Iran Fills Remaining Freestyle Spots in Tokyo as Uzbekistan Grabs 4

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 10:42 By Ken Marantz

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 11) --- Iran went into the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament with three holes in its freestyle lineup for the Tokyo Olympics. On Sunday, Amir Mohammad YAZDANI (IRI), Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) and Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) had little trouble filling the gap.

Yazdani secured a ticket to Tokyo for the Middle East powerhouse by easily advancing to the final at 65kg, while Emamichoghaei and Mohammadian did likewise at 74kg and 97kg, respectively, on the final day of the three-day tournament in Almaty that decided two qualifiers in each weight class.

The big winner of the day was Uzbekistan, which, led by Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) at 97kg, picked up four berths in Tokyo -- after having been shut out at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan, where six spots per weight class were allocated.

China secured two places, while host Kazakhstan, which had four spots to begin with, grabbed one along with Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. India, which had earned three places in Nursultan, failed to add to its tally, despite putting three wrestlers into the semifinals.

But it was Japan that had the most disastrous day. The Olympic host began the day by seeing Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) fail to make weight at 57kg, then had two-time Olympian Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN) miss out by suffering a heartbreaking, last-second loss in his semifinal. Japan came looking to add to its two freestyle spots from Nursultan, but will leave empty-handed.

Yazdani, a distant cousin of superstar and 86kg Olympic favorite Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), certainly made the family proud with a dominant performance that he capped with a 10-0 technical fall in 5:21 over a tenacious Haji ALI (BRN).

"All my bouts were good," Yazdani said. "But the semifinal was the best because I won 10-0. That bout the most important."

For Iranians, earning the Olympic place is only the start. Now they have to go through a difficult national trial process to fill the spots.

"I will go back to Iran and the coaches will decide the team," Yazdani said. "I have to be the best."

In the final to be held later in the night session, Yazdani will face Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), who pulled off a stunning victory by fall over Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB), the 2020 Asian champion at 70kg.

Bekbulatov had stormed to an 8-0 lead when Akmataliev clamped on a headlock and threw the Uzbek to his back. Akmataliev then secured a ticket to Tokyo by securing a fall with 8 seconds left in the first period.

"I wasn’t thinking anything when I was down," said Akmataliev, a fifth-place finisher at the 2019 world U-23. "All I had to do was beat him to qualify. He is the best wrestler but I want to win as well. This feeling, there are no words to explain this. I was just confident to do it. Olympics here I come."

Emamichoghaei, a world and Asian bronze medalist in 2019 at 70kg, had no trouble moving up to the Olympic weight of 74kg, chalking up three straight technical falls without surrendering a point. In the semifinals, he needed just 2:13 to put away Sandeep MANN (INDIA).

In the other 74kg semifinal, 2018 world bronze medalist Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) earned a second trip to the Olympics by scoring a takedown with :54 left for a 4-2 victory over Elaman DOGDURBEK UULU (KGZ).

"Before I came here, I had injured my knee and I was not training 100%, but it was a good day to qualify," said Abdurakhmanov, a two-time Asian champion who placed fifth at the Rio 2016 Olympics. "In the semifinal, he was coming very hard at me so I had to keep him away."

Abdurakhmanov said he feels ready to make the Olympic podium this time. "I was so close to a medal in Rio, so I think I can medal now," he said. "The problem was that before Rio, I was a regular 70kg guy and 74 was big for me. Now my weight is good for 74. My weight training is top class.

"Hopefully I train harder, smarter because that's how I will medal in Tokyo."

At 97kg, Ibragimov and Mohammadian were both totally dominant in setting up a showdown in the final. Ibragimov advanced with an 11-1 technical fall over Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ) that he capped with six points off a lace lock, while Mohammadian followed a takedown against Satywart KADIAN (IND) with four straight gut wrenches to end the match in 30 seconds.

Mohammadian also knows he has opened the door to the Olympics, but is not through yet.

"I have to go back to Iran and have a trial and there are two very good wrestlers in Iran," he said. "The coaches will decide the team to Tokyo. I definitely want to go there."

While getting to the Olympics is the objective, Mohammadian relishes the chance of challenging world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS).

"I wanted to wrestle Sadulaev before, but I have not gotten a chance," Mohammadian said. "He is good wrestler obviously. We analyze him a lot. In Tokyo, I don't care if I win a medal or not, but I want to beat Sadulaev. That's my target."

Japan's worst nightmare on the mat came true in the 86kg semifinals, where two-time Olympian Takatani lost 8-7 to unheralded Zushen LIN (CHN), who capped a comeback from a 6-1 deficit by scoring the winning takedown with :23 left.

Lin's biggest move came on a 4-point counter lift in the first period off a Takatani takedown attempt, as that put him ahead on criteria when he tied the score at 7-7. In the final seconds, Takatani came close to scoring a takedown, but couldn't get Lin's knee down for the points. An unsuccessful challenge gave Lin his final point.

"I was ready for this competition," Lin said. "I am 27 years old and I am going to the Olympics for the first time. I was there in Nursultan but failed to qualify so this was my chance."

