#JapanWrestling

Ishii wins showdown with Morikawa for 68kg gold; Kinjo claims 59kg crown

By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 23) -- Already a world silver medalist, Ami ISHII picked up her first national title at women's 68kg with a dramatic victory over world 65kg champion Miwa MORIKAWA, while two-time Olympic champion Risako KINJO was content with a title in a non-Olympic weight as she transitions back to the mat from childbirth.

Ishii denied Morikawa in her bid to move up to the Olympic weight class, scoring all of her points in the second period for a 5-2 victory in the final at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Friday in Tokyo.

Kinjo, who plans to make a run for her third Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games at 57kg, forged out a 4-1 victory over former world U23 champion Yui SAKANO in the 59kg final in the tournament that is serving as the first domestic qualifier for next year's World Championships in Belgrade.

Meanwhile, Rei HIGUCHI and Sae NANJO both avenged losses to old nemeses in reaching the final of their respective weight classes, while Tokyo Olympic champion Yui SUSAKI, well, just did what Yui Susaki always does.

Ami ISHII (JPN)Ami ISHII, right, and Miwa MORIKAWA square off in the women's 68kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

The Ishii-Morikawa clash came about due to the fact that the tournament has implications on qualifying for the Paris Olympics. Combined with the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in June, it helps determine the team to Belgrade, where a medal by a Japanese wrestler in an Olympic weight will mean an automatic place in Paris.

To better prepare the wrestlers for the worlds and Olympics, the format of the four-day tournament has been tweaked so that the Olympic weights are run over two days, while the non-Olympic classes are started and finished in one day.

Ishii moved a step closer to Paris by emerging victorious in a field that included four current or past world medalists and two former U20 world champions.

"When the buzzer sounded, I was really happy," said Ishii, who also picked up the world U20 gold this year. "But when I look at it calmly, this match was the first in the qualifying process, it didn't decide the Olympics. It's just a point along the way."

Morikawa, who missed out on the Tokyo Olympics when she lost a playoff for the 68kg spot to Sara DOSHO, took the lead in the final with a spin-behind takedown off an Ishii shot in the first period. In the second period, Ishii tied it with a single-leg takedown.

As Morikawa tried to press for a stepout, her strength was not enough against the rock-solid Ishii, who reversed the roles and forced Morikawa out. Ishii stuffed a last-ditch lateral drop attempt in the final seconds for her final points.

"The first two points I gave up, I started the attack and she scored off my mistake," Ishii said. "To tie the match, I went with my regular single. At 2-2, there was still a lot of time left, but I didn't want to just keep defending and I kept on the attack."

It was a major blow for Morikawa, who won the 68kg title in 2019 before winning consecutive crowns at 65kg in 2020 and 2021.

"At 65kg, I often press ahead to get stepout points," Morikawa said. "But she held me off and I couldn't get her out. I have to get [my strength] to the level of this weight class."

Risako KINJO (JPN)Risako KINJO clamps down on Yui SAKANO in the women's 59kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

For the 28-year-old Kinjo, who won her Olympic golds and three world titles under her maiden name of KAWAI, the road ahead goes the opposite direction, as she will be returning to 57kg for the Meiji Cup.

Kinjo got married soon after the Tokyo Olympics -- to a fellow wrestler, of course -- and gave birth to her first child, a girl, in May. She returned to competition in October at the second-tier All-Japan Women's Open, where she won the 59kg title.

While her mother and others help with the childcare, Kinjo finds she must budget her time, which means quality over quantity when it comes to practice. But it makes her more appreciative of being able to still compete in the sport she loves.

"On days that I practice, putting on the shoes and taking the mat for a hard workout is tough, but just that alone is pleasureable and I can feel that wrestling is still fun," she said.

In contrast to her credentials, Kinjo did not have an easy time on Friday. In her opening match in the quarterfinals against collegian Natsuki YAMAGUCHI, she received an activity point just before giving up a takedown, then held on for a 3-2 victory.

"I'm usually tight in the first match," Kinjo said. "Even if it's only one point, I have more experience than the others, so it may seem like a little, but I think it's big. After the first match, I make changes that I need to make."

The most surprising aspect of the victory was the fact that Kinjo was not aware it had been five years since she won her last Emperor's Cup title. Since then, she came out on the short end of a classic battle with the legendary Kaori ICHO in 2018, then skipped the tournament the next three years.

Ayano MORO (JPN)High schooler Ayano MORO gets emotional after winning the women's 76kg title in her first senior competition. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

Meanwhile, there was no outburst of joy like that of one of the youngest participants in the tournament, as world U20 champion Ayano MORO's victory in the women's 76kg final left the high schooler wailing in tears on the medal podium.

