanyan was knocked backward toward the ground, and Saravi spun behind for a takedown.

The Armenian side challenged that Saravi had gone out of bounds during the move, but the takedown was upheld, tacking another point onto the Iranian's tally. He then held on to become Iran's fifth Olympic Greco champion in its history.

"I had lost matches before, even though I still won medals, but now I won, and it is like getting revenge, and at the most important tournament to do that," said Saravi, the 2021 world champion who won bronzes in 2022 and 2023.

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) tries to score on Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Saravi knows that celebrations have started in his hometown of Amol in north central Iran.

"My city and province is the home of Greco-Roman wrestling in Iran," he said. "Everybody is really happy there and celebrates my medal, so I am really proud to have made this happen.”

Aleksanyan did not take the defeat very well. With a full collection of Olympic medals -- he also won a gold at Rio 2016 and bronze at London 2012 -- a second silver was not anything he desired.

Immediately after the medal was placed around his neck at the award ceremony, he took it off and kept it in his hand, even as the medalists were paraded around the arena for photo shoots. He did not attend the medalists' press conference.

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) celebrates after winning the 77kg final in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In the other Greco final, world bronze medalist Kusaka scored a 4-point takedown in the second period that propelled him to the 77kg gold with a 5-2 victory over four-time Asian medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ).

The victory came a day after Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN), Kusaka's predecessor at powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University, won the 60kg gold, ending Japan's 40-year Greco drought at the Olympics.

"I was in junior high and high school when Kenichiro won world titles and he was someone I always looked up to," the 24-year-old Kusaka said. "As my senior colleague, he was the one who pulled me along the most."

In the final, Zhadrayev struck first with a stepout and a passivity point, but he was unable to turn Kusaka from par terre and went into the second period leading 2-0.

Kusaka, who had beaten Zhadrayev in their only previous meeting at the 2023 German Grand Prix, turned the match around when he stuck the Kazakh with a pancake for 4. He then received a passivity point to make it 5-2 and held on to finish up the victory.

"To be honest, it didn't go according to my game plan," Kusaka said. "But all I could do was believe in myself all the way to the end. Once I got on the mat, there was nobody there to save me. I just believed in myself and all the training that I put in and kept putting the pressure on."

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) scores two points against Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) in the 77kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Three years ago in Tokyo, Japan got a surprising bronze medal in this weight class from Shohei YABIKU (JPN). But in the ensuing years, Kusaka seemed to come out of nowhere to not only depose Yabiku, but rise to a world-class level.

He first made himself known with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships. After going on his own to Germany and Hungary for intense training, he started this year off with a bronze at the Zagreb Open.

It got better from there, as he won the Asian Championships, beating reigning world champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in the process, then the Budapest Ranking Series to suddenly make himself the top seed in Paris.

"It's like a dream," Kusaka said. "For this moment, from when I was little, I got through tough times and it's great that I became the champion."

Nao KUSAKA (JPN) celebrates with his mother after winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It could be said that Kusaka was destined for Olympic success from the day he came into the world. He was born two months after Naoko TAKAHASHI (JPN) won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, a feat that makes her among Japan's most beloved athletes to this day.

So impressed was Kusaka's mother that she used the same kanji character for "Nao" in Takahashi's first name for her newborn son.

Kusaka paid tribute to his namesake after his win. After Takahashi's won in Sydney, she famously said, "It was a really fun 42 kilometers."

After Kusaka won in Paris, he commented, "It was a really fun six minutes."

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) celebrates after winning the gold medal at 50kg at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Hildebrandt seemed to be having fun throughout the day, from the time she stood in the tunnel awaiting the women's 50kg final to the time she stood for the endless photos and hugged numerous well-wishes over her hard-earned gold medal.

Hildebrandt gave the U.S. two golds in two days of women's wrestling with a 3-0 victory over Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), who was not her opponent when everyone went to sleep the night before.

"My mind and body are not computing everything, especially with the chaotic morning I had with the change of opponent, so it's all been crazy," Hildebrandt said. "Mostly, I just feel gratitude and I just want to go squeeze my family."

Much of the wrestling world awoke to the shock of 50kg finalist Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) failing to make weight. Phogat had produced the surprise of the competition when she handed defending champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) her first-ever international loss, and was aiming to give India its first-ever Olympic women's gold.

Under UWW rules, Guzman, as the losing semifinalist to Phogat, took her place in the final. At first, Hildebrandt and her team did not know how the disqualification would affect the competition.

"We get the news that she didn't make weight, and we were under the impression that it was a forfeit," Hildebrandt said. "So, there was a lot of celebrating. It was very strange, like 'Oh my god, I just won the Olympics.'

"Then an hour later, they were like, 'You did not win the Olympics.' I'm like, 'Oh, this is very weird.' So there had to be a reset. I took a nap, woke up, and it was like a fever dream."

Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) The four medalists at the 50kg weight class at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Hildebrandt had beaten Guzman 10-0 in the semifinals of last year's Pan Am Championships, but the Cuban did a good job of keeping the Paris final close.

In the end, a takedown in the first period and an activity point in the second were all that three-time world medalist Hildebrandt could put on the scoreboard, but it was enough to add the Paris gold to her bronze from Tokyo.

