Kaori Icho

Icho Cruises to Gold, Credits Love of Sport for Return

By Ken Marantz

MISHIMA, Japan (October 14)---Four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO cleared the first hurdle on the track to a possible fifth gold medal at Tokyo 2020. At this point, however, her sights are set on a more immediate goal.

Icho, returning to the mat for the first time since winning the gold at Rio 2016, had a few blips but otherwise was back to her dominant self in capturing the 57kg title at the All-Japan Women's Open on Sunday in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The 34-year-old Icho scored a 38-second technical fall in her opening match, then won both of her next two by falls to take the title in the second-tier tournament that serves as a qualifier for the national championships in December. 
Kaori ICHO (JPN) sits for questions during her post-tournament interview session after winning the All-Japan Women's Open (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

"The one thing I gained by entering this tournament and getting back into the sport was that I feel the joy of wrestling again," Icho said at a 30-minute post-tournament press conference. 

"I felt that many people were supporting me, so I wanted to do it again for them. They were telling me that it was most important to do it for myself, so I didn't want to let them down."

Two years and two months had passed since Icho defeated Valeria ZHOLOBOVA  (RUS) in the 58kg final at Rio. Much had since happened in Icho's life, both highs and lows---from the whirlwind of national accolades and attention that came with becoming the first female to win gold medals at four straight Olympics, to a dark four-month period when her charges of power harrassment against star coach Kazuhito SAKAE plunged the sport into scandal and led to his banishment.  

It also led Icho to ponder her future and look deep into herself, where she found her affection for the sport had not diminished. "In the end, the feeling of 'I want to do it' is what pushed me," she said.

"It was a struggle," Icho said. "It kept going back and forth between anguish and wanting [to wrestle] again. I asked myself, if your honest feeling is that you want to do it, wouldn't you be defeating yourself if there is a challenge you can make and you decide not to?"
Kaori ICHO (JPN) stares down her opponent during early action at the All-Japan Women's Open (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Icho started training in earnest in April under coach and Athens 2004 bronze medalist Chikara TANABE, practicing with the women's team at Nippon Sport Science University. Without going into details, Tanabe said the arrangement isn't perfect, and hopes that it can be improved as Icho prepares for stiffer competition.

"It was her first match in two years, and we needed to know how much her body has returned [to its former level]," Tanabe said. "It hasn't. From now, we have to create an ideal training environment. Then she will make progress."

Judging from her performance in Mishima, 100 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, she might not have that far to go. While Icho assessed herself at "about 60-70 percent" (while adding "I don't know what 100 percent is for me"), she never looked in a danger. The biggest surprise was a takedown she gave up in her semifinal match, but which she quickly offset with a reversal.
Kaori ICHO (JPN) showed flashes of brilliance in her first action back on the mats in two years (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

"As a whole, from the first match to the final, the three matches, my hips were too high, and I didn't move forward in attack," Icho said. "This is the biggest thing I need to reflect on. From now, I have to set up the moves and string together attacks."

With a large contingent of national media on hand, Icho began her comeback by overwhelming collegian Ayako SHIMANAKA. Icho scored a single-leg takedown 15 seconds into the match, locked onto an ankle hold and rolled her opponent four times for a lightning-quick 10-0 technical fall. 

She encountered stiffer competition in the semifinals against newly crowned world junior champion Hanako SAWA of Shigakkan University, which the now deposed Sakae built into a national powerhouse. 

Sawa boldly went on the attack and shocked Icho down with a double-leg tackle, only for Icho to immediately react and score a reversal with a switch. The first period ended 2-2 with Sawa fighting off a front headlock attack.

Kaori ICHO (JPN) worked her leg lace against 2018 Junior world champion Hanaka SAWA (JPN) (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

In the second period, Icho again secured a front headlock, using it to go behind for two points. Two rolls off an ankle lock made it 8-2. Icho then again got a front headlock, from which she locked up Sawa in a reverse cradle, rolled over and pinned her at 4:35. 

"I didn't think about who my opponent was," Sawa said. "Just doing what I can is what I always think about at a tournament."

The final pitted Icho against Fusano MOCHIZUKI, a winner at the Dave Schultz Memorial last November. After scoring a takedown on a counter to Mochizuki's single-leg attempt, and another on a go-behind off a front headlock, Icho launched a textbook-perfect double-leg in the final seconds of the first period for a 6-0 lead.

"At the end of the first period, I felt her speed, power and timing with that tackle," Mochizuki said. "She may have had a [two-year] blank, but it didn't seem like it."

