Asian Schoolboy

Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan Shine at First Asian Schoolboys C'ships

Saturday, August 4, 2018 - 20:26 By Ali Feizasa

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KARAJ, Iran (Aug. 4) -- Iran, Japan and Kazakhstan shined at the first Asian Schoolboys Championships, which took place in Karaj, Iran.

Talented Asian wrestlers -- ages 13-15 -- had the chance to compete in a continental event. It was the first international experience for most of the wrestlers.

The competitions were full of emotion and technique … and also laughs and tears.

United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC sent a message to the Asian schoolboy wrestlers who competed in Iran.

"Each wrestler has earned the opportunity and you see their talent and determination on the mats. These schoolboy wrestlers are the future stars of our sport and we are extremely proud of them and their spotlight will shine all the way through until they are wrestling at the very highest level." Lalovic said.

In freestyle, the host country Iran and Japan boys won nine of the 10 gold medals.

Ebrahim KHARI (38kg), Mohammadreza SHAKERI (41kg), Seyed Amirmehdi HOSSEINI (68kg), Seyed Reza HASHEMI JOUYBARI (75kg) and Mohammad Mobin AZIMI (85kg) were five gold medalists for Iran. 

Nishiuchi YUTO (44kg), Onishi TAIGA (48kg), Takahashi KOTA (57kg) and Ogino KAIJI (62kg) captured gold medals for Japan. AMAN from India grabbed 52kg gold medal.

"I had tough rival from Iran and I beat him in the first round," said Kota. "The competition was high level and we had a good team in this event. I have aimed to train hard and get prepared for bigger competitions. My goal is to win an Olympic gold medal." 

In Greco-Roman, gold medals were shared between Iran and Kazakhstan.

Milad VALIZADEH (38kg), Mohammad HAJIVAND FATHI (41kg) Ali HAJIVAND (44kg), Saeed ESMAEILI (52kg), Hojjat REZAYI (62kg), Ahmad SOLHDUST (75kg) and Abolfazl PAYDAR (85kg) were seven Iranian champions. 

Alikhan DALABAY (48kg), Aziz GASSYMOV (57kg) and Malik ZHALELOV (68kg) were three Kazakh wrestlers who captured gold medals.

"For developing wrestling in Asia and finding talented wrestlers, Iran federation proposed to host the first Asian Schoolboys Championships and by cooperation of UWW, we hosted boys competitions," said Iran wrestling president Rasoul KHADEM. "The girls event will be in Japan.

"Ten countries participated in the first edition of the Asian Schoolboys Championships and we saw fantastic competitions. Iran federation with the collaboration of United World Wrestling has aimed to provide the opportunity of getting experienced for talented wrestlers and we hope to see today's boys at the next Olympic Games." 

During the event, Iranian women have the chance to enter wrestling hall, watching and cheering for their children. Meanwhile, for the first time some Iranian women referees judged an international wrestling event inside Iran.

2018 Asian Schoolboys Championships results

Freestyle 

Team standings

1. Iran 205 
2. Japan 180 
3. India 169 
4. Kazakhstan 151 
5. Kyrgyzstan 100 
6. Iraq 86 
7. Turkmenistan 28 
8. Bangladesh 25 
9. Pakistan 18 
10. Singapore 6 

38kg
GOLD: Ebrahim KHARI (IRI) df. Daryn ASKERBEK (KAZ), 6-2
BRONZE: Anil YASHWANT (IND) df. Erbol MURTALIEV (KGZ) bt TF, 14-4

41kg
GOLD: Mohammadreza SHAKERI (IRI) df. Kosei TAKANO (JPN), 6-0
BRONZE: Yelaman AMANGELDY (KAZ) df. Bharti SAAR (IND), 3-3

44kg
GOLD: Nishiuchi YUTO (JPN) df. Erfan ANSARI (IRI), 4-1
BRONZE: CHIRA (IND) df. Amerkhan YANDIYEV (KAZ), 4-0

48kg
GOLD: Onishi TAIGA (JPN) df. Abdinur NURLANBEK (KAZ), 6-0
BRONZE: Amirhesam MOHEBBI (IRI) df. BHUVANESH (IND), 6-4

52kg
GOLD: AMAN (IND) df. Emil AMIRKHANOV (KAZ) by TF, 11-0
BRONZE: Ali KABUDTABAR (IRI) df. Emon MIAH (BAN) by TF 10-0
BRONZE: Ruslan UULU ALISHER (KGZ) df. Seifaldin FARES SALMAN (IRQ), 2-0

57kg
GOLD: Takahashi KOTA (JPN) df. Mahesh KUMAR (IND) by TF, 10-0
BRONZE: Ali SALIMI (IRI) df. Plzhas CHAKEYEV (KAZ), 12-7
BRONZE: MAHABUB ALAM (BAN) df. Inam KHALID (PAK), 5-3

62kg
GOLD: Ogino KAIJI (JPN) df. PARVINDER (IND), 3-1 
BRONZE: Shayan MIRBEYK (IRI) df. Muhommetmayrat ORAZOV (TKM), 15-7
BRONZE: Iliyas YERBOLATOV df. Bakytbek UULU MALIK (KGZ) by TF, 10-0

68kg
GOLD: Seyed Amirmehdi HOSSEINI (IRI) df. KARAN (IND) 8-2
BRONZE: Adil ZHAKSYBAYEV (KAZ) df. Hayashi KENSHIN (JPN), 10-4

75kg
GOLD: Seyed Reza HASHEMI JOUYBARI (IRI) df. Igarashi FUMIYA (JPN), 6-2
BRONZE: Vetal AUDUMBAR SHELKE (IND) df. Omar MEDOV (KAZ), 6-2

