All Japan Championships

Susaki Outlasts Rival Irie for Ticket to Olympic Qualifier; Otoguro Clinches Tokyo 2020 Spot

Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 15:48 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (Dec. 22)—Given the stakes, it hardly produced the fireworks—and points—that were seen in their previous encounters. But a win is a win, and that was all that concerned Yui SUSAKI, who took a major step closer to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Susaki kept her once-faded Olympic dream alive by beating nemesis Yuki IRIE in an intense but ultimately dull 2-1 victory in the women’s 50kg final on the fourth and final day of the All Japan Championships on Sunday at Tokyo’s Komazawa Olympic Park Gym. 

All of the points came on the activity clock, and after Irie received her lone point with a minute to go, Susaki went into solid defense mode to preserve the victory and secure a ticket to the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in Xi’an, China, in February. 

“When she got a point, I kept believing I would win and didn’t panic,” said Susaki, who added to the lone national title she won in 2016. “I was able to wrestle to the end keeping a strong mind.”

Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI will also be on the flight to China, after he successfully dropped two weight classes and knocked off former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI in an enthralling freestyle 57kg final with a razor-thin 7-6 win. 

Takuto OTOGURO, the 2018 world champion who secured Japan’s Olympic berth at freestyle 65kg with a fifth-place finish at this year’s World Championships in Nur-Sultan, filled that place himself by cruising to the title in that division. 

Susaki’s victory avenged a devastating loss in a playoff to Irie in July for a place on the team to Nur-Sultan. That not only ended her two-year reign as world champion, but, given the history of success by Japanese women in the lightest weight class, seemed to end her Olympic prospects. 

At Nur-Sultan, any Japanese winning a medal in an Olympic weight automatically filled the berth at Tokyo 2020. Five wrestlers fulfilled that criteria—Mayu MUKAIDA (53kg), Risako KAWAI (57kg), Yukako KAWAI (62kg) and Hiroe MINAGAWA (76kg) among the women, and Greco-Roman champion Kenichiro FUMITA (60kg).

Wrestlers who claimed berths for Japan but did not medal could fill the spot themselves with a victory at the All Japan, also known as the Emperor’s Cup, while a loss would put them in a playoff on Feb. 1 with the gold medalist. Of the three in that category, only Otoguro came out as a winner. 

In Nur-Sultan, Asian champion Irie’s tournament ended with a quarterfinal loss to SUN Yanan (CHN), leaving 50kg as the only women’s weight class in which Japan did not qualify for Tokyo 2020. 

That reopened the door for Susaki, who was determined to take advantage of this second and last chance.

“I’ve had this dream since I was little,” the 20-year-old Susaki said. “All I thought was to get stronger and definitely take advantage of this chance so I can win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.”

Sasaki, who defeated Rio 2016 Olympic champion Eri TOSAKA in Saturday’s semifinals, scored on the activity clock in the first period, then again a minute into the second. Irie gained her point a minute later.

Neither wrestler was able to get in deep with anything resembling an effective attack, as both seemed to be exercising caution against making the kind of mistake that can proved fatal in such a high-level battle.  

“I wanted to score a technical point, but my thoughts got out ahead of me,” Susaki said. “From an emotional viewpoint, it went well. But looking at the wrestling, there is room for improvement and I will work to fix that before the Asian qualifier.”

A tearful Irie, who remains the only wrestler on the planet to have beaten Susaki—she has done it three times—was at a loss for words, so deep was her disappointment. 

“I was only thinking about not giving up points, and trying to get points,” said Irie, 27, who was the two-time defending champion.

Technically, Irie’s Olympic prospects are not zero. Should Susaki get injured, or fail to earn a Tokyo spot in China, Irie could be chosen to enter the final world qualifying tournament. Asked about her future, she said she had not thought about it. 

Rei HIGUCHI, the Rio silver medalist, defeated Yuki TAKAHASHI, 7-6, and punched his ticket to the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Higuchi makes big weight loss pay off
Should Higuchi ultimately make it to Tokyo 2020, it will have been via a quite circuitous route. After winning a silver at Rio 2016, he moved up to 61kg, then up to 65kg in a bid for a second trip to the Olympics. 

