#CadetAsians

Iran Captures FS & GR Titles in Cadets Asian C’ships, Japan Shines in Women’s Wrestling

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 19:05 By Ali Feizasa

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NUR-SULTAN, KAZAKHSTAN (July 9) --- The Cadet Asian Championships concluded in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, and Iran topped the tournament in freestyle and Greco-Roman, as Japan won team title in women’s wrestling.

In freestyle, Iran came in strong and medaled in all ten weight classes, claiming seven gold medals, one silver and one bronze, and collected 212 of the 250 possible points.

Ali ARAB FIROUZJAEI (45kg), Rahman AMOUZADKHALILI (48kg) and Ali GHOLIZADEGAN KOLOUKHI (51kg) gave Iran three golds in light weight categories but Aman AMAN from India and Kota TAKAHASHI from Japan made a gap in Iranian’s victories as captured gold medal in 55 and 60kg respectively.

Amir MOTAGHI (65kg), Amirhossein FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (80kg), Soheyl YOUSEFI SANGANI (92kg) and Salar HABIBI EHSANI (110kg) were four other Iranian champions, while Vijay VIJAY (IND) achieved the second gold medal for India at 71kg to help his team place second  (157 points) with two golds, one silver, and five bronze medalist.  The host country Kazakhstan had 8 medals (3 silver and 5 bronze) and 145 points to place third in Freestyle after Iran and India.

In Greco-Roman, Iran and Kazakhstan had a close battle for team title but Iran topped the host nation by six points.

Iran only had one more gold medal than Kazakhstan (4 gold, 2 silver, one bronze) as the host team had one more bronze medal (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze).

Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (48kg), Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (51kg), Hojat REZAEI (65kg) and Saeid KARIMIZADEH (92kg) were four Iranian champions who helped their team gather 181points. \

Samatbek IZIMGALI (45kg), Maksat SAILAU (80kg) and Nurtaz KYDYRBAY (110kg) earned three gold medals for Kazakhstan as the host team finished in second place with 175 points, while Kyrgyzstan came third with 137 points.

The three other Greco-Roman titles went to Firuz MIRZORAJABOV from Tajikistan at 55kg, Amirbek SULTONOV from Uzbekistan at 60kg and Bakdaulet EGEMBERDIEV from Kyrgyzstan at 71kg.

In women’s wrestling, the Japanese girls achieved six medals (4 gold and 2 silver) and won the team title with 176 points. India (159 points) was in close competition as they had six medals but only one of them was gold (one gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). 

Participating in the tournament with eight wrestlers, China team had good performance by seven medals (one gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze), collecting 138 points and placing third in team standings.

Umi ITO (46kg), Mako OONO (53kg), Ami ISHI (65kg) and Rin TERAMOTO (69kg) were the four Japanese champions as North Korea which had only three wrestlers, won two gold medals by Jin Hyang JANG (43kg) and Ji Hyang KIM (in 49kg).

Four countries shared four remaining individual titles as Mushtariy TOLIPBEKOVA from Uzbekistan at 40kg, Priyanka PRIYANKA from India at 57kg, Maral BATTSOOJ from Mongolia at 61kg and Meng DANG from China at 73kg succeed to defeat all of their rivals.

2019 Cadet’s Asian Championships Medal Winners:

Freestyle

45kg
GOLD- Ali ARAB FIROUZJAEI (IRI)
SILVER- Nodirbek YAKUBOV (UZB)
BRONZE- Suraj ANNIKERI (IND)
BRONZE-  Dastan URMATBEK UULU (KGZ)

48kg
GOLD- Rahman AMOUZADKHALILI (IRI)
SILVER- Nurdaulet BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Kamronbek KADAMOV (UZB)
BRONZE- Otgonbaatar BOLDBAATAR (MGL)

51kg
GOLD- Ali GHOLIZADEGAN KOLOUKHI (IRI)
SILVER- Samagan ULAN UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Sunil SUNIL (IND)

55kg
GOLD- Aman AMAN (IND)
SILVER- Arslan RAKHIMOV (UZB)
BRONZE- Shamil KALMATOV (KGZ)
BRONZE- Mahdi VEISI (IRI)

60kg
GOLD- Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
SILVER- Erfan ELAHI (IRI)
BRONZE- Deepak DEEPAK (IND)
BRONZE- Akniyet TULEGENOV (KAZ)