Icho would finish up the win and her day with another counter in the second period. As Mochizuki came in on single-leg, they bumped heads and Icho stumbled back slightly. But she quickly recovered, pressed Mochizuki backward, then stepped over and locked her up for a fall at 3:34.

 "I thought it would get better as I went along, but it didn't happen," said Icho, who was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler. "I still need more practice. Mentally, physically, if I don't become more confident, it will be difficult to be competitive at the All-Japan [Championships] or on the global level."

Medal stand following the 57kg finals at the All-Japan Women's Open (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The top two finishers in the senior division of the tournament earned places in the All-Japan Championships, also known as the Emperor's Cup, which serves as the first of two qualifying tournaments for world championships, Olympics and other top competitions. 

A Japan federation official said that even if Icho had not entered the tournament in Mishima, she would have been proferred a special invitation to the Emperor's Cup in lieu of her amazing accomplishments. Still, he added, it was better that she entered.

For Icho, there was also a practical side. It was the first time she had been subjected to the new rule in which weigh-ins are held on the morning of the competition, instead of the previous day.

"Last night, all I had to eat was a rice ball," she said. "What do the night before, and what to eat after the weigh-in, it was a good experience. This was the first time. So I want to use what I learned to be better prepared for the All Japan."

With two months to go, the Emperor's Cup is foremost on Icho's mind, although the media cannot help but press her about going for an unprecedented fifth Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020.  

Icho says she's focused on creating a better training environment to help her improve before the Emperor's Cup in December (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

"At this point, there's been so much going on that I'm not mentally prepared to think about [Tokyo]," she said. "Today I earned a place in the All-Japan, so I have to focus first on that. Right now, my training environment is not 100 percent. For the next two months, I have to create the right environment."

To help her prepare, Icho will be invited to a national training camp in November, which will give her a chance to see who has emerged as the competition in her absence. Speculation has already begun that fellow Rio 2016 champion Risako KAWAI, who won the gold at 63kg, might drop down to 57kg after making the Japan team to the upcoming world championships at 59kg. 

Golden day for world junior champion sisters

In addition to Sawa, two others from among Japan's six gold medalists at the world junior championships in Trnava in September were in action---and sisters Umi and Miyu IMAI both came away with titles.

Umi Imai, who attends Kaiyo High School in Kyoto, eschewed the high school division to take on the seniors, and swept aside four college opponents to capture the 53kg gold.

She capped the performance with victory by fall in 1:49 over Shigakkan's Katsura KONISHI. 

"I've been gradually facing the seniors at 53kg and it's giving me an idea of where I stand," Imai said.

Imai, who has worked out with the national senior team, will next see how she can fare at the Emperor's Cup in a weight class led by world champion Haruna OKUNO, but which should become more stacked as an Olympic division. 

"I don't think I'm on that level yet," Imai said. "When I sparred with Okuno, she never let me get close to her legs. I couldn't do my style of wrestling."

Older sister Miyu, who finished third at last year's Emperor's Cup, chalked up three wins to take the 65kg title, capped with a 10-0 technical fall in just over a minute in the final over Miki KAWAUCHI. 

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Sadulaev caps golden return with 92kg title

By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 31)--After a long absence from the mat forced by a combination of injuries and extenuating circumstances beyond his control, two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) returned in triumph.

It wasn't at his usual weight class and he has no plans to remain there, but for now the Russian great can be satisfied with adding yet another global gold medal to his formidable collection.

Sadulaev won his sixth world title in a third different weight class when he defeated Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 6-0 in the final at freestyle 92kg on Thursday, the final day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories in Tirana.

"I can’t express what I feel yet," Sadulaev said. "I am very happy to be back on the top place of the podium of the world championships. This time it was a bit more difficult than the previous ones. There were many things that didn’t depend on me. I am glad."

Meanwhile, up-and-coming Masanosuke ONO (JPN), following up on Japan's success in the lightest weights at the Paris Olympics, completed a dominant run to the 61kg gold, while Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) and Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) ended long waits to return to the medal podium by making it to the top step at 70kg and 79kg, respectively.

Sadulaev, wrestling at 92kg for the first time in his career and down from 97kg for the first time since winning the 86kg gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, put up his usual granite wall of defense, while also showing the combination of speed, power and agility on the attack that sets him apart from his peers.

"I was about 98kg when I started the preparation," Sadulaev said. "The weight cut was not so difficult. I stopped eating flour and sweets, and the weight started to go down. Only the last two kilograms were a bit difficult to cut.

