MACON, France (1 September) – Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) capped the first day of women’s events at the Junior World Wrestling Championships by giving hosts France its first gold medal in women’s wrestling in 15 years.

Larroque defeated Asia junior champion HAN Yue (CHN) in a hard-fought match that included a number of solid attacks and counters before Larroque spun behind for a 3-0 lead midway through the second period of the 67kg final at Le Spot arena.

Han, for her part, also went behind for two points in the last minute, but even though Han took Larroque’s left leg outside of its normal range of movement, the plucky former cadet refused to yield another point and held on for a 3-2 victory.

“I really didn’t expect to win since I just finished wrestling as a cadet,” Larroque said, adding quickly “But, it’s great to win here.”

Asked about winning in Macon in front of a partisan crowd cheering “Koumba! Koumba!” the soft-spoken 18-year-old said “Of course, there was a lot of pressure wrestling here. But it was also great having all of the people here and that made the winning more exciting.”

Larroque’s triumph was the first junior world champion for France in women’s wrestling since 2001 when Vanessa BOUBRYEMM (FRA) won the title at 54kg in Martigny, Switzerland.

In the other gold medal finals on Thursday evening, Miyu NAKAMURA (44kg) and Yuzuru KUMANO (59kg) each bagged titles for Japan while 2015 junior world bronze medal winner Ksenia NEZGOVOROVA (RUS) defeated Asian junior champion  LIAO Xuejiao (CHN) for the 51kg crown.

Nakamura, the 2015 Asia cadet champion, hit a pair of low-single attacks early in the 44kg final and then wrapped up a tight waistlock for three gut wrenches for a 10-0 technical fall at 2:34 against 2013 cadet world champion Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ).

Nakamura completed with day with four technical falls, outscoring opponents 40-0, including a 10-0 victory over European junior champion Oksana LIVACH (UKR) in the round of 16. Livach later claimed a bronze medal with a 12-0 win over Fatme MANDEVA (BUL) in the evening bouts.

Kumano, meanwhile, spotted Anzhelina LYSAK (UKR) a six-point lead – four points coming on an early arm throw – in the first two minutes of the 59kg final, but then spun behind and cranked the 2015 cadet world champ over with an arm bar for the fall at 2:13.

Kumano, who finished in third place in the junior-senior division at the Klippan Open in February, notched falls in three of her bouts.

In the 51kg final, Nezgovorova broke a 2-2 tie in the second period when Liao misfired on an attempted rolling counter to the Russian’s leg attack and then added two more points with a spin behind for the 6-2 win.

-- Results --

Women’s Wrestling

44kg (16 entries)

Gold – Miyu NAKAMURA (JPN) df. Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ) by TF, 10-0, 2:34
Bronze – Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS) df. Divya TOMAR (IND) by TF, 10-0, 3:00
Bronze – Oksana LIVACH (UKR) df. Fatme MANDEVA (BUL) by TF, 12-0, 1:08

Semifinals – Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ) df. Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS), 4-2
Semifinals – Miyu NAKAMURA (JPN) df. Fatme MANDEVA (BUL) by TF, 10-0, 1:30

51kg (17 entries)

Gold – Ksenia NEZGOVOROVA (RUS) df. LIAO Xuejiao (CHN), 6-2
Bronze – Elena BRUGGER (GER) df. Kristina MCLAREN (CAN), 6-4
Bronze – Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR) df. CHIU Jocih (TPE) by Fall, 2:01 (6-0)

Semifinals – LIAO Xuejiao (CHN) df. Kristina MCLAREN (CAN), 10-5
Semifinals – Kseniia NEZGOVOROVA (RUS) df. Khrystyna BEREZA (UKR), 2-1

59kg (19 entries)

Gold – Yuzuru KUMANO (JPN) df. Anzhelina LYSAK (UKR) by Fall, 2:13 (4-6)
Bronze – Kayla MIRACLE (USA) df. Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), 2-0
Bronze – PEI Xingru (CHN) df. Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) by Fall, 3:42 (3-1)

Semifinals – Anzhelina LYSAK (UKR) df. Kayla MIRACLE (USA), 6-5
Semifinals – Yuzuru KUMANO (JPN) df. Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) by Fall, 1:38 (4-0)

67kg (14 entries)

Gold – Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) df. HAN Yue (CHN), 3-2
Bronze – Alexis PORTER (USA) df. Brandy PERRY (CAN) by TF, 10-0, 3:38
Bronze – Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) df. Reshma MANE (IND), 4-2

Semifinals – HAN Yue (CHN) df. Alexis PORTER (USA) by TF, 10-0, 1:14
Semifinals – Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) df. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE), 5-0