Lin has come a long way, considering that at the 2014 World Championships, he finished 22nd at 74kg -- the weight class in which Takatani won the silver medal.

In Sunday's final, Lin will face Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB), who denied Kazakhstan a sixth Olympic place by defeating 2018 Asian bronze medalist Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) by fall at the buzzer while leading 5-2.

"The Uzbek team qualified a lot here because we have good trainers and the federation helps a lot," Shapiev said. "You can see this in the results today."

Uzbekistan secured its first Olympic spot at 57kg, when Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) defeated Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ) 8-4 in the semifinals. Opposing him in the final will be Minghu LIU (CHN), a 6-3 winner over Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK).

Japan had one final chance to secure a berth in an unlikely weight class when Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN) made it to the semifinals at 130kg. But his Olympic hopes were dashed when he was overpowered by Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL), who scored six of his points in a 9-0 victory on stepouts.

Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) grabbed the other Olympic berth at 130kg with a 2-0 win over Sumit SUMIT (IND). Both of his points came on stepouts.

Tanaka had been aiming to become the first Japanese wrestler in freestyle to qualify for the Olympics in the heaviest freestyle class since Tamon HONDA (JPN) made it to the Barcelona Games in 1992 at 130kg.

Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) missed weight on Sunday at the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Heavy heartbreak for Higuchi

One of the biggest shocks of the day occurred before the action started when Japan's Higuchi failed to make weight in his bid to return to the Olympics at 57kg.

"When we left the hotel for the weigh-in location in the morning, the mood was that we had some leeway," explained Shigeki NISHIGUCHI, the Japan Wrestling Federation general manager.

"After arriving at the weigh-ins, he was 250 grams over. He tried to lose the weight within the alloted 30 minutes, but came up 50 grams short. 'We regret that we didn't support him enough. We could have done more."

After winning the silver at Rio, Higuchi moved up to 61kg and remained at that weight class through 2017. The following year, he moved up to the Olympic weight of 65kg in an attempt to make the Tokyo Games. He won the 2018 world U-23 gold medal, but eventually failing to unseat world senior champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) on the team to Nursultan.

Having never been fully satisfied with his Olympic silver medal, and despite the fact that at one point his weight had ballooned up to 68 kilograms, Higuchi went on a crash diet with the aim of qualifying again at 57kg and going for the gold.

Subsisting on an all-vegetable diet, he dropped the weight, then gained the right to enter the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament by beating former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) at the All-Japan Championships in December 2019. The year's postponement of both the Olympics and qualifying tournament did not work out in his favor.

"I took care of everything, including diet, exercise, and caloric intake," Higuchi said in a statement released by the federation. "I've done everything without compromise. But I didn't lose (the last 50 grams) in extreme conditions. It can't be helped. I have no choice but to accept reality. This is the result, it cannot be overturned. I want to engrave it in my heart."

Freestyle

Semifinal Results

57kg
Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ), 8-4
Minghu LIU (CHN) df. Muhammad IKROMOV (TJK), 6-3

65kg
Amir Mohammad YAZDANI (IRI) df. Haji ALI (BRN) by TF, 10-0, 5:21
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) df. Ilyas BEKBULATOV (UZB) by Fall, 2:52 (4-8)

74kg
Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB) df. Elaman DOGDURBEK UULU (KGZ), 4-2
Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) df. Sandeep MANN (INDIA) by TF, 10-0, 3:46

86kg
Zushen LIN (CHN) df. Sohsuke TAKATANI (JPN), 8-7
Javrail SHAPIEV (UZB) df. Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) by Fall, 6:00 (5-2)

97kg
Magomed IBRAGIMOV (UZB) df. Symbat SULAIMANOV (KGZ) by TF, 11-1, 3:59
Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) df. Satywart KADIAN (IND) by TF, 10-0, :30

125kg
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) df. Sumit SUMIT (IND), 2-0
Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) df. Tetsuya TANAKA (JPN), 9-0

#WrestleAlmaty

Susaki Aims to Gain Olympic Spot with Golden Performance

Thursday, April 8, 2021 - 14:15 By Ken Marantz

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 8) --- Two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) can see a silver lining in the year-long postponement of the Asian qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics.

And while a silver medal in Almaty would be good enough to earn her a first trip to Olympics, the 21-year-old star has no intention of coming home with anything but the gold.

"When the Asian qualifying and Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, I felt I was given that amount of time to get stronger and I kept practicing," Susaki said in an online press conference earlier this week.

"As for not having matches, it gave me time to address the little issues that I couldn't do up to now. I was able to work on fine points and from that standpoint, I feel like I've grown in the past year."

Susaki will be aiming to secure a berth for Japan at 50kg, the only one of the six women's weight classes in which the Asian powerhouse did not clinch a spot at the 2019 world championships.

The women's tournament will be on the second day of the three-day tournament April 9-11, which will start with Greco-Roman and end with freestyle.

"It's good and I'm ready for matches," Susaki said of her current condition. "From the start of the year, I've had good practices in preparation as the tournament gets closer."