"The only problem was that I had the weigh-ins at 8 a.m. in the morning, then we arrived at the venue and I started wrestling in 30 minutes, I didn’t even have any time to rest. All the matches were just happening one by one with no rest. That’s why I got a bit tired in the semifinal match."

In the final, Sadulaev was on the activity clock in the first period when he scored a takedown, then added a pair of gut wrenches to build a 6-0 lead. From there, he held off everything that Maisuradze threw at him to add to the five world titles he won starting in 2014.

The last time the world saw Sadulaev, he suffered a serious neck injury and was beaten in the semifinals at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade by Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), a former member of Sadulaev's wrestling school in Dagestan now competing for Bahrain who won the gold in Paris.

Sadulaev was declared ineligible to defend his Olympic 97kg title in Paris as part of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and skipped what would have been his return at this year's European Championships in February due to injury.

"I found out that I will be wrestling at 92kg at the worlds only at the end of September," Sadulaev said. "I talked to the president of the federation. I was preparing to compete at the Olympic Games, but unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to enter, that’s why I decided to give it a try here...One and a half months was enough for me to prepare."

But as he showed over the two days in Tirana, he could be as competitive as ever. He started by handily defeating fellow superstar David TAYLOR (USA) in a classic matchup in the first round, then showed that his fire for success still burned bright within him when he scraped together a 4-point takedown in the final seconds to edge Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 5-3 in the semifinals.

"It didn’t really matter if I had to wrestle Taylor in the final match or in the qualification round," Sadulaev said. "It would have been more interesting if it was a final match. It would have been very spectacular if we wrestled in the final.

"In the semifinal match, I missed an attack, and in the end, I had to get a last-second score. I think it made the match even more interesting."

Looking ahead, Sadulaev said he will be heading back up to 97kg. "This was the only one time for me wrestling at 92kg. This is not my weight class, I will be back at 97kg again. I just used this opportunity not to lose another year. I had to make history to win the world championships in three different weight classes."

The dynamic Ono, who won the world U20 gold in September, never let up on the gas in storming to a quick 10-0 victory in the 61kg final over Ahmet DUMAN (TUR).

As he did throughout the tournament, Ono transitioned immediately to a gut wrench from a takedown, scoring six quick points before Duman knew what hit him. Ono then used a snap-down to a low ankle for another takedown, then a gut wrench to finish the rout in 1:22.

Ono, who started his golden run with a 10-2 win over Tokyo Olympic and former two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN), reeled off 12-0, 11-0 and 12-0 victories to advance to the final.

The senior Asian bronze medalist this year at 65kg, he later revealed that an injury had hampered his preparations. "One month ago, I broke my ankle and I couldn't practice at all," Ono said. "The Uguev match was my first live wrestling after the fracture, and I was very unsure how I would do."

For Ono, currently a student at Yamanashi Gakuin University, the school that produced Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), the question is where does he go from here?

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), who followed Otoguro by winning the 65kg gold in Paris, beat Ono in the final at the 2023 All-Japan Championships during the Olympic qualifying process. Going down to 57kg, where Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) won the Paris gold, seems unlikely.

Wherever he ends up, he will go with confidence. "I don't know if I'll go to 65kg and face him [Kiyooka]," Ono said. "If I do, I'm definitely going to win."

As for celebrating his triumph in Tirana, that will have to wait. "In five days, I have the Japan University championships," he said.

In the 70kg final, Kaipanov scored all of his points in the second period to defeat Asian silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) 5-3 and add the gold to the world silver he won in 2019 and become just the second world freestyle champion in Kazakhstan history -- and second in two years.

Kaipanov, a two-time former Asian champion, twice scored 2-point exposures by stopping body-lock throw attempts by Aoyagi, a former teammate of Ono's at Yamanashi Gakuin who was coming off a bronze-medal finish at the World U23 Championships held a week ago in the same venue.

Kaipanov's victory came a year after Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) captured the 92kg title in Belgrade to become their country's first-ever freestyle gold medalist.

Kentchadze, a four-time European bronze medalist whose only previous world medal was a 74kg silver won in 2015, scored six takedowns in a 13-4 victory over 2023 world U23 champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN) to take the 79kg gold.

Kentchadze, who was fifth at the 74kg at last year's worlds in Belgrade, gave up an opening takedown, but responded by scoring two himself to go ahead. After the second, however, he got stuffed attempting a roll to go behind 4-4, but righted the ship and added two more takedowns before the break to lead 8-4.