He experienced some success, winning the world U-23 gold in 2018, but was ultimately unable to unseat Otoguro. Once Otoguro gained the Olympic berth for Japan in Nur-Sultan, Higuchi concluded it would be too difficult to beat him twice (at the All Japan and the playoff) and thus saw his only option as dropping down to 57kg to challenge Takahashi.

He started the process of cutting weight, having blown up to a lifetime heaviest of 68kg. “The temperance was really hard,” he said. “For three or four months, I had a diet of almost solely vegetables.”

In Sunday’s final against Takahashi, he showed no lack of energy, taking a 4-1 lead in the first period that he padded to 7-1 with a takedown and gut wrench early in the second.

But Takahashi has made a habit of putting on big comebacks, and in a 40-second span, put the pressure on and scored three step-outs. He then cut the gap to a single point with a takedown with :31 left.

At that point, Higuchi made a bold move and went for a single that, while ending in a stalemate, ate up precious time. That gave him some leeway to go into defensive mode and finish out the win for his first title since 2016 and third overall.

“I saw there was 30 seconds left on the clock, and I thought I had to go on the attack to keep him at bay and protect the lead, or he would get points,” Higuchi said. “In the end, it worked out.”

Takahashi had beaten Higuchi in two previous career meetings, but the last had been in 2014. 

Otoguro kept on track to the Olympics by routing 2017 world U-23 champion Rinya NAKAMURA, finishing up a 10-0 technical fall with one second left in the first period.

Otoguro could be joined at Tokyo 2020 by older brother Keisuke, who won the 74kg gold to set up a playoff with Mao OKUI, who clinched the Olympic spot in Nur-Sultan but fell Saturday in the first round.

Keisuke Otoguro used counter lifts and spin-behinds to perfection to outlast spunky Daichi TAKATANI 14-8 in the most entertaining match of the day. Having moved up from 70kg, he landed his third career title in a third different weight class. 

“If I don’t win the playoff [against Okui], this championship will not mean anything,” Otoguro said. 

Takatani had also made a drastic shift in weight classes. He had been among the beaten challengers of Takuto Otoguro at 65kg, then moved all the way up to 74kg for this tournament. His fearless determination spurred him into the final, along with the hope of joining older brother Sosuke, the 86kg champion, at the Asian qualifier.

Miwa MORIKAWA will meet Rio 2016 champion Sara DOSHO for Japan's Tokyo Olympic spot at 68kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Morikawa takes title, gets 2nd shot at Dosho
In a showdown of reigning world junior champions, Miwa MORIKAWA edged Naruha MATSUYUKI 2-1 in the women’s 68kg final, earning her a place in the playoff for the Olympic spot in that weight class against Rio 2016 champion Sara DOSHO.

The playoff will be a rematch after Morikawa, the world 65kg junior champion, soundly defeated Dosho 9-2 in the semifinals on Friday. 

In the final against world 68kg junior champion Matsuyuki, Morikawa scored the winning point with a step-out with 1:29 left to win her first title in a weight class (67-69kg) that Dosho had dominated for the past eight years.

Dosho secured the Olympic spot for Japan in Nur-Sultan, but failed to clinch it for herself when she lost in the bronze-medal match to Anna SCHELL (GER). 

The two Greco-Roman tickets to Xi’an up for the grabs went to world team members. Defending champion Shogo TAKAHASHI defeated 2017 winner Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA 5-3 in the 67kg final, while Shohei YABIKU blanked Kodai SAKURABA 4-0 at 77kg for his first title in two years and fourth overall.

Day 4 results

Freestyle

57kg (25 entries)
Final - Rei HIGUCHI df. Yuki TAKAHASHI, 7-6
3rd Place - Kotaro KIYOOKA df. Taiki ARINOBU, 8-4
3rd Place – Yudai FUJITA def. Kaiki YAMAGUCHI by Def.

