Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! July 2, 2019

Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - 11:59 By Eric Olanowski

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Discussing special wrestle-offs for Russia, Canada, and Japan. Also looking at the European Games and the Yasar Dogu entries. 

1. Russian National Championships Begin This Week 
The Ice Palace Sports Arena in Adler, Krasnodar, Russia, will host the National Championships for the defending freestyle world champions July 4-7. But, only four wrestlers will lock up their spot on the world team spot. The other winners will have to wait until early August to hopefully book their trip to Kazakhstan. 

The reason being, and as I mentioned late last week on Twitter, with a slight adjustment, the Russian Federation released European Games champions: Abdulrashid SADULAEV, Zaurbek SIDAKOV, Dauren KURUGLIEV, and Anzor KHIZRIEV, and bronze medalists Zaur UGUEV and Akhmed CHAKAEV from this week’s tournament. Russia will now hold a special wrestle-off at the Poland Open (Aug. 2-4) to determine the six remaining world team representatives. The special wrestle-offs were originally scheduled to take place at the Tbilisi GP but were moved after recent travel restrictions between Russia to Georgia.

SCHEDULE
July 4th (Thursday) 
17.00-17.30 - Draw for weight categories up to 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 5th (Friday)
08.30-09.00 - Medical examination and weigh in for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
11.00-18.00 - Preliminary matches for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg. 
18.00-18.30 – Draws for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125 kg.
18.30-20.30 - Semifinal for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 6th (Saturday) 
08.30-08.45 - Weighing in for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
08.45-09.15 - Medical examination and weigh in for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
11.00-18.00 - Consolation matches for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.
11.00-18.00 - Preliminary and semifinal matches for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg. 
18.00-18.30 - Opening ceremony. 
18.30-20.30 - Finalsl for 57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg.

July 7 (Sunday) 
08.30-08.45 - Weighing in for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
11.00-13.00 - Consolation for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.
13.00-15.00 - Final matches for 61kg, 70kg, 79kg, 92kg, 125kg.

2. Lappage Gains World Team Spot, Named Canada’s Rep at 68kg
Budapest world silver medalist Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) bumped up from her world championship weight of 65kg to the Olympic weight of 68kg and defeated Olivia DI BACCO (CAN), two matches to none (2-1 and 11-1) and gained the Canadian world team spot. 

With her win last week, Lappage will represent Canada on the world stage for the third time in her career. In her first trip to the World Championships (2014), she finished in eighth place, then rounded out last year with a world silver medal. In addition to her three times representing Canada at the World Championships, Dappage also represented Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games where she suffered an injury during warms up and was forced to medically forfeit out of her opening round match.

To top off her week, the newly minted 68kg world team rep also won a Canada Cup title. Lappage stomped Jayden LAURENT (USA), 10-0 and took home her first 68kg medal of the year after falling in the finals of the Sassari and the Grand Prix of Germany. 

3. Japan's Olympic-Weight World Team to be Finalized This Weekend
After the July 6 winner-take-all wrestle-offs, Japan will have their world team spots locked up at the Olympic weight classes. There are still three freestyle, two women’s wrestling and one Greco-Roman spot up for grabs, but all eyes will be locked into the three matches where a reigning world champion is one match away from defending their world gold. 

Starting with the 50kg match where two-time defending world champion Yui SUSAKI will meet her nemesis Yuki IRIE. 

Irie, the reigning Asian champion, is the only wrestler on Earth who has defeated Susaki multiple times. She gained the advantage over Susaki after winning December’s All-Japan Championships (Emperor’s Cup) - - a tournament in which Susaki was forced to sit out after she dislocated her elbow. 

Susaki then defeated Irie en route to her Meiji Cup gold and forced the July 6 wrestle-off. 

In the second highly anticipated match, Olympic champions Risako KAWAI and Kaori ICHO will meet for the world team spot at one of the deepest women’s weights in the world, 57kg. 