Moro, making her debut in a senior level tournament, scored a takedown with 20 seconds left to take a three-point lead, then held on for a 4-3 victory over Nodoka YAMAMOTO, who opened some eyes by winning both of her matches at the recent World Cup.

The 17-year-old Moro, a junior at Tokyo's Abe Gakuin High School, has not lost since November 2017, a span that includes a victory at the U20 World Championships in August this year in Sofia, Bulgaria, as she looks to fill the opening at the heaviest weight class once dominated by world medalists Kyoko HAMAGUCHI and Hiroe MINAGAWA.

In other action, Daichi TAKATANI combined with older brother Sohsuke for a sibling double for the second year in a row and third time overall when he defeated Kirin KINOSHITA 5-2 in the freestyle 74kg final.

Takatani scored with a front headlock roll late in the first period, then added a second-period takedown to defeat Kinoshita for his third career title. He still has a way to catch up to Sohsuke, who notched his 12th straight title on Thursday with a victory at 92kg.

Yuki TANAKA (JPN)Yuki TANAKA failed to get another shot at Yui SUSAKI after losing in the women's 50kg quarterfinals. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

Susaki cruises into final

Susaki, coming off her historic win at the world U23 two months ago, advanced to the women's 50kg final with an 11-0 technical fall over Nanami IRIE, the 2019 world silver medalist at 55kg.

The current world champion set up a clash for the gold with Remina YOSHIMOTO, the 2021 world champion in Susaki's absence and has lost all four previous encounters between the two, including the final of this year's Meiji Cup.

The 23-year-old Susaki moved into another stratosphere with her victory at the world U23 in Pontevedra, Spain, as it made her the first wrestler in history to complete the Grand Slam of Olympic gold and all four age-group titles. It also came a month after she captured her third senior world gold.

While Susaki disposed of one Irie sister in gaining a chance for her third career Emperor's Cup title and first since 2019, she was relieved of the burden of facing another one with whom she is much more familiar.

Yuki TANAKA, who remains the only wrestler on the planet to have beaten Susaki from her junior high school days, was ousted in her quarterfinal match by Hanano SAKURAI, the younger sister of 57kg world champion Tsugumi SAKURAI, who used a nifty barrel roll twice to score a 7-0 victory.

Tanaka, the oldest of the three Irie wrestling sisters, had stepped away from the sport when she failed to get to the Tokyo Olympics. Newly married, she only returned to competition in July this year.

"The level [of opponents] has gotten higher, and I haven't reached that yet," said Tanaka, who defeated Susaki three times in her career but eventually lost out to her for a place at the Tokyo Olympics. "I didn't wrestle for two years. Of course, I wanted to win the title, but I had a stronger feeling of just taking each and every match one at a time."

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)Rei HIGUCHI, left, avenges a loss to Yuki TAKAHASHI in the playoff for the Tokyo Olympics to make the freestyle 57kg final. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

Higuchi, who won the world gold at 61kg this year, made a successful start in his drop back down to 57kg, the weight class in which he won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

On Friday, Higuchi advanced to the final with an 11-0 technical fall over former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI, avenging a devastating loss to the Yamanshi Gakuin University coach in a playoff for a spot at the Tokyo Olympics.

Higuchi used an effective single-leg attack to score three takedowns, two of which he punctuated with gut wrenches with the last one ending the match at 3:43.

For Higuchi, the biggest problem at 57kg has been weight control, as he famously failed to make weight at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament to open the door back up for Takahashi to gain the ticket to the Tokyo Olympics.

Higuchi refused to speak to the press after his win, saying he needed to focus on doing what he needs to do to make weight on Saturday.

Sae NANJO (JPN)Sae NANJO celebrates after holding on to beat Tsugumi SAKURAI in the women's 57kg semifinals. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

Nanjo made it third-time-lucky in her encounters with Tsugumi Sakurai, making the women's 57kg final by finally protecting a lead after twice seeing the Ikuei University star score a last-second victory over the past year.

Nanjo jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first period with a takedown, penalty point and lace lock, then held on for a 5-4 win after Sakurai scored two takedowns in the second but couldn't manage to turn her over.

"In the first period, I allowed her to easily get to my legs and after that, to turn me on the ground, so it put me in a tough five-point deficit," Sakurai said.

"My style is to fight the full six minutes and put it on the line in the second period. But I had a tough match in the quarterfinals, so I started getting tired. My opponent stayed tough and I couldn't pull out the win."

In the final at last year's Emperor's Cup, Sakurai seized the title with a four-point takedown in the final seconds for a 5-2 victory over Nanjo. Then, at this year's Meiji Cup it was deja vu all over again as Sakurai scored a buzzer-beating takedown for a 5-3 win.

In going for her fifth career title and first since 2020, Nanjo will next face Sara NATAