#WrestleWarsaw

Saravi Dominates #WrestleWarsaw to Claim Spot on Iran Olympic Team

Monday, June 14, 2021 - 20:32 By Vinay Siwach

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WARSAW, Poland (June 13) --- After the 97kg Greco-Roman final, Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI) went up to the judge to seek answers. His actions were justified as he had not only lost the gold medal to compatriot Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) but also the opportunity to represent Iran at the Tokyo Olympics.

Iran, treating the Poland Open as the selection trial for Tokyo Games, had entered the two and on Sunday, they dominated the field and reached the final. This was the last category that was undecided for Iran after three freestyle and one Greco-Roman class finalized in Warsaw.

 

Poland Open

They had to wait till the end of the day as it was the final bout and then more as both Iran wrestlers had mistakenly wore opposite singlets. 50 seconds into the bout they changed the singlets and resumed the bout. Saravi got the advantage of Balihamzehdeh being passive in the first period and he got an exposure to lead 3-0.

Balihamzehdeh was hoping that Saravi will be warned for inactivity as well but that did not happen as the latter kept on the pressure throughout the period. It ended 3-0 in favour of Saravi, completing the Iran team for the upcoming Games.

His gold medal also pushes him to third position in the Tokyo seeding as he collected 16 points. His total of 52 points takes him ahead of Cenk ILDEM (TUR) who is now out of the seeding.

Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL) finished fifth in Warsaw and collected 10 points for a total of 42 to edge past Ildem by a point.

There was no other major shuffle in the Olympic seedings for the weight classes that were in action on Sunday.

At 87kg, veteran Uzbek wrestler Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) won a bronze medal to collect 12 points but that doesn't change his third position in the seedings.

Semen NAVIKOV

The gold medal was captured but he upcoming star and two-time U23 world champion Semen NAVIKOV (UKR). In the final, he defeated Istvan TAKACS (HUN) 2-1 with all points scored on referees call.

Takacs had earlier stopped Rio Olympic bronze medalist Assakalov's run in the tournament with a 2-1 win in the semifinal. The Uzbek then came back in the bronze medal bout against Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) with a big fall.

The next big thing in Ukrainian wrestling Navikov will not be at the Olympics as another star wrestler Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) is scheduled to wrestle in the Japanese capital city.

In the remaining three weight categories, hosts Poland captured two gold medals while the third went to Uzbekistan.

Michal TRACZ (POL) wrestled Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) in the 60kg final and held on for 3-2 win for his home country. In the nordic style bracket, he won two bouts to reach the semifinal in which he came out on top against Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) 3-2.

Ozturk had a back-and-forth semifinal against Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL) as the two scored 26 points in the stipulated six minutes. In the end, Ozturk won 15-11 to reach the final.

Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) won the second gold medal for Poland as he defeated Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB) 4-3 in the 72kg final.

The Pole had some tough bouts throughout the day as he began with a 3-1 win against Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) 3-1 before pulling through a 1-1 win against compatriot Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL).

From the other side, Rakhmatov defeated Juan AAK (NOR) 9-0 in the qualification before clinching a 7-0 win over Mateusz BERNATEK (POL) in the quarterfinal. He had a tough one against Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) in the semifinal but managed to pull off 5-4.

Uzbekistan did get it's gold medal on Sunday as five-time ranking series finalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) managed to hang on and defeat Ayata SUZUKI (JPN) 5-3 in the 63kg final. Suzuki was awarded a point for Bakhramov's passivity and he later got an exposure from par terre to lead 3-0. But Bakhramov reversed it and completed a head-pinch to make it 3-2.

In the second period, he got the point for Suzuki's inactivity and then exposed him from the par terre position to lead 5-3. The Japanese did try quite a few arm throws but failed to get any points.

From Japan, world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) was also scheduled to make the Poland trip but pulled out at the last moment due to unforeseen circumstances. Fumita has now not competed internationally since winning the gold medal at the Asian Championships in New Delhi in February, 2020.

Poland Open 63kg

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Michal TRACZ (POL) df Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 3-2
BRONZE: Mukhammadkodir YUSUPOV (UZB) df Olivier SKRZYPCZAK (POL), 10-2

63kg
GOLD: Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Ayata SUZUKI (JPN), 5-3
BRONZE: Christopher KRAEMER (GER) df. Artor HAGERUP (NOR), via fall
BRONZE: Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN) df. Mairbek SALIMOV (POL), 4-0

72kg
GOLD: Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) df. Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 4-3
BRONZE: Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR) df. Juan AAK (NOR), 2-1
BRONZE: Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) df. Roman PACURKOWSKI (POL), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) df. Istvan TAKACS (HUN), 2-1
BRONZE: Rustam ASSAKALOV (UZB) df. Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL), via fall
BRONZE: Metehan BASAR (TUR) df. Bachir SID AZARA (ALG), 1-1

97kg
GOLD: Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI), 3-0
BRONZE: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) df. Tadeusz MICHALIK (POL), 2-1
BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Gerard Cyprian KURNICZAK (POL), 4-0

#JapanWrestling

Two-time Olympic champ Risako Kinjo brings curtain down on stellar career

Sunday, October 12, 2025 - 23:14 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (October 12) -- Risako KINJO (JPN), who won two Olympic gold medals under her maiden name of Kawai before capturing a fourth world title last year after giving birth, officially announced her retirement over the weekend.

