Meiji Cup

Irie, Icho Aim to Clear Big Hurdles, Move Closer to Tokyo 2020 with Victories at Meiji Cup

Monday, June 10, 2019 - 20:47 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO---After winning the women's 50kg gold medal at the Asian Championships in Xi'an, China, in April, Yuki IRIE's first reaction was that she wanted to get back to Japan and into the wrestling room as soon as possible.

The continental championship could be considered just a snack on the way to a main banquet---in this case, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics---and the next stage in the process for getting a seat at that event was fast approaching.  And when it means possible rematches with two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI or Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist Eri TOSAKA, there's not a moment to spare.

A number of world and Olympic champions and medalists could potentially collide again as Japan's top wrestlers---funneled into the Olympic weight classes---clash at the four-day All-Japan Invitational Championships, referred to as the Meiji Cup, starting Thursday at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

The tournament, combined with the All-Japan Championships (Emperor's Cup) held in December, serves as a qualifier for the World Championships in Kazakhstan in September. A victory in both gives the wrestler an automatic berth on the team to Nur-Sultan; if the victors are different, they will meet it a playoff on July 6.

Making the team to the World Championships has even larger ramifications this year, as the Japan Wrestling Federation has decreed that any wrestler winning a medal there will automatically fill a spot on the Tokyo 2020 team. While that will be a tall task for the men, there is certainly a strong possibility of Japan medaling in all six women's Olympic divisions in the Kazakh capital, so getting there is of the utmost urgency.

Thus, Irie's comments after defeating SUN Yanan (CHN) in the Asian final were echoed by many others: "I uncovered many issues, so I want to get home right away and start practicing. If I don't win at the Meiji Cup, it doesn't mean anything...To aim for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning this tournament was essential. I was glad to clear that. To me, June is the real deal."

Two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI will be making her return to action after skipping the Emperor's Cup due to a dislocated elbow. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Irie will renew her rivalry at 50kg with Susaki, who was forced to skip the Emperor's Cup due to a dislocated elbow. Irie is the only wrestler in the world who has defeated Susaki multiple times, with her most recent win coming at last year's Emperor's Cup.

Not to be counted out are Tosaka, who lost in the semifinals to Irie at the Emperor's Cup, and 2017 world cadet champion Remina YOSHIMOTO, who gave Susaki a tough fight in losing 2-1 in the final of the Junior Queen's Cup in April.

Four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Rio Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) are both entered at 57kg. The pair split their two matches at the Emperor's Cup. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Icho, Kawai to likely go at it again
At the Emperor's Cup, fans were treated to not just one clash between Rio 2016 champions Kaori ICHO and Risako KAWAI, but two.

Icho defeated her younger rival in a thriller for the 57kg title, scoring a takedown in the last 10 seconds for a 3-2 victory. That came after Kawai stunned the four-time Olympic gold medalist 2-1 in a preliminary group match, handing Icho her first loss to a Japanese opponent since 2001.

Kawai, the 2018 world champion at 59kg, moved down to 57kg, rather than up to 62kg, where she would have to displace her younger sister Yukako. But it meant risking her shot at the Olympics by putting her on a collision course with Icho, who returned to competition in late 2018 for the first time since winning the gold in Rio.

Icho, who will turn 35 on Thursday, got a dose of reality in Xi'an, where she lost in the semifinals to JONG Myung-Suk (PRK) and had to settle for a bronze medal. But that defeat might have been the wakeup call that she needed, as it showed that she could not take any opponent for granted.

According to a Japanese press report, Icho has been below par physically since returning from Xi'an and only participated one day in a recent national team training camp. Kawai, determined to exact revenge, attended the entire camp. Still, one Japan federation official said, "I think [Icho] will definitely be ready."

World champion Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Haruna OKUNO (JPN) could meet at 53kg. If they do, Mukaida holds the upper hand in head-to-head meetings, having won all eight previous bouts between the two. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The other big showdown on tap could come at 53kg between Shigakkan University teammates Haruna OKUNO, the world champion at that weight, and Mayu MUKAIDA, the gold medalist at 55kg who has dropped to the Olympic weight.

An anticipated meeting at the Emperor's Cup never came about after Okuno withdrew due to a stomach virus. Mukaida holds the upper hand in head-to-head meetings, having won all eight previous bouts between the two, most recently in 2017.