65kg (21 entries)
Final - Takuto OTOGURO df. Rinya NAKAMURA by TF, 10-0, 2:59
3rd Place – Shoya SHIMAE df. Ryoma ANRAKU, 3-2
3rd Place – Masakazu KAMOI df. Takuma TANIYAMA, 2-2 

74kg (26 entries)
Final - Keisuke OTOGURO df. Daichi TAKATANI, 14-8
3rd Place – Yuto MIWA df. Ken HOSAKA, 4-3
3rd Place - Jintaro MOTOYAMA df. Ranmaru AKAOGI by TF, 10-0, 2:42

Greco-Roman
67kg (21 entries)
Final - Shogo TAKAHASHI df. Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA, 5-3
3rd Place - Katsuaki ENDO df. Daigo KOBAYASHI by TF, 9-1, 5:02
3rd Place - Yuji UEGAKI df. Ryo MATSUI, 6-1

77kg (17 entries)
Final - Shohei YABIKU df. Kodai SAKURABA, 4-0}
3rd Place - Tomohiro INOUE df. Yudai KOMURO by TF, 9-0, 2:01
3rd Place – So SAKABE def. Takeshi IZUMI by Def.

Women’s Wrestling
50kg (25 entries)
Final - Yui SUSAKI df. Yuki IRIE, 2-1 
3rd Place – Miho IGARASHI df. Remina YOSHIMOTO, 4-2
3rd Place - Eri TOSAKA df. Umi ITO, 12-4

68kg (9 entries)
Final - Miwa MORIKAWA df. Naruha MATSUYUKI, 2-1
3rd Place – Rin MIYAJI df. Sara DOSHO by Def. 
3rd Place - Masako FURUICHI df. Hikaru IDE by Fall, 1:53 (8-0)

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024 Day 5 Wrestling Preview: FS 74kg and 125kg; WW 62kg

Friday, July 26, 2024 - 14:32 By Vinay Siwach

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PARIS (July 26) -- Kyrgyzstan is waiting for its first Olympic champion, in any sport. Two came close to ending that drought in Tokyo when Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) and Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) reached the final in Greco-Roman 77kg and women's wrestling 62kg. Both fell short.

Come Paris, Kyrgyzstan is banking on its wrestlers again. Three world champions are heading to Paris as the favorites in their weight classes to win the gold medal. One of them is Tynybekova, the legend who took wrestling to the pinnacle in the country.

PARIS 2024 SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 NEWS

Makhmudov and Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) wrestle before Tynybekova at the Olympics. But if they don't win the gold, Tynybekova will have the chance to win the historic gold and be the first Olympic champion from Kyrgyzstan. It would only be apt.

Kyle DAKE (USA)Kyle DAKE (USA) lost to Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN) at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Apart from Tynybekova, two more Tokyo silver medalists will look to win gold on August 9 when WW 62kg and Freestyle 74kg and 125kg weight classes take place at the Champ de Mars Arena in Paris.

Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN) at 74kg and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) at 125kg won't have it easy. Both fell in the finals at Tokyo, Petriashvili's loss being the more dramatic of the two.

Kadzimahamedau stunned the world when he tossed around Kyle DAKE (USA) in Tokyo and Petriashvili was left stunned when Gable STEVESON (USA) scored a last-second takedown to beat him in the 125kg final.

But to lay claim to gold in Paris, all three weight classes will be full of drama.

FS 74kg: Dake out to avenge Tokyo loss

Kyle DAKE (USA) was the favorite to win the 74kg gold medal in Paris. Then Uzbekistan announced Razambek JHAMALOV (UZB) as its entry, Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (AIN) got in after approval and suddenly, there is no clear favorite to win this weight class.

Kadzimahamedau's run in Tokyo saw him beat Dake and reach the final. Dake hasn't faced him after but is looking forward to that bout if it happens in Paris.

"I have been itching to get those matches back," Dake told FloWrestling. "Those are fun matches. You want to go out and compete against the best guys. All I know is there will be 16 guys trying to win an Olympic gold medal and perform at their best. My goal is just being better than them on that day."

