#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 53kg

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - 18:05 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (July 23) – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) got over the physical pain she suffered at the Rio 2016 Olympics long before the emotional scars healed. Five years later, that bitter memory is fueling her quest to become India's first-ever Olympic wrestling gold medalist.

Phogat is the top seed in the women's 53kg division at the Tokyo Olympics, but that hardly lessens the difficulty of the task that lies ahead of her in a field that might be missing the reigning world champion, but little else in terms of quality.

"The journey to Tokyo has been long, bittersweet and difficult at times,” Phogat wrote on social media last week while training in Hungary, as reported in north India's Tribune. "The injury in Rio was easily one of the lowest moments in my career, and even had me questioning whether I would ever be able to wrestle again." 

Arguably Phogat's biggest barrier to Olympic glory will be 2019 world silver medalist Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN), the No. 2 seed and two-time former world champion who has some issues of her own to work out. 

An array of past and present world champions and medalists will also be looking to make their mark on the mat at Makuhari Messe, including fourth-seeded Qianyu PANG (CHN), veteran Sofia MATTSON (SWE), Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) and Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), the reigning world 55kg champion who moved down to the Olympic weight.

Phogat is already making Indian history as the first woman from her country to be appearing in a second Olympics. The Asian nation was a bit late to the women's game, and did not qualify a woman for the Olympics until 2012 and has had just four in total. That number has been doubled in Tokyo. 

At the Rio Olympics, Phogat advanced to the quarterfinals at 48kg, only to suffer a severe knee injury against Yanan SUN (CHN) that required her to be taken off the mat on a stretcher. She returned to competition the following May at the Asian Championships, where she won a silver medal at 55kg.  

The 26-year-old Phogat has accumulated quite a haul of medals on the senior level at the Asian Championships, eight in total, although her gold medal in April in Almaty was the first of that color and came in the absence of the Japanese and Chinese. She also won a gold from the 2018 Asian Games, where she defeated Yuki IRIE (JPN). 

But Mukaida has been a particular thorn in her side in recent years. The two met in the quarterfinals at the 2019 Asian Championships, the first round at the 2019 World Championships and the quarterfinals of the 2020 Asian Championships, with Mukaida winning all three encounters. 

Phogat arrives in Tokyo coming off a confidence-boosting two years of success. She won the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Tournament, which included victories over Pang and Tokyo No. 3 seed Luisa VALVERDE (ECU), and repeated her Rome triumph this year. She also won the Poland Open in June, making her 3-for-3 for 2021. 

Whether she can keep the momentum going in Tokyo against the world's elite remains to be seen, but in a message to her Indian fans, she is aiming to "put a smile on all your faces with my performance on the mat."

The 24-year-old Mukaida has been thrilling Japanese fans since her younger days, when she was being compared to another native of Mie Prefecture in central Japan, the legendary Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). In fact, as she began piling up the titles, including world cadet and Youth Olympic championships, she was dubbed the "second generation Yoshida."

It was a tough reputation to live up to, but the product of the JOC Elite Academy did it with world titles at 55kg in 2016 and 2018. But on several occasions, Mukaida was her own worst enemy, looking like Yoshida until the final five seconds of matches.

That is the biggest knock against Mukaida--her inability at times to finish off what should be easy victories. It happened in three major finals, all at 53kg, over the past four years.

At the 2017 World Championships, Mukaida gave up a 4-point move at the buzzer to Kaladzinskaya and lost 8-6. At the 2019 Asian Championships, she gave up takedown in the final seconds to Yongmi PAK  (PRK) in a 4-3 loss. And at the 2020 Asian Championships, she was leading 8-0 and trying to score a gut wrench that would end the match when Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ) stepped over and caught her for a victory by fall.

"I do alright in the first half of the match, but I often get attacked by the opponent in the second half and start watching the opponent's movement," Mukaida recently told the Japanese press. "When I lose, my movement stops completely. That's the thing I need to fix the most."

One thing going for Mukaida is that she does not have to contend with Pak, as DPR Korea will not be sending a contingent to the Tokyo Games. Mukaida had a chance to avenge her loss in Xi'an to Pak when the two met in the final of the 2019 World Championships, but instead Pak handed her one of the worse defeats of her career with a 12-1 technical fall.

Mukaida will be on guard not to make similar mistakes at the Tokyo Games. 

China's Pang was a 2019 world bronze medalist along with Phogat, the second straight year that she finished third. She and Phogat have split four matches between them from 2016 to 2020, while Pang is 0-4 in career clashes with Mukaida.

The 31-year-old Mattson she was dealt a one-sided loss by Phogat early at the 2019 World Championships, and earned her fourth trip to the Olympics by winning the European Olympic qualifying tournament. She will be aiming to add to the bronze medal she won at Rio 2016. 

Mattson won world titles in 2006 and 2009, and is a four-time silver medalist, including losing to Yoshida in three straight finals from 2013 to 2015. In January this year, she took the gold at the Grand Prix de France, beating Winchester in the final 7-4. 

Winchester's move down to 53kg coincided with a drop to 50kg by Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA), who had failed to earn an Olympic place at 53kg at the 2019 worlds. Like Hildebrandt, Winchester secured her ticket to Tokyo for the USA at the Pan American Olympic qualifying tournament, then won the U.S. Olympic trials. Prior to 2020, she had competed anywhere from 55kg to 59kg during her career.

Wrestling at the Tokyo Olympic Games kicks off August 1-7 at the Makuhari Messe with 65kg action beginning on August 5.