Rio Olympic champion Kawai fell to four-time Olympic champion Icho in the All-Japan finals but got revenge at the Meiji Cup and redeemed herself with a 6-4 victory. 

The third match featuring a returning world champion will take place at 65kg where Japan’s youngest male world champion in wrestling history Takuto OTOGURO will square off against Rio silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI.

Otoguro fell in his Meiji Cup final to Higuchi, 15-5, and will need to win on July 6 to regain his 65kg spot on the freestyle team.

4. Yasar Dogu Entries Released 
The most anticipated freestyle Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, will take place July 11 to 14 in Istanbul, and more than 275 wrestlers from 21 countries are expected to make the journey to Turkey's most populated city. The goal remains simple: try to pocket the remaining Ranking Series points before heading to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for September's World Championships. 

Since the Budapest World Championships, wrestlers have been stashing away Ranking Series points with hopes of becoming one of the forty top-four seeded wrestlers come September. The Yasar Dogu leaves those on the cusp of earning a top-four seed one last opportunity to gain those additional much-needed Ranking Series points. 

Heading into Istanbul, five wrestlers have seized the No. 1 seed, 17 wrestlers have cemented at least a top-four seed, leaving 23 seeds open for the taking in Istanbul. Though they're not all entered, there are still 150 wrestlers who could steal a seed from a current top-four seeded wrestler if they were to win a gold medal in a weight class with 20+ wrestlers in Turkey. 

Click HERE for full list of entries. 

5. Successful European Games Conclude in Minsk, Belarus 
The 2nd European Games wrapped up in Minsk, Belarus, with Russia winning the freestyle and Greco-Roman team titles, while Ukraine walked off with the women’s wrestling team title. 

In freestyle, Russia finished with six medalists, four of which were gold, and won the team title 20 points ahead of second-place Azerbaijan, and 52 points ahead of third place Georgia. The main storyline coming from the freestyle side of the competition was Abdulrashid Sadulaev becoming the first freestyle wrestler to win back-to-back European Games titles. 

In Greco-Roman, Russia won the team title, while 2016 Olympic champion Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) got back to his winning ways after failing to medal in Budapest. Aleksanyan lifted and tossed his way to his first European Games title at 97kg in Greco-Roman. The 27-year-old Armenian shut out local favorite Aliaksandr HRABOVIK (BLR) 5-0 in the gold-medal match.

In women’s wrestling, Ukraine finished in first place, 18 points ahead of the host nation Belarus, while two women made history by reaching the podium for a second consecutive time. 

Sweden’s Sofia MATTSSON and Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR) became the first women two-time champions in the short history of the European Games. 

In the finals, Mattsson, a Rio Olympic bronze medalist, narrowly edged Yulia KHAVALDZHY (UKR), 6-6 after giving up a what seemed to be a match-deciding takedown. However, after a Swedish challenge, Mattsson luckily found herself on the winning end of the match and became the first-ever wrestler to win two European Games golds.  

Marzaliuk was the second women to win two straight European Games titles. Her finals match went a little different than Mattsson's, as she dominated Francy RAEDELT (GER), 9-0 in the 76kg finals.

Click HERE for the European Games event hub. 

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media! 

1. Big Move Monday -- N. NARMANDAKH (MGL) -- 2017 Cadet Worlds
2. #best10 from Day 4 at the U-15 European 
3. HERSTORY MADE! @sofiammattsson becomes the first-ever two-time European Games champion! 
4. Has Mahir AMIRASLANOV (AZE) been the most impressive wrestler of the European Games thus far?
5. Tickets for #WrestleNurSultan are on sale! Go to http://ow.ly/obUz50uM54Q to buy your tickets and come support the best wrestlers in the world. Are you in?

#JapanWrestling

Kawai makes stunning move to 68kg in bid for Olympic repeat

Friday, May 19, 2023 - 06:19 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (May 16) -- In her bid for a second straight Olympic title, Yukako KAWAI has made a surprising and sudden move up two weight classes to the next Olympic division.