65kg
GOLD- Amir Hossein MOTAGHI (IRI)
SILVER- Mustafo AKHMEDOV (TJK)
BRONZE- Olzhas OLZHAKANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Manish GOSWAMI (IND)

71kg
GOLD- Vijay VIJAY (IND)
SILVER- Shokhruh JURAEV (UZB)
BRONZE- Nurdaulet KUANYSHBAY (KAZ)
BRONZE- Nurman UMAROV (KGZ)

80kg
GOLD- Amirhossein FIROUZPOURBANDPEI (IRI)
SILVER- Bekzat AMANGALI (KAZ)
BRONZE- Pureun KIM (KOR)
BRONZE- Abubakr SHUKUROV (TJK)

92kg
GOLD- Soheyl YOUSEFI SANGANI (IRI)
SILVER- Monu DAHIYA (IND)
BRONZE- Er HURILEBATE (CHN)
BRONZE- Bekzat TAZHI (KAZ)

110kg
GOLD- Salar HABIBI EHSANI (IRI)
SILVER- Islam TAGIROV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Kumar ANIRUDH (IND)
BRONZE- Zihao HUANG (CHN)

Freestyle Team Standings:
1- Iran 212 pts
2- India 157 pts
3- Kazakhstan 145 pts
4- Uzbekistan 127 pts
5- Kyrgyzstan 95 pts
6- Japan 91 pts
7- Korea 65 pts
8- Mongolia 63 pts
9- Tajikistan 55 pts
10- China 54 pts
11- Turkmenistan 30 pts
12- Saudi Arabia 20 pts
13- Taipei Chinese 12 pts
14- Jordan 10 pts
15- Singapore 0 point
15- Syria 0 point

Greco-Roman

45kg
GOLD- Samatbek IZIMGALI (KAZ)
SILVER- Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
BRONZE- Kansei KAMIYOSHI (JPN)
BRONZE- Harsh HARSH (IND)

48kg
GOLD- Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI)
SILVER- Yerassyl DAULETBEK (KAZ)
BRONZE- Kuvonchbek TOSHNAZAROV (UZB)
BRONZE- Ulukbek SANSYZBAEV (KGZ)

51kg
GOLD- Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI)
SILVER- Arshad ARSHAD (IND)
BRONZE- Kohei YAMAGIWA (JPN)
BRONZE- Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)

55kg
GOLD- Firuz MIRZORAJABOV (TJK)
SILVER- Abror ATABAEV (UZB)
BRONZE- Yerassyl KENGANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE- Parvin PATIL (IND)

60kg
GOLD- Amirbek SULTONOV (UZB)
SILVER- Seyed Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
BRONZE- Ravi RAVI (IND)
BRONZE- Didar ORAZBERDIYEV (TKM)

65kg
GOLD- Hojat REZAEI (IRI)
SILVER- Din MUKHAMED KOSHKAR (KAZ)
BRONZE- Jianwei OU (CHN)
BRONZE- Neeraj NEERAJ (IND)

71kg
GOLD- Bakdaulet EGEMBERDIEV (KGZ)
SILVER- Reza SAKI (IRI)
BRONZE- Sheroz OCHILOV (TJK)
BRONZE- Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB)

80kg
GOLD- Maksat SAILAU (KAZ)
SILVER- Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
BRONZE- Yifan CHEN (CHN)
BRONZE- Eito NISHIDA (JPN)

92kg
GOLD- Saeid KARIMIZADEH (IRI)
SILVER- Nitesh NITESH (IND)
BRONZE- Ao SUN (CHN)
BRONZE- Djakhongir KHOSHIMOV (UZB)

110kg
GOLD- Nurtaz KYDYRBAY (KAZ)
SILVER- Sonu SONU (IND)
BRONZE- Shahrokh MIKAEILI (IRI)
BRONZE-Davran SADYKOV (KGZ)

Greco-Roman Team Standings:
1- Iran 181 pts
2- Kazakhstan 175 pts
3- Kyrgyzstan 137 pts
4- India 134 pts
5- Uzbekistan 132 pts
6- Japan 85 pts
7- China 81 pts
8- Tajikistan 76 pts
9- Korea 58 pts
10- Turkmenistan 39 pts
11- Saudi Arabia 18 pts
12- Taipei Chinese 12 pts
13- Syria 6 pts
14- Jordan 0 point