53kg
No. 1 Vinesh VINESH (IND)
No. 2 Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN)
No. 3 Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
No. 4 Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Joseph Emilienne ESSOMBE TIAKO (CMR)
Rckaela Maree Ramos AQUINO (GUM)
Roksana Marta ZASINA (POL)
Laura HERIN AVILA (CUB)
Jacarra Gwenisha WINCHESTER (USA)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Andreea Beatrice ANA (ROU)

#WrestleParis

10 seeded showdowns we need to see at Paris 2024 (No. 6-10)

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 14:29 By Eric Olanowski

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PARIS, France (July 17) – We’re still a few weeks out from the Paris 2024 draws taking place on August 4. However, with the release of the top eight seeds per style, we can start to project potential matches that could take place as early as the quarterfinals.

SCHEDULE | PARIS 2024 EVENT PAGE 

The top eight Ranking Series point collectors from the 2023 World Championships, 2024 Continental Championships, and the Croatian and Hungarian Ranking Series events earned a top eight seed. The remaining eight wrestlers will be randomly drawn into their respective brackets.

Here are the top ten matches that we could see between seeded wrestlers from the quarterfinals on:

10. WW 68kg QUARTERFINAL - No. 3 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) vs. No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Koumba Larroque has been a prominent figure in French wrestling since her bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships at just 19 years old. Now in the prime of her career, she’s France’s best shot at a medal.

Larroque’s path to an Olympic medal will be bumpy, to say the least. She’s the third-seeded athlete in a bracket with six world champions and includes a potential quarterfinal clash with  familiar foe No. 6 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR).

Larroque and Oborududu met twice in their career, splitting their pair of previous encounters.

Oborududu won their opening meeting at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event, but Larroque returned the favor a year later at the Poland Open, evening the score at 1-1.

If Larroque and Oborududu win their first match, their third career meeting would take place August 5 in the 68kg quarterfinals.

9.  FS 65kg SEMIFINAL –  No. 2 Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) vs. No. 3 Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Amouzad and Musukaev are nightmare opponents for each other and are stylistically opposites.

Amouzad, the 65kg world champ from two years ago, is a guy who wants to close the gap with his right-side underhook and fill as much space as possible. Conversely, Musukaev, the reigning 65kg world champion, wants as much space as possible to flow freely.

In their first meeting—the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships-- Musukaev fell victim to Amouzad’s pace and was shut out 6-0. In their second matches—the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships—Musukaev weathered the first period storm, saved enough energy for a last-ditch effort and stole the world finals spot, 6-5, with less than 10 seconds remaining.

If Amouzad and Musukaev meet for a third time, it’ll be on August 10 in 65kg semifinals.

8. 57kg SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) vs. No. 3  Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
The Nichita and Adekuoroye rivalry is one that dates back to the 2019 World Championships but has since changed hands from their pre-COVID meeting.

The seasoned vet Adekuoroye is an anomaly in the wrestling world. Her style can’t be mimicked or replicated. She’s the tallest and lengthiest 57kg wrestler in the world but has also learned to use her leverage to become one of the most powerful wrestlers in the weight.

Adekuoroye’s unique style gave Nichita fits in their first meeting, as the four-time world medalist opened their three-match series with a dominant 10-0 win.

But Nichita carried what she learned from their first meeting into their next matches and had her hand raised on subsequent occasions.

In Tokyo, Nichita fell behind early but capitalized on an uncharacteristic Adekuoroye’s mistake and picked up a dramatic come-from-behind fall while trailing 8-2. Their next meeting came at the 2023 World Championships, where Nichita doubled Adekuoroye before ending the match in the first period with a left-sided trap arm gut, 10-0.

The fourth meeting between Nichita and Adekuoroye will take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

7. GR 67kg QUARTERFINAL – No. 2 Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) vs. No. 7 Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)
If there were ever a lesson from losing a match, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) certainly learned it the hard way.

Earlier this year at the Hungarian Open Ranking Series event, Esmaelil led reigning Olympic champion Orta, 7-5, with 0.4 seconds left in the match.

But before we get to the ending of the match, it’s important to note that Esmaeili was in a domestic battle with reigning Olympic gold medalist Reza GERAEI (IRI) for Iran’s 67kg Paris Olympic spot. If Esmaeili beat Orta, he cemented his spot on Iran’s Olympic team. If he lost, Esmaeili and Geraei would go to a three-match wrestle off and the winner goes to Paris.

Now, circling back to the match: With less than a second to go in the match, Esmaeili began celebrating as he thought the clock expired.

During Esmaeili’s lapse of judgement, Orta, being the experienced guy, continued to wrestle through the whistle. Orta took a peek at the clock, saw there was still time left, locked up a throw and picked up four points, stealing the match, 9-7.

Esmaeili will try to get his revenge on Orta August 7 in the 67kg quarterfinals.

*Esmaeili ended up beating Geraei in two straight matches to earn the Olympic spot.

6. WW 57kg SEMIFINAL - No. 1 Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) vs. No. 5 Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Through the first two meetings between Sakurai and Maroulis, it’s been a one-sided affair. Sakurai is 2-0 against Maroulis, outscoring the Rio Olympic champion, 9-0, while picking up four offensive takedowns and not surrendering a single point.

Sakurai and Maroulis’ meeting at the 2022 World Championships was a slow-paced match, where the Japanese wrestler did enough to win but didn’t really establish her dominance.

That came in the second match.

In their second meeting, the biggest difference was Sakurai’s tatical use of her right hand when tied up with Maroulis. She used it to score three takedowns—one from an underhook front headlock, one from a underhook throw-by and the final one coming from a two-on-one—besting the American, 6-0.

The third meeting between Sakurai and Maroulis would take place August 8 in the 57kg semifinals.

Wrestling at the Paris Olympic Games starts Agust 5-11 and can be followed on www.uww.org.