85kg
GOLD: Mohammad Mobin AZIMI (IRI) df. Kyo KITAWAKI (JPN), 3-0
BRONZE: Vikas KUMAR (IND) df. Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ), 2-2

Greco-Roman

Team Standings

1. Iran 220 
2. Kazakhstan 194 
3. India 154 
4. Kyrgyzstan 130 
5. Iraq 111 
6. Turkmenistan 28 

38kg
GOLD: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
SILVER: Khamid NABIYEV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Malik YESHVEER (IND)

41kg
GOLD: Mohammad HAJIVAND FATHI (IRI)
SILCER: Kurmanbek ZHAPAROV (KGZ)
BRONZE: Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)

44kg
GOLD: Ali HAJIVAND (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ by TF, 9-0
BRONZE: Mehdi KALAF EISA (IRQ) df. Vikash VISHNOI (IND) by TF, 17-5

48kg
GOLD: Alikhan DALABAY (KAZ)
SILVER: RUPIN (IND)    
BRONZE: Mehrdad MAZHARI (IRI)

52kg
GOLD: Saeed ESMAEILI (IRI)
SILVER: Merey MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
BRONZE: Loyangamba SINGH KHUNDONGBAM (IND)

57kg
GOLD: Aziz GASSYMOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Omkar Eknath PATEL (IND)
BRONZE: Danial SOHRABI (IRI)

62kg
GOLD: Hojjat REZAYI (IRI)
SILVER: Madi DANELOV (KAZ)
BRONZE: RAVI (IND)

68kg
GOLD: Malik ZHALELOV (KAZ)
SILVER: Omurzak SADYKOV (KGZ)
BRONZE: Alireza ZAHIR SHAHABADI (IRI)

75kg
GOLD: Ahmad SOLHDUST (IRI) df. Akhmed OMAROV (KGZ) 11-6
BRONZE: Deepak CHAHAL (IND) df. Ali Heitham ABDULSAHEB (IRQ), 9-2

85kg
GOLD: Abolfazl PAYDAR (IRI) df. Arshdeep SINGH (IND) by TF, 9-0
BRONZE: Abay SERIKKAZYULY (KAZ) df. Dastan IMANBERDIEV (KGZ), 8-2

#JapanWrestling

Japan star Kawai announces birth of first child

Saturday, May 14, 2022 - 15:04 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (May 12)---Japanese star Risako KAWAI (JPN), who has not competed since winning a second straight Olympic title last summer in Tokyo, made a surprising announcement on Instagram that she had recently given birth to her first child.

The 27-year-old Kawai, a three-time world champion who won the Tokyo Olympic gold at 57kg, wrote that she had given birth to a girl on May 10. The baby's name and other details were not included.

Kawai expressed her gratitude to the doctors and medical staff who took her from pregnancy to childbirth and the many people who provided support, adding, "From now, everything I face will be an unknown to me, but I want to grow as a person along with my family."

Kawai's victory in Tokyo came a day after younger sister Yukako won the 62kg title, and the golden sister combination exponentially enhanced their national notoriety. The two became regular guests on talk shows and variety shows, milking the opportunity for all it was worth.

But neither has returned to competition since, and for Risako, the reason has become clear.

Just under a month after her Olympic triumph, Kawai announced on Aug. 27 that she had married Kiryu KINJO (JPN), a former wrestler with the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The two had been going together for five years, and she credited him with motivating her and helping her capture a second Olympic title.

The two are living in Fukui Prefecture, where Kinjo is now a teacher and wrestling coach at his alma mater of Tsuruga Kehi High School. They made no announcement of the pregnancy, and Kawai reportedly returned to her home in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture to give birth, which is common in Japan.

Kawai, who won the 63kg gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had a tough road to winning again in Tokyo. By moving down to 57kg, it put her on a collision course with four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN).

The two went head-to-head four times during the qualifying process that drew world attention, with Kawai winning three times and eventually earning a place on Japan's team to the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, where she won her third straight world gold and clinched a berth at the Tokyo Olympics.

At a ceremony at the All-Japan Championships last December to honor Japan's Olympic medalists, Kawai expressed her intention to attempt to win a third Olympic title at the 2024 Paris Games.

"I will be 30 years old the year of the Paris [Olympics]," Kawai said at the time. "I'll probably have to put up with more injuries, so I will keep that in mind. I'm going to practice so I can be ready to come back any time. I want to set my goals while keeping tabs on my physical condition."

As expected, the recent birth has kept Kawai out of the upcoming All-Japan Invitational Championships in June, which in turn rules her out of this year's World Championships in Belgrade. Kawai's name was not on the list of entries released Friday by the Japan Wrestling Federation for the tournament, which is the second domestic qualifier for the worlds. 

Sankei Sports, citing an unnamed source, reported that Kawai will aim for the All-Japan Championships in December, which will be the first step in the qualifying process for the Paris Olympics. That tournament will serve as the first qualifier for 2023 World Championships, where the first berths for Paris 2024 will be awarded.

The sports daily said that Kawai's mother Hatsue--a two-time national champion during her wrestling days--will help in taking care of the baby, freeing up time for Risako to train.

Unlike in the past, motherhood is no longer a barrier keeping a woman from continuing their career in sports. Among top wrestlers, four-time Olympic medalist Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has a boy and girl, and Tokyo bronze medalist Vanessa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) has a son. Adeline GRAY (USA), who won a sixth world title last year in Oslo, is expecting twins.