Like Icho, Mukaida fell short of a gold medal at the Asian Championships, where she gave up a last-second takedown and fell 4-3 in the final to PAK Yongmi (PRK). While that may have exposed a weakness, it also will serve to make her more determined to avoid making the same mistakes.

Olympic champion Sara DOSHO (JPN) has won gold medals at both the Emperor's Cup and Asian Championships since returning from shoulder surgery. (Photo Sachiko Hotaka) 

Japan's other reigning Olympic champion, Sara DOSHO, will look to fight off a challenge from fellow Rio Olympian Rio WATARI at 68kg. Dosho was unable to defend her world title last year after undergoing shoulder surgery, but showed she was on the right track in her return by winning titles at both the Emperor's Cup and Asian Championships.

World bronze medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA's stranglehold on the 76kg division will be put to the test by high school phenom Yuka KAGAMI, a two-time world cadet champion. Having captured the Emperor's Cup and Asian titles at 72kg, the 17-year-old Kagami decided to take a shot at making the Tokyo Olympics by challenging the veteran Minagawa.

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) will make his return to competition since becoming Japan's youngest-ever male world champion when he won the gold in Budapest 2018. Otoguro has been sidelined with a bursitis in his right knee.   (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

Injury concerns shadow Otoguro

In freestyle, world champion Takuto OTOGURO will need to show he has recovered from recent knee problems to win his second straight Meiji Cup title at 65kg and earn his ticket to Nur-Sultan.

Otoguro, who became Japan's youngest-ever male world champion when he won the gold in Budapest 2018 at 19 years 10 months, came down with bursitis in his right knee earlier this year, which caused him to withdraw from both the World Cup and Asian Championships.

He returned to the mat to wrestle one match for Yamanashi Gakuin University at the East Japan collegiate team tournament in May, which he won. But he will have to be sharp to beat Asian Games silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI, world U-23 champion and Rio 2016 57kg silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI, and a number of others who help make this one of Japan's deepest weight classes.

Sosuke TAKATANI, Daichi's older brother, seems to have settled in at the Olympic weight of 86kg after a two-year progression from 74kg, in which he won a world silver in 2014.

The 30-year-old Takatani won his eighth straight national title and first at 86kg at the Emperor's Cup, then showed he could be a factor on the international stage in the heavier division when he defeated world silver medalist Fatih ERDIN (TUR) at the World Cup.

Shota SHIRAI, who lost in the Emperor's Cup final to Takatani, spent January training in Russia and will be looking for revenge, along with the two bronze medalists, Masao MATSUSAKA, who fell to Takatani 2-1 in the semifinals, and teenager Hayato ISHIGURO, the world junior champion at 79kg.

World bronze medalist Atsushi MATSUMOTO (JPN), who normally competes at 92kg, will be bumping up to the Olympic weight of 97kg. (Photo: Unknown)

One high-profile man who has switched to an Olympic weight class for this tournament is Atsushi MATSUMOTO, the world bronze medalist and Emperor's Cup winner at 92kg who has moved up to 97kg.

Matsumoto, who finished third at 92kg in Xi'an, had previously demonstrated just how strong his desire is to make an Olympics---in 2017-18, he switched to Greco-Roman after failing to qualify for Rio 2016. (He later switched back to freestyle after a rule change worked against him.)

Looking to stop Matsumoto's bid at 97kg are Emperor's Cup champion Naoya AKAGUMA and runner-up Takeshi YAMAGUCHI, who reportedly paid his own way to the Mongolian Open in April, where he won the silver medal.

At 74kg, Yuhi FUJINAMI, a 2017 world bronze medalist at 70kg, suffered a knee injury during a first-round victory at the Asian Championships, then opted to pull out rather than jeopardize his chances of being ready for the Meiji Cup.    

Fujinami's readiness will be tested by Emperor's Cup runner-up Ken HOSAKA and third-place finisher Yuto MIWA, who had a key win in Japan's victory over Cuba at the World Cup. Adding depth to the field are Keisuke OTOGURO (Takuto's older brother), who has moved up from 70kg along with teenager Jintaro MOTOYAMA, last year's Meiji Cup champ at that weight.

World champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) will likely meet his former teammate and Rio 2016 silver medalist Shinobu OTA in the 60kg division. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

In Greco-Roman, the 60kg division will likely see the latest battle between 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA and Rio 2016 silver medalist Shinobu OTA, former teammates at Nippon Sports Science University.