For Hildebrandt, it marked a remarkable journey in which she made the drastic drop from 55kg down to the Olympic weight of 50kg.

"The weight cut has taken a lot of deliberate education and discipline," she said. "I actually started the weight cut for these Games back at the end of 2022. I was like, 'Everything I do, from
here on out, is going to feed into [Paris] 2024. So, it's going to be uncomfortable in 2023.'

"I'm so happy to say I've had the smoothest cut of my life for Paris 2024. It paid off."

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) defeated Oksana LIVACH (UKR) in the bronze medal bout in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Susaki, Makhmudov bounce back to bag bronzes

Susaki bounced back from her dethroning as Olympic champion by winning a bronze medal -- the first time in her life that she had ever taken part in a third-place match.

Putting on a display of the lightning-quick takedowns that had made her 94-0 against non-Japanese opponents prior to Tuesday's defeat, Susaki cruised to a 10-0 victory over Oksana LIVACH (UKR), finishing off the match 17 seconds into the second period.

"After losing in the first round yesterday, it's been a really rough two days," Susaki said. "But the people around me had my back and helped me get back on my feet. I am grateful to them from the bottom of my heart."

Susaki said she was moved by the many non-Japanese fans who cheered for her. "I had thought that without being 'Yui Susaki, Olympic champion,' I would have no value. But win or lose, I was encouraged by the cheers and I want them to see me again as an Olympic champion. I will fight hard over the next four years."

According to the Japan Federation website, a third place at the 2017 All-Japan Championships marks the only time Susaki finished out of the top two in any competition both at home and abroad, dating back to junior high school. In that tournament, the losing semifinalists received the bronze medals without a playoff.

World bronze medalist Ziqi FENG (CHN) picked up the other bronze at women's 50kg, storming to a six-point lead and holding on for a 6-4 vicory over world silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL).

Feng opened with two slick takedowns, following the second with a gut wrench, before Dolgorjav struck back to make it 6-2 at the break. Dolgorjav kept the pressure on in the second period, but it wasn't until the final four seconds that she finally got behind for a takedown that was too little, too late.

At Greco 77kg, Makhmudov, the Tokyo silver medalist who looked bound for an Olympic gold in Paris after winning back-to-back world titles, also had to settle for a bronze, and it was no easy task at that.

Makhmudov, who fell to Zhadrayev in the quarterfinals, got a 4-point lift-and-throw early in the second period, and that made the difference in a 6-5 win over Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), whose late rally came up just short.

Down 5-1, Suleymanov got a stepout and fleeing point, then scored a takedown with six seconds left. But Makhmudov had the criteria advantage, and a last-ditch challenge by the Azeri side only added an unneeded point.

European champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM), the bronze medalist at the last two World Championships, picked up the other bronze at Greco 77kg when he hung on for a 6-5 victory over Aram VARDANYAN (UZB).

Amoyan opened with a stepout that became an afterthought when he launched a 4-point throw from par terre for a 6-0 lead. But in the second period, Vardanyan hit a 4-point throw of his own from par terre using a front headlock, but that early stepout left him one point short.

Kyrgyzstan picked up a second bronze when five-time Asian medalist Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) edged Mohamad GABR (EGY) 2-1 at Greco 97kg. Dzhuzupbekov had the criteria advantage after each received a passivity point when Gabr had the option for a second par terre in the final minute, but opted to remain standing. After time ran out, Egypt made a dubious challenge that added a point to Dzhuzupbekov's tally.

The other 97kg bronze-medal match ended on a sad note when 40-year-old Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) was forced to default after injuring his shoulder early in his clash with reigning world champion Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB).

Assakalov landed on the shoulder as he tried an arm throw. He tried to continue, but after a few seconds realized it was not to be, awarding the victory to Rosillo.

It would be the two-time world medalist's last chance for an Olympic medal in three appearances, as he left his shoes on the mat after the match as a sign that he was retiring.

Day 3 Results

Greco-Roman

67kg
SF 1: Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 3-3
SF 1: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) df. Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM), 10-4

77kg
GOLD: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 5-2

BRONZE: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Aram VARDANYAN (UZB), 6-5
BRONZE: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE), 6-5

87kg
SF 1: Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI) df. Zhan BELENIUK (UKR), 3-3
SF 1: Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) df. David LOSONCZI (HUN), 3-1

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM), 4-1

BRONZE: Gabriel ROSILLO (CUB) df. Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) by Inj. Def., :42 (2-0)
BRONZE: Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mohamad GABR (EGY), 2-1

Women's Wrestling

50kg
GOLD: Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) df. Yusneylis GUZMAN (CUB), 3-0

BRONZE: Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Oksana LIVACH (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 3:17
BRONZE: Ziqi FENG (CHN) df. Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL), 6-4

53kg
SF 1: Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) df. Annika WENDLE (GER) by TF, 10-0, 4:29
SF 1: Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) df. Qianyu PANG (CHN) by TF, 10-0, 4:40

Rising Sun: Chinese Star Aims for Olympic Glory in Land of Top Rivals

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Paris 2024: Saravi wins Iran's first gold after beating Aleksanyan