Kawai, who won the Tokyo Olympic gold at 62kg in women's wrestling, is entered at 68kg for next month's Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced Wednesday.

The Meiji Cup on June 15-18 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym is the second of Japan's two domestic qualifiers for this year's World Championships, which will provide the first opportunity for qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The first domestic qualifier was the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held last December.

Kawai's older sister Risako (who now goes by her married name KINJO) has moved back down to 57kg, the weight class in which she won her second straight Olympic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Risako had returned to competition at 59kg last fall after giving birth to her first child.

And the match-up that the wrestling world has been longing to see could finally become a reality at 53kg, where teen phenom and 2021 world champion Akari FUJINAMI and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Mayu SHIDOCHI are both entered.

Any wrestler who wins titles at both the Emperor's Cup and Meiji Cup automatically earns a ticket to Belgrade. If the champions in the Olympic weights are different, a playoff will be held between the two in July. In non-Olympic weights, the two champions and any wrestlers who finish second in an Olympic division are eligible to enter the playoff.

The competition to get to Belgrade in the Olympic weights is particularly fierce, given that the Japan federation has decreed that a wrestler who wins a medal there will automatically fill the Olympic berth that comes with it.

While no medal is a sure thing, it is worth noting that Japan's women medaled in five of the six Olympic weights at the 2019 World Championships, the first qualifier for Tokyo 2021. As such, the top wrestlers have funneled into the Olympic weights for the Meiji Cup, pitting current and past world and Olympic champions and medalists against each other.

Kawai failed to win the 62kg title at the Emperor's Cup, revealing later she had not fully recovered from a back injury. While there have been no reports of her reason, it appears she figured her best chance for getting to Paris would be take a chance at 68kg.

It will be no easy task. While the weight class has seen the retirement of 2016 Rio Olympic champion Sara DOSHO, the field includes world silver medalist Ami ISHII, world 65kg champion Miwa MORIKAWA, world 72kg bronze medalist Masako FURUCHI and 2021 world silver medalist Rin MIYAJI.

Ishii, coming off a gold-medal run at the Asian Championships last month in Astana, has the upper hand, having defeated Morikawa 5-2 in the Emperor's Cup final. Miyaji gave Ishii a tough fight in the second round when she come out on the short end of a 6-4 decision.

Kinjo won the Emperor's Cup title at 59kg, so for her to make it to Belgrade at 57kg, she needs to beat in-form Emperor's Cup champion Sae NANJO in the Meiji Cup and/or a playoff. Nanjo was also one of Japan's five women's champions in Astana.

Not to be counted out is two-time world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, who suffered a last-second 5-4 loss to Nanjo in the Emperor's Cup final and will be gunning for revenge.

Fujinami heads into the Meiji Cup on a 119-match winning streak dating back to her junior high school days, which she extened by winning three international titles in three months -- Zagreb in February, Sofia in March and Astana in April.

The streak currently ties her with legendary three-time Olympic champion and fellow Mie Prefecture native Saori YOSHIDA. But she has long said the streak is secondnary to winning a gold in Paris. Fujinami moved closer by cruising to victory at the Emperor's Cup, where Shidochi was in the other bracket but failed to make the final.

Shidochi had taken time off after the Tokyo Olympics to get married, returning to action last year to win her third world title at 55kg. But moving back to 53kg at the Emperor's Cup, she lost in the semifinals to former two-time world champion Haruna OKUNO, whom she had beaten in nine previous matches.

Also entered at 53kg is Moe KIYOOKA, the Emperor's Cup champion at 55kg who captured a world U20-U23 double in 2022 and won this year's Zagreb Open.

The most intense final could come at 62kg, where world 59kg bronze medalist Sakura MOTOKI will look to repeat her stunning triumph at the Emperor's Cup over world champion Nonoka OZAKI. That loss left Ozaki in tears and she will certainly be out for revenge.