Fumita returned from injury to defeat Ota 7-2 in the final at the Emperor's Cup. That gave Fumita, at 23 two years younger than Ota, a 5-4 advantage in their head-to-head meetings dating back to 2014.

While Fumita went on to win a bronze medal at Xi'an, Ota did not sit around idly waiting for the Meiji Cup. He traveled to Europe, where he won the gold at the Hungary Grand Prix and silver at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament in Bulgaria, both at 63kg.

En route to the final, either of the two might have to get past world junior bronze medalist Kazuki YABE, who lost to Fumita by technical fall in December.

Meiji Cup

Ozaki awaits as Kawai among Olympic medalists set to return for Meiji Cup

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 - 00:00 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (June 14) -- While the cats who hauled in the medals for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics were away, the mice were not only playing, but showing they could be world-beaters as well.

Most of Japan's Olympic medalists, including three of the five who won golds, will be returning to action for the first time since the Tokyo Games at this week's Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, and most will be facing stiff challenges from wrestlers who filled the global gaps in their absences.

The sparks will particularly be flying in the women's competition, in which one weight class could see a showdown between the Olympic and world champions (Yui SUSAKI and Remina YOSHIMOTO at 50kg) and other between the Olympic champion and a world medalist (Yukako KAWAI and Nonoka OZAKI at 62kg).

One potential clash of the titans was put on hold when the Tokyo gold medalist moved up a weight class. Teenaged world champion Akari FUJINAMI will put her 97-match winning streak on the line in a quest to defend her 53kg title, but she won't have to contend with Mayu SHIDOCHI (formerly MUKAIDA).

Shidochi, the Olympic champion and 2021 newlywed, is entered at 55kg, the weight class in which she won world titles in 2016 and 2018. Among her competition, there will be newly crowned Asian champion Umi IMAI.

Fujinami, now a freshman at Nippon Sports Science University, will likely have her toughest competition in two-time former world champion Haruna OKUNO and 2019 world 55kg silver medalist Nanami IRIE, both of whom she has already beaten twice.

The Meiji Cup, to be held June 16-19 at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym, is the second of Japan's two qualifying tournaments for this year's World Championships in Belgrade. Winners at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held last December who triumph at the Meiji Cup automatically earn tickets to Serbia; if the champion is different, a playoff will be held at the end of that day's action.

None of Japan's Olympic medalists -- and only one of the 12 Olympic team members --competed at the Emperor's Cup, meaning the majority will have to win the Meiji Cup title and the subsequent playoff to go to the World Championships.

The tournament will mark the first time in three years that family members, teammates and spectators will be allowed, as the Japan federation had maintained strict protocols throughout the pandemic. The number of daily infections has been steadily decreasing, and the Japanese government has this month reopened the door to foreign tourists.

The two Tokyo gold medalists who the fans will have to wait to see again are women's 57kg champion Risako KAWAI and freestyle 65kg titlist Takuto OTOGURO, neither of whom are entered.

Kawai, who like Mukaida got married soon after her Tokyo triumph, gave birth to her first child in May, and is eyeing a return at this year's Emperor's Cup in December. An inquiry to Otoguro's Japan Self-Defense Forces team for a reason for his absence went unanswered.


Yukako KAWAI (JPN) is set to return to action for the first time since the Tokyo Olympic Games. (Photo: UWW / Gabor Martin)

The fans, however, will be treated to the return of the other half of the golden Kawai sisters, and Yukako could feature in the match of the tournament if she and 19-year-old defending champion Ozaki clash as expected at 62kg. The two have never faced each other.

Ryo KANEHAMA, Kawai's coach at Suntory Beverage, said that Kawai restarted full-time training about a month after the Olympics and is well prepared for the Meiji Cup. "She has returned to top shape," he said. "About the same level as for the Olympics."

Asked what will be the key point in facing Ozaki, Kanehama replied, "Not allowing her to get her ankles [for a lace lock]. If she gets the ankles, that will lead to big points, so first of all she has to prevent her from using that technique."

On their feet, Kanehama says it's a toss-up between the two. "Until they face each other, we won't know. Ozaki has a really good low single, so the main point will be how well Kawai can keep her from grabbing her leg."

Ozaki, who won consecutive world U17 titles in 2018 and 2019, is coming off a confidence-boosting victory at the Asian Championships in April in Ulaanbaatar, where she beat Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) in the final to avenge a first-round loss to her at 2021 World Championships.