The tournament will mark her first international event since the 2019 World Cup, and first overall since the All-Japan Championships in December 2019, where she defeated rival Yuki IRIE (JPN) to earn the right to enter the Olympic qualifier.

"It's my first tournament in awhile, so I'm really looking forward to it," Susaki said. "The Olympics are on the line, so everyone is putting everything into this tournament. I will concentrate on each match as it comes and work my way to the title.

"I'm grateful to be able to make the challenge for the Tokyo Olympics. I want to definitely win and gain an Olympic berth, and come home with a smile."

Susaki will certainly be favored to grab one of the two spots available for Asia at the qualifying tournament. She will not contend with opponents from host Kazakhstan or China, as both of those countries qualified at the Nursultan worlds.

Regardless of the competition, and notwithstanding the fact that she does not need to do it, going for the gold has been her mantra since she started the sport, and has many more times than not also been the result. Since junior high school, she has lost only three times --- all to compatriot Irie. She is undefeated against the rest of humanity.

"To have come this far, no matter how it's done, I want to win the title and make the Olympic team," Susaki said. "From the time that the Tokyo Olympics were decided, I've regarded it as an event I definitely want to participate in and win the gold medal."

Susaki's main competition looks to come from 2020 Yarygin Grand Prix champion Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) and 2019 Yasur Dogu winner Seema SEEMA (IND).

Following the postponement, Susaki tried to stay focused on the task at hand, even though it was difficult as the Tokyo region went through two states of emergency and there were limited opportunities for match experience, as no Japanese wrestlers made trips abroad for competition.

"Over this past year, so many things happened, like there was a state of emergency declared and I had to go back home," Susaki said. "Would the Olympics be held or not? The situation was changing all the time. So it was a hectic year.

"But I could see my family and meet my friends, so as long as there was this 'support', I could stay strong through now. A lot happened, but because of those around me, I realized that they made me what I am today. As such, I want to repay them even in a small way by making it to the Olympics."

Without getting ahead of herself, Susaki is already looking forward to what awaits her after the tournament.

"When the Asian qualifying is over, I want to come back to Japan and eat all kinds of goodies, like sushi, pizza, cake. After I secure the Olympic spot, I think that everything will taste great."

U23 Asian and world champion Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Paths to Olympic spots varies

Of the Asian nations, host Kazakhstan and Japan secured the most Olympic berths at the world championships with eight each. Iran has sewn up six places, followed by China (5), India (4), Uzbekistan (3) and Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and the People's Republic of Korea (2).

For some hopefuls in Almaty, the path to the Olympics will be somewhat easier. There is one weight class in each style in which Asian nations have already secured four spots---freestyle 65kg, Greco 60kg and women 53kg.

Conversely, the Greco 67kg and 97kg divisions had no qualifiers, meaning all nations will be vying for the coveted spots, while there was only one qualifier each at freestyle 97kg and Greco 130kg.

Greco 67kg will feature veteran RYU Hansoo, the 2013 world champion at 66kg who has won a combined five titles at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, most recently in 2020 in New Delhi. Now 33, he is looking for one more trip to the Olympics, having finished fifth at Rio 2016.

Also entered in that weight class is Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI), the 2019 world U-23 and Asian champion at 72kg, and Meirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ), who finished second to Ryu at the 2019 Asian Championships, as well as 2020 Asian bronze medalist Ashu ASHU (IND) and 2019 world 72kg silver medalist Aram VARDANYAN (UZB).

Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist, has the added incentive of attempting to qualify for an Olympics on home soil.

Along with Rio 2016 silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN), who is aiming to qualify at freestyle 57kg, another Japanese wrestler in the spotlight is Sosuke TAKATANI (JPN), the 2014 world silver medalist at freestyle 74kg who will try to make it to a third Olympics, this time at 86kg.

Like Susaki, his goal is to not only to qualify, but to win the tournament. His reasoning is that he took second the two previous times, but failed to medal at the Olympics. "It is bad luck," he said. "Now I'm going to be in 1st place and go to the Olympics."

Among those standing in his way are Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), a 2018 Asian bronze medalist who was fifth last year, and Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL), an Asian bronze medalist in 2019.

Also worth watching will be American-born Domenic ABOU NADER (LBN), a silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games. The former All-American at Michigan University will aim to become the first wrestler from Lebanon to qualify for the Olympics since 1980 and seventh in history.

In women's wrestling, it will be interesting to see how up-and-coming Sonam MALIK (IND) fares at 62kg. The 2019 world cadet champion at 65kg knocked off Rio 2016 silver medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND) 8-7 at the Indian national trials in Lucknow.

"Sakshi Malik is our role model, she won the medal at the Olympics," Sonam told Indian media. "My coach said, 'You have nothing to lose' and give your best in the match. It was in my mind that I want to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics."

In Almaty, she can expect tough competition from Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ), the silver medalist at last year's Asian Championships, and Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist along with Sakshi.

Iran Fills Remaining Freestyle Spots in Tokyo as Uzbekistan Grabs 4

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Susaki Aims to Gain Olympic Spot with Golden Performance