Motoki, looking to join her father as an Olympian (Yasutoshi finished ninth at Greco 63kg at the 2000 Sydney Olympics), preceded her 4-2 victory in the final over Ozaki by crushing Kawai 9-2 in the semifinals. That gave the 21-year-old consecutive wins over the reigning Olympic and world champions.

At 50kg, standing in reigning world champion Yui SUSAKI's path to a possible second straight Olympic gold is longtime rival and 2021 world gold medalist Remina YOSHIMOTO. Susaki defeated Yoshimoto 8-0 in the Emperor's Cup final for her fourth win in four career meetings, but Yoshimoto always poses a threat for an upset.

The remaining Olympic weight class, 76kg, also presents a intriguing potential match-up. World U20 champion Ayano MORO, who just started her freshman year at Yamanashi Gakuin University, won the Emperor's Cup title when world bronze medalist Yuka KAGAMI wrestled injured and failed to make the final. It looks like a toss-up between those two.

Higuchi, Otoguro look to punch tickets to Belgrade

In men's freestyle, world 61kg champion Rei HIGUCHI will look to negotiate a tough field and earn the ticket to the worlds at 57kg, while Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO should have little problem locking up the spot at 65kg.

Higuchi, the 2016 Rio Olympic silver medalist at 57kg who failed to make Japan's team for the Tokyo Games, has been in sizzling form of late. Last year, he won Asian and world golds at 61kg before taking the Emperor's Cup title at 57kg to put him halfway to Belgrade.

Trying to keep him from making that trip will be Asian bronze medalist Rikuto ARAI, 2021 world 61kg bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA, 2019 Asian bronze medalist Yudai FUJITA and 2019 world junior champion Toshiya ABE.

Otoguro, the 2018 world champion, has only competed once since his Olympic triumph, and that ended with his third Emperor's Cup title and first in three years. His main competition will likely be Asian bronze medalist Ryoma ANRAKU, whom he beat 4-0 in the Emperor's Cup final.

The most intriguing freestyle weight class is 86kg, with veteran Sohsuke TAKATANI returning in an attempt to qualify for his fourth Olympics. The 34-year-old Takatani has spent the past two years at 92kg, where last year he won his 12th consecutive national title over four weight classes, while becoming the head coach at his alma mater Takushoku University.

Looking to stop him will be Emperor's Cup champion and Asian bronze medalist Hayato ISHIGURO and world U23 champion Tatsuya SHIRAI, who sat out of the Emperor's Cup.

In Greco-Roman, the weight class to watch is 67kg and Taishi NARIKUNI's quest to become a world champion in both styles. Narikuni won the freestyle 70kg crown last year in Belgrade.

Narikuni, who prefers weight training to typical wrestling practice, entered both freestyle and Greco at the Emperor's Cup (a title double hasn't been done in 49 years), but had to withdraw because of a broken rib suffered in practice. This time, he is entered only in Greco.

As for the reason for his unusual crusade, Narikuni's mother was a two-time world champion, and instead of just matching her, he feels his accomplishment will stand out more if he also wins two titles but in different styles.

Standing in his way are Emperor's Cup champion and Asian silver medalist Kyotaro SOGABE, 2022 Asian bronze medalist Katsuaki ENDO and Taishi HORIE, the Emperor's Cup winner at 72kg who has moved down to the Olympic weight.

At 77kg, Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU has a steep climb to get back to Paris, having lost in the second round at the Emperor's Cup to world U23 bronze medalist Nao KUSAKA. Kodai SAKURABA, a bronze medalist at the recent Asian Championships, beat Kusaka in the Emperor's Cup final, and the title battle looks to be between these three.

For Olympic 60kg silver medalist and former world champion Kenichi FUMITA, the ticket to Belgrade is his to lose. He is the favorite to follow up his Emperor's Cup triumph.