"I felt that I had experienced everything that was good about being a wrestler," the 31-year-old Kinjo told the Japanese media Sunday on bringing down the curtain on one of wrestling's most sterling careers. "I felt fulfilled and happy with a life in which wrestling was my passion."

Kinjo also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child as she spoke to the media at the Japan Women's Open in Akitsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where she was coaching younger sister Yukako TSUNEMURA (JPN), who was returning to the mat for the first time since becoming a mother herself.

Kinjo first announced her retirement on her Instagram account on Saturday night, stating that in the 24 years since she started wrestling at age 7, "I have had good experiences and bad, highs and lows. But to win four world championships and two consecutive Olympics was all due to the support and encouragement of many people. I thank them all."

Kinjo first struck Olympic gold at 63kg at Rio in 2016, then won out in a duel that captivated the wrestling world with fellow Rio and four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) for the 57kg spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she took home a second gold.

Of the clash of the titans with Icho, Kawai remarked, "I had no more difficult period than that. I'm glad I was able to experience it."

In the Tokyo semifinals, Kinjo had to face yet another Rio gold medalist in Helen MAROULIS (USA), who had moved up from 53kg. Kinjo came away with a 2-1 win, then defeated Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) 5-0 for the gold.

With Yukako also winning the 62kg gold, it elevated the Kawai sisters to celebrity status in the host country. The two got their start in the sport at the kids' club run by their mother. Both of their parents were national-level wrestlers.

Soon after Tokyo, Risako married former wrestler Kiryu KINJO, and in May 2022, gave birth to a baby girl. Instead of settling down to a domestic life, motherhood lit a fresh flame to continue the sport.

"I had originally planned to win the Tokyo Olympics and then retire gracefully," Kinjo said. "I even told people around me that I would quit after the Tokyo Olympics. But when I got married and got pregnant, I felt that my body wasn't only my own, and I wanted to continue wrestling.

"While I was pregnant, I watched Yukako's matches and thought to myself, 'If it were me, I would do it like this,' so after my child was born, I decided to try it again."

Her bid to win a third straight Olympic gold in Paris, however, was derailed by the reigning world 57kg champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), who went on to triumph in the French capital.

Rebuffing speculation that the loss would mark her swan song, she showed her passion for the sport by sticking around. With the incentive of wanting to have her daughter see her compete and make some history, she had no qualms about moving into the non-Olympic weight of 59kg.

She suffered a setback of sorts at the Asian Championships in April 2024, when she lost to Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the semifinals and had to settle for a bronze medal.

But she righted the ship at the Non-Olympic Weight World Championships in October that year in Tirana, Albania, where she cruised into the 59kg final and defeated Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) 4-2.

"No one from Japan had ever achieved becoming a 'world No. 1 as a mama', and it would be ideal if I could do it," Kinjo recalled thinking. "When I accomplished it at the World Championships last October, as soon as it was over I thought there is nothing else that I want."

That victory added to the three consecutive senior world golds that she won from 2017 to 2019. She also has a silver from 2015, and her laurels include a world cadet (U17) gold and two world junior (U20) titles, and she was a four-time Asian champion.

Kinjo was a star at Shigakkan University during its golden era as the elite powerhouse of women's wrestling in Japan, also producing such greats as Icho, Saori YOSHIDA (JPN), Eri TOSAKA (JPN), Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN).

Looking ahead, she says her focus will be on raising her new baby while staying involved in the sport.

"Right now I am eight months pregnant, and first and foremost I will put my full efforts into proper childcare. And at the same time, I will be Yukako's coach and always maintain a link to wrestling," she said.

At the Japan Women's Open, a second-tier event that offers qualifying spots at the All-Japan Championships, Yukako showed she still has some rust to be knocked off. Entered at 59kg, she won her first two matches before falling to high schooler Miuna KIMURA (JPN) 4-1 in the semifinals.

The tournament also saw the return of Sakurai for her first competition since winning the gold in Paris. She needed three wins to take the 57kg title, defeating collegian Himeka HASEGAWA (JPN) 5-0 in the final.