Reflecting on his campaign in Tokyo and then in the 2023 World Championships, Dake said he was satisfied and has a different outlook towards results.

"I don't know if I would change anything," Dake said. "Given the circumstances, I competed the best I could. I went out and wrestled and did my best. My girls, last year [after the World Championships], asked me 'daddy you didn't win, what happened?' I tried my best and it didn't fall my way. That's okay. A lot of what I am focusing on is competing with gratitude, scoring points, be Kyle Dake the best way I can."

If the best Dake shows up in Paris, he will be unstoppable. But a few opponents have pushed him to the edge in the past. Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), Yones EMAMI (IRI), Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and Daichi TAKATANI (JPN) are a few he has wrestled. Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), Chermen VALIEV (ALB), Razambek JAMALOV (UZB), Viktor RASSADIN (TJK), Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) are a few others he has not wrestled and will be in Paris. Thanks to his top seed, Dake will avoid Kougioumtsidis, Salkazanov and Bayramov till the final.

Kadzimahamedau will be unseeded and can be drawn anywhere in the bracket. After Tokyo, his performance has seen him win a European Championships silver medal at 79kg in what was a rare appearance on the mat.

But Kougioumtsidis defeated him at the World Championships in a thrilling opening-round bout. The Greek wrestler was looking good to make the final but hit Dake in the semifinal, dropping the bout 4-1, a much closer semifinal than the scoreline indicates.

Takatani was another wrestler who troubled Dake in the quarterfinals. Though Dake won 6-4, Takatani seemed to have figured out Dake's style and controlled the bout. Dake, however, was just too good.

The entries of Valiev and Jamalov has spiced up things. Valiev was entered in the World Olympic Qualifier after he completed his transfer from Albania. His style of frustrating his opponents by having a sitting position with no aim to score will be on test in Paris.

 

Jamalov is replacing Bekzod ABDURAKHAMANOV (UZB) in the line-up and the former U23 world champion can upset any wrestler in Paris. Jamalov's defense is among one of the many exceptional skills he possesses and once he thwarts the attacks of his opponents, they crumble due to disappointment.

Making his debut for Uzbekistan, Jamalov won the Budapest Ranking Series and won gold, announcing himself just before the Games and it should not surprise the wrestling world if he goes all the way in Paris.

Wait, maybe Geandry GARZON (CUB) will get his prized Olympic medal in Paris? The 41-year-old finished fifth in the 2008 Beijing Games and returned to the Olympics in Tokyo. Now he is going for his third Olympics in Paris.

WW 62kg: Tynybekova and history

Yukako KAWAI (JPN) denied Tynybekova the gold in Tokyo. A for Tynybekova would have grown her legend in Kyrgyzstan. The fans still love and adore her. They cheer for her in every country she wrestles. All they want is for her to become the country's first Olympic champion. Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) threatened her to disallow that for significant time before she moved categories after losing domestically.

Going into Paris, one thing Tynybekova can take confidence in is her record against Sakura MOTOKI (JPN), the Japan entry for the Olympics. The two met in the World Championships final which Tynybekova survived and won. Then at the Zagreb Open and again at the Asian Championships. Tynybekova used her counter lifts to win both times.

But Tynybekova knows that it's not just the Japanese opponent at the Olympics she has to be prepared for. The 62kg weight has seen the rise of Grace BULLEN (NOR), Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) and Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), return of Orkhon PUREVDORJ (MGL). Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) is also looking for her second Olympic medal.

"I would like to say that there are no easy or tough opponents," Tynybekova said after the Asian Championships. "It all depends on my physical condition on that exact day. That’s why me and my coaches will prepare to wrestle every single wrestler in my weight class."

Motoki may well be at the top of that list. Motoki isn't one with the natural gift of wrestling. She believes in going back to the drawing board after every loss and aiming for perfection through repetitions.

"I don't have confidence and think negatively. That's why I can practice and research. Those are my weapons," she told Yomiuri recently.

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will be one of the contenders for gold at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

One of her lethal attacks is the single-leg, which she has perfected to hit deep and score most of the time. If she fails to finish it, Motoki throws herself back to defend. The Ikuei University student says she has 30 variations to hit it.