Last year in Oslo, Ozaki jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Tynybekova, only to see the Kyrgyz star storm back for a 6-4 victory. Ozaki battled back through the repechage to take the bronze in her international senior debut, while Tynybekova won the gold.

Assessing Ozaki's matches with Tynybekova, who has been a longtime nemesis of Kawai, Kanehama observed, "At the World Championships, as I think Ozaki also believes, she made a mistake in strategy. At the recent Asian Championships, I think she reflected on that and used it in her wrestling. She wrestled smart, and I think that shows her progress."

The possible match between Kawai and Ozaki is generating wide interest, and Kanehama is no exception. Asked if he's looking forward to it, he replied, "Sure, they have to eventually face each other somewhere. Heading to the Olympics, it will have to be decided sometime. That day is going to come."


Yui SUSAKI (JPN) will lace her boots up for the first time since outscoring her opponents 41-0 en route to the 50kg Olympic gold medal. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

The other titanic clash could come at 50kg between Susaki and Yoshimoto, although Susaki has to be regarded as the favorite in that one. Susaki, a recent graduate of Waseda University who can now train full-time under corporate sponsorship, defeated Yoshimoto in their two previous encounters, most recently a close 2-1 win at the 2019 Junior Queens Cup.

But Yoshimoto, a senior at Shigakkan University, has made great strides in recent years, as seen in her performance at last year's World Championships, where she reeled off four straight wins by fall or technical fall before beating Olympic bronze medalist Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA) 5-3 in the final. She was even more dominant at the Asian Championships.

How sharp Susaki will be after her long layoff could determine the outcome.

Meanwhile, Tsugumi SAKURAI has since moved up to 57kg from 55kg, the weight class in which she won the gold in Oslo, as she aims to eventually thwart Risako Kawai's attempt to win a third straight Olympic gold. Sakurai won the Emperor's Cup in December, defeating world bronze medalist Sae NANJO in the final, and a rematch looks likely.

World champion Masako FURUICHI has returned to 72kg after an unsuccessful outing at 68kg at the Emperor's Cup. She could face a showdown with Emperor's Cup champion Sumire NIIKURA, who won a silver medal at the Asian Championships in her first-ever international competition.

Japan's top cat in Greco-Roman, Olympic silver medalist Kenichiro FUMITA, returns as he looks to earn a shot at a third career world title at 60kg. Nicknamed by the Japanese press as the "Cat Wrestler" for his backbone flexibility and love for felines, he will be gunning for his fourth career Meiji Cup title and first since 2019.

Waiting in the wings will be Ayata SUZUKI, who won his second straight Asian bronze medal in April. The two train together at their alma mater Nippon Sports Science University and met in the final of the 2020 Emperor's Cup, with Fumita coming away with a 2-1 victory.

Suzuki won last year's Emperor's Cup, meaning that Fumita will have to beat him in a playoff to earn a ticket to Belgrade. "This time with the Olympics over, Fumita might not be at his sharpest," Suzuki told the Japan federation website. "So I think I have a chance."

At 77kg, Shohei YABIKU will have to perform under the new-found pressure that comes with being an Olympic bronze medalist. As Emperor's Cup champion Kodai SAKURABA is skipping the tournament due to injury, Yabiku can secure a place on the world team outright with a victory.

His main competition will likely come from Nippon Sports Science University's Nao KUSAKA, the Emperor's Cup runner-up and a double collegiate champion.

At 55kg, world champion Ken MATSUI would like nothing better than to have a chance to avenge his humiliating defeat in the Emperor's Cup final to Yu SHIOTANI, who won a second straight Asian gold in Ulaanbaatar.

Shiotani tossed Matsui around like a rag doll, scoring consecutive five-point throws in an 11-0 technical fall in 1:42.

World 63kg bronze medalist Kensuke SHIMIZU, the nephew of a former Olympic speed skating gold medalist, has moved up to 67kg after failing to medal at the Asian Championships. He could clash with Emperor’s Cup champion Katsuaki ENDO, who won a bronze medal at 67kg in Ulaanbaatar.

In freestyle, the weight class to watch will be 61kg, which looks to come down to a rematch of the Emperor's Cup final between 2020 Asian bronze medalist Ryuto SAKAKI and Rio Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI. Sakaki won that encounter 4-0, but much has changed since then.