Women’s Wrestling

40kg
GOLD- Mushtariy TOLIPBEKOVA (UZB)
SILVER- Komal KOMAL (IND)
BRONZE- Jin A KIM (PRK)

43kg
GOLD- Jin Hyang JANG (PRK)
SILVER- Karin UEMATSU (JPN)
BRONZE- Nazik MIRLAN KYZY (KGZ)

46kg
GOLD- Umi ITO (JPN)
SILVER- Xuejing LIANG (CHN)
BRONZE- Bermet NURIDIN KYZY (KGZ)

49kg
GOLD- Ji Hyang KIM (PRK)
SILVER- Yu SAKAMOTO (JPN)
BRONZE- Zeinep BAYANOVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Xiaomin XIE (CHN) 

53kg
GOLD- Mako OONO (JPN)
SILVER- Altyn SHAGAYEVA (KAZ)
BRONZE- Ying LU (CHN)

57kg
GOLD- Priyanka PRIYANKA (IND)
SILVER- Yifan TANG (CHN)
BRONZE- Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL)
BRONZE- Burulsun BEKBOLOTOVA (KGZ)

61kg
GOLD- Maral BATTSOOJ (MGL)
SILVER- Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB)
BRONZE- DDilnaz SAZANOVA (KGZ)
BRONZE-Bhagyashree FAND (IND)

65kg
GOLD- Ami ISHI (JPN)
SILVER- Sonam SONAM (IND)
BRONZE- Cun LIU (CHN)
BRONZE- Rushana ABDIRASULOVA (UZB)

69kg
GOLD- Rin TERAMOTO (JPN)
SILVER- Yifeng LU (CHN)
BRONZE- Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ)
BRONZE- Reetika REETIKA (IND)

73kg
GOLD - Meng DANG (CHN)
SILVER - Pooja POOJA (IND)
BRONZE - Ayazhan SADU (KAZ)
BRONZE - Delgertsetseg BAASANKHUU (MGL)

Women’s Wrestling Team Standings:
1- Japan 176 pts
2- India 159 pts
3-China 138 pts
4- Mongolia 123 pts
5- Uzbekistan 114 pts
6- Kazakhstan 111 pts
7- Kyrgyzstan 110 pts
8- DPR Korea 65 pts
9- Taipei Chinese 58 pts

#JapanWrestling

Kiyooka hands Susaki first domestic loss in 6 years, Narikuni shines in Freestyle

Thursday, October 2, 2025 - 07:48 By Vinay Siwach

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SHIGA, Japan (October 2) -- For six years, Yui SUSAKI (JPN) built a career defined by near perfection. She remained unbeaten in Japan, captured Olympic gold, and added several world titles to her name, moving steadily toward an unprecedented winning streak.

That streak was first broken at the Paris Olympics last year, when Susaki suffered her first international defeat at 50kg, ending a 95-match winning run.

Susaki was dealt with further setback on Tuesday at National Sports Festival in Shiga. As she returned to competition at 53kg, testing herself in a higher weight class after a career largely spent at 50kg, the Tokyo Olympic champion was defeated by world champion Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) in the quarterfinals, marking her first domestic loss since 2019.

The National Sports Festival, held annually in rotating prefectures, features Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in all six Olympic weight classes. Women’s competition includes only two divisions: 53kg and 62kg. Tuesday’s 53kg quarterfinal was Susaki’s first test at the higher weight. After her 2-1 victory over Susaki, Kiyooka went on to claim the gold medal, two months ahead of the Emperor’s Cup in December.

At 62kg, Asian 57kg champion Sara NATAMI (JPN), representing Shiga, gave the local fans a big reason to cheer, as she overcame a deficit to pin world 59kg champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) in the final, winning the gold despite trailing 8-1 in the second period.

In Freestyle, world 70kg champion Yoshunsuke AOYAGI (JPN) lost a close 3-3 decision in the 74kg quarterfinals to 2022 world 70kg champion Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN), who had transitioned to Greco-Roman after his world title three years ago. Narikuni went on to win the gold after reigning 74kg world champion Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) withdrew from the semifinals due to injury.

At 65kg, two-time world U20 champion Yuto NISHIUCHI (JPN) captured the gold medal, just three weeks before beginning his pursuit of a world U23 title in Novi Sad, Serbia.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by MAMO (@mamo_wrestling)

A lot of debate has surrounded Susaki's return to the mat after her Paris loss to Vinesh PHOGAT (IND). She took her time before coming back and, after careful deliberation, decided to enter the National Sports Festival, which offered only 53kg as the option.