In the second period, Kentchadze sandwiched two more takedowns around a stepout to pull away and emerge victorious in the tournament's most crowded weight class with 33 entries.

Taylor claims emotional bronze

Taylor didn't get the gold that he came out of retirement to get in Tirana, but he did show a bit of his old magic in claiming a bronze medal at 92kg with an impressive 6-2 comeback victory over Ghasempour.

"When you're good for so long, you never know when it's time to be done," said an emotional Taylor, the Tokyo Olympic and three-time world champion at 86kg. "I just got an opportunity to go out the way I wanted to."

Ghasempour, the 2021 and 2022 world champion at 92kg, opened the scoring with a takedown while on the activity clock to lead 2-0 at the break. In the second period, Taylor went on the offensive and scored three takedowns against the tough Iranian, the last coming with two seconds left to preserve the victory.

After the match, Taylor remained on the mat for a short while, drinking in the atmosphere and the applause of the crowd. Later, he smile broadly on the medal podium and posed for photo together with Sadulaev.

The 33-year-old had retired after failing to make the U.S. team to the Paris Olympics and took the head coaching job at powerhouse Oklahoma State University. But the chance to face Sadulaev for the first time and possibly add to his gold medal collection was incentive enough to bring him back to the mat. The luck of the draw saw him face Sadulaev in the first round, where he lost 7-0.

"It was a tough decision to wrestle, but I didn't want it to end the way it did in April," Taylor said. "Going into this, I was hyperfocused on wrestling Sadulaev. The game script didn't go as I thought. I should have wrestled [him] like I did [against Ghasempour]. [The bronze-medal match] was a match of redemption. It was a world-final caliber match."

Although they met just that one time, Sadulaev had kind parting words for Taylor. "I want to congratulate Taylor on an amazing career," he said. "He was one of the best wrestlers of the modern time. I wish him good luck. Sooner or later, I will retire as well. But not now."

In the other 92kg bronze-medal match, Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) gave Slovakia a second bronze of the night when he rode a six-point lead to an 8-6 victory over a spirited Benjamin HONIS (ITA), who had been aiming to become Italy's first world medalist not named Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) since 2018.

Vito ARUJAU (USA), denied the chance to defend his world 61kg title by Ono in the semifinals, came away with a bronze medal by taking one of the biggest scalps of his career, beating Ugaev 8-3.

Arujau, shaking off a painful finger injury that caused him to need treatment during the second period, scored four takedowns in toppling the normally 57kg Uguev, who had obvious trouble handling the extra weight.

The other 61kg bronze went to Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL), who came up with a big move to defeat Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by fall. Tseveensuren started with a 4-point pancake that Norvuzov reversed for 2, then countered a takedown attempt by locking the Azeri in a cradle and securing the fall at 2:30.

Russian-born Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) ended Tajikistan's 17-wait for a second world medal when he broke open a tight match with a 10-point flurry in the second period to defeat Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) 13-2 in a 70kg bronze-medal match.

Kudiev, a bronze medalist at this year's Antalya Ranking Series at 65kg, followed in the footsteps of another native Russian, Yusup ABDUSALOMOV (TJK), who won a silver at freestyle 84kg in 2007.

European U23 champion Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN), last year's world U23 gold medalist, claimed his first senior world medal with a 10-0 victory in the other 70kg bronze-medal match over Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR). Sheriev scored three takedowns in the second period to end the match with :08 left.

At 79kg, Asian champion Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), who knocked off six-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) before losing to Kentchadze in the semifinals, overwhelmed young Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) 10-0 to take home a world medal for the third consecutive year.

Takahashi, the world U23 champion at 74kg a week ago in Tirana, did a remarkable job of making it to the bronze-medal match, having come back from massive deficits in both of his repechage matches just a few hours earlier.

Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK), the 2021 European champion, scored a 2-point exposure on a counter in the second period to edge Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) 2-1 for the other 79kg bronze.

Freestyle Results

61kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) by TF, 10-0, 1:22

BRONZE: Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL) df Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by Fall, 2:30 (8-2)
BRONZE: Vito ARUJAU (USA) df. Zavur UGUEV (AIN), 8-3

70kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 5-3

BRONZE: Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 5:52
BRONZE: Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) by TF, 13-2, 4:39

79kg (33 entries)
GOLD: Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN), 13-4

BRONZE: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) by TF, 10-0, 3:49
BRONZE: Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 2-1

92kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: David TAYLOR (USA) df. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), 6-2
BRONZE: Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) df. Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 8-6