"It's like a mathematical formula. If you know it, you can apply it," she said.

Those weapons have worked well against most but Tynybekova. She ran close in Zagreb but could not finish. At the Asian Championships, she got countered by Tynybekova so often that the bout was never in balance. A sobbing Motoki failed to make sense of the loss and said she believed she could win. She cried, thought about it, and realized a win was close.

It's like her junior high school all over again. At one point, she could not get past a wrestler and lost "about seven times." Then she finally beat her after years in a different division. 

"There was a sense of accomplishment and joy that people who keep winning don't get," she said. "No other athlete has ever experienced such setbacks. That's my strength. I want to win the gold medal and get revenge."

Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK)Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) is an Asian Games champion at 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Gyong-Mun will be another wrestler who can surprise a few in Paris. She won the Asian Games after beating Ozaki in the final and with little known about her, wrestlers can find it tricky to face the DPR Korea wrestler.

Bullen will be at her first Olympics having transformed her style after getting a new team and moving to Georgia for training. She won bronze at the World Championships and will be a threat in Paris.

FS 125kg: Zare set to enter new territory

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) has grown leaps and bounds after his bronze-medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics. He won the World Championships gold medal in Oslo, beating Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO). He suffered a loss to Akgul in 2022 but bounced back to win the gold in 2023. Going into Paris 2024, Zare is undoubtedly a heavy favorite.

Zare has not only grown in experience but has worked on his conditioning to a great extent. At the 2023 World Championships, his opponents found it difficult to score on him and he gave up only six points in five bouts.

Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL)Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) during the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL), who won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships, wrestled Zare at the Asian Games final in October 2023 but fell behind quickly.

"His conditioning is very high," Munkhtur said after the final. "The strength part is normal but it's his conditioning which keeps him going for six minutes."

Munkhtur had a disastrous World Championships, bowing out in the first round. But he came back to qualify for the Olympics from the Asian qualifiers.

Zare's biggest competitors will be Petriashvili, Akgul and Mason PARRIS (USA) who won the trials in the absence of Tokyo Olympic champion Gable STEVESON (USA).

Petriashvili was close to winning his first Olympic gold after bronze in Rio but in the final second of the final, Steveson scored a takedown to beat Petriashvili. The Georgian has not been able to win a gold at any championships since.

"I was very close to the gold medal," Petriashvili told UWW. "It was one of the hardest matches in my life. Steveson was very fast and strong. Every day I try to forget that moment. I am not saying I have forgotten it. It's very hard to do so.

"I don't know what happened there. Maybe I thought 'I have won, really!' I was talking to myself. My eyes went black because of happiness. I was counting - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds and I lost. What happened? Every day I ask myself what happened and don't have an answer. It's wrestling. It's very hard for your emotions but you have to be quiet and have this feeling."

Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) after losing the 125kg final at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

But Petriashvili will have to forget it and be ready for another spell of matches. He knows that well and is ready for Paris. 

"It will be hard and there will be good matches," he said. "I hope I will be ready. For 12 years, I have been standing on the mat at the senior level. I feel good here. Akgul and Zare are world-class wrestlers. Parris is also good. I am a good wrestler as well (laughs). Everyone wants to take a gold medal home. No one gives you the medal."

Akgul won the gold medal in Rio and bronze in Tokyo. But for a third Olympic medal, he will have to work hard. He is on the same side as Zare which makes it difficult to be in the final. Both will not collide before the semifinals.

Mason PARRIS (USA)Mason PARRIS (USA), red, will be the U.S. representative at 125kg in Paris. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Parris is on the other side, making him a potential opponent of Petriashvili in the semifinal. The Georgian defeated Parris in the semifinal of the World Championships. Parris, however, won the gold medal at the Budapest Ranking Series.

"Getting a world bronze medal last year was awesome for my confidence," Parris said. "I think I am being underestimated by a lot of people. I think I have one of the best chances to be an Olympic champion. My plan is to bring it home for the U.S."