After winning her first bout, Susaki faced a tough opponent in Kiyooka, known for some of the toughest defense on the mat. Susaki began the quarterfinal with her usual movements, attempting sweep singles but failed to score. Kiyooka, who won her world gold at 55kg, was put on the 30-second activity clock in the first period and, after failing to score, Susaki led 1-0.

In the second period, Susaki went on the activity clock. After she failed to score, Kiyooka claimed the 1-1 criteria lead with two minutes remaining. With just 30 seconds left, Susaki went for Kiyooka’s left leg following a misdirection to the right.

She was unable to complete the takedown or force a stepout that would have secured victory for her. But Kiyooka prevented Susaki to pass behind and control the takedown. Susaki’s corner challenged for the final pushout but the sequence was well after the clock had expired.

"It’s very frustrating that I couldn’t win such a close match at the end," Susaki told the media. “It shows my lack of skill that I wasn’t able to take advantage, so I’m very disappointed."

The 26-year-old was particularly upset about not finishing the final takedown, which could have handed her the win.

"I made a one-legged tackle and misjudged how to handle it," she said. "I’m very disappointed that I made such a poor decision with so little time left. I wanted to go for it more from the beginning, but it didn’t work out as I wanted."

Susaki hinted that she will compete at the Emperor’s Cup in December but is still undecided about which weight class she will enter.

"There are still two months until the Emperor’s Cup, so I want to prepare well in those two months so I can win,” she said. "I came all the way here aiming to win. It’s really disappointing, but no matter the challenges, my goal remains the same: I’ll definitely win gold.

"Taking into account the situation and this result, I would like to discuss it with the team and decide the weight class. It was my first match in a year, so it was different from practice. I was a little nervous. I want to find the causes of my mistakes and do my best at the Emperor’s Cup."

Sara NATAMI (JPN)Sara NATAMI (JPN) celebrates after beating Sakura ONISHI (JPN). (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Natami’s hometown triumph at 62kg left Onishi in tears after Natami pinned her for the fall in the final. Onishi had built an 8-1 lead but was on the defensive in the second period. Both wrestlers launched a few attacks, but when Onishi went for a single-leg, Natami stood firm, unbalancing her opponent. Onishi fell to the mat, and Natami controlled her to secure the victory.

Just two weeks prior, Onishi had won the 59kg gold medal at the World Championships in Zagreb. She moved up to 62kg, an Olympic weight class, in her bid to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN)Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) won the 74kg gold medal. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Narikuni demonstrated he remains a top contender in Freestyle after claiming gold at 74kg. He had recently competed at the Zagreb World Championships in Greco-Roman at 72kg, attempting to add to his Freestyle world title. In Shiga, he returned to Freestyle and faced Aoyagi in the quarterfinals.

During a scramble, both wrestlers went out of bounds and were initially called neutral. Aoyagi challenged, but the review showed it was actually a neutral position. Narikuni was awarded one point for the lost challenge. Aoyagi scored two points by tripping Narikuni, who landed on his back without danger, and added a stepout as he circled inside as Narikuni was trying to force a stepout.

With less than a minute remaining, Narikuni constantly pressured Aoyagi, who dropped to his knees to avoid a stepout. He attempted a counter duckunder, but Narikuni defended and executed a front headlock roll for two points, giving him a 3-3 criteria lead.

After defeating Aoyagi, Narikuni advanced via walkover in the semifinals before decisively beating Masaki SATO (JPN) 8-1 in the final to claim the gold. The victory prompted Paris Olympic 57kg champion and 2022 world champion Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) to post on social media: “Why do you even wrestle Greco?”

RESULTS

Freestyle Winners

57kg: Fuga SASAKI
65kg: Yuto NISHIUCHI
74kg: Taishi NARIKUNI
86kg: Fumiya IGARASHI
97kg: Yudai TAKAHASHI
125kg: Taiki YAMAMOTO

Women's Wrestling Winners

53kg: Moe KIYOOKA
62kg: Sara NATAMI

Greco-Roman Winners

60kg: Koto GOMI
67kg: Chiezo MARUYAMA
77kg: Kodai SAKURABA
87kg: Tatsuya FUJII
97kg: Takahiro TSURUDA
130kg: Sota OKUMURA