Higuchi has rebounded well from his calamitous bid to make the Tokyo Games that was scuttled when he failed to make weight at 57kg for the Asian qualifying tournament. When an injury kept Sakaki out of the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Higuchi stepped in and came away with the 61kg gold, capped by a 46-second win in the final. It was his first major international title since winning the 2018 world U23 gold at 65kg.

Sakaki, the 2017 world 58kg U17 champion, skipped the East Japan college league tournament in April due to injury, so it remains to be seen how effective he will be against the high-flying Higuchi.

Japan's other freestyle Asian champion, the somewhat eccentric Taishi NARIKUNI, will look to make his first senior World Championships by adding the Meiji Cup title at 70kg to his inaugural Emperor's Cup triumph from last December.

Narikuni, whose mother was a two-time world champion and runs the kids club where he started the sport, has been an outlier of sorts in Japan, as he prefers to focus his training mostly in the weight room instead of on the mat. He harbors a bold dream of someday winning world titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Narikuni won the Asian title when he came back from a 1-3 deficit in the final to defeat world silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) 4-3.

Also worth watching is veteran Sohsuke TAKATANI, who is making his first Meiji Cup outing since 2019. The three-time Olympian was the only member of the Tokyo 2021 squad to compete at the Emperor's Cup, where he moved up from 86kg and won the 92kg crown -- his 11th straight title over four weight classes.

He has entered again at 92kg and will be aiming for his fourth straight Meiji Cup title and sixth in seven years. Takatani was a 2014 world silver medalist at 74kg.

Takatani will be looking to repeat a sibling double with younger brother Daichi, the Emperor's Cup champion at 74kg who won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships.

Among the entries at 86kg is Mao OKUI, who has made a big jump up in weight classes after placing fifth at the 2019 World Championships at 74kg. That earned a place for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics, but Okui failed to fill it himself when he lost to Keisuke OTOGURO, Takuto's older brother, in a playoff for the spot.

At 57kg, Toshihiro HASEGAWA, a 2021 world bronze medalist at 61kg, will be looking to follow up his victory at the Emperor's Cup and return to the World Championships at the Olympic weight. Aiming to stop him will be Yuto TAKESHITA and Rikuto ARAI, Asian bronze medalists in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

This year's Meiji Cup will also be unique in that the federation has taken the rare move of charging a nominal admission fee for general fans. This is likely due to the combination of the Olympic medalists returning to the mat and the fact that this will be the first event fans can see live in such a long time.

A Japan federation official said the last time he can recall tickets being sold for a wrestling tournament was in 2007, when Norifumi "Kid" YAMAMOTO, who had become a popular mixed martial arts competitor, returned to freestyle wrestling at the All-Japan Championships in a bid to make the Beijing Olympics.

The tournament ended for the older brother of multi-world champions Miyu and Seiko YAMAMOTO when he suffered a dislocated elbow 16 seconds into his second-round match at 60kg and lost by fall.

Schedule

June 16 (Thursday)

FS 65kg-79kg; GR 63kg-97kg-130kg; WW 59kg-68kg-76kg

10:00 - 12:30  1st round through quarterfinals
13:00 - 14:00  Semifinals
14:00 - 15:45  Repechage
15:45 - 16:15  3rd-Place Finals
16:15 - 17:35   Finals

June 17 (Friday)

FS 61kg-74kg-125kg; GR 67kg-72kg-87kg; WW 57kg-65kg

10:00 - 12:30  1st round through quarterfinals
12:30 - 13:30  Semifinals
13:30 - 15:15  Repechage
15:15 - 15:45  3rd-Place Finals
15:45 - 17:05   Finals

June 18 (Saturday)

FS 70kg-86kg-92kg-97kg; GR 55kg-82kg; WW 53kg-72kg

10:00 - 12:30  1st round through quarterfinals
12:30 - 13:30  Semifinals
13:30 - 15:15  Repechage
15:15 - 15:45  3rd-Place Finals
15:45 - 17:05   Finals

June 19 (Sunday)

FS 57kg; GR 60kg-77kg; WW 50kg-55kg-62kg

10:00 - 12:30  1st round through quarterfinals
12:30 - 13:15  Semifinals
13:15 - 14:45  Repechage
14:45 - 15:05  3rd-Place Finals
15:05 - 15:30  Ceremony for return of Meiji Cup, etc.
15:30 - 16:50   Finals

*Playoff for World Championships team in weight classes between winners of Emperor's Cup and Meiji Cup will be held approximately one hour after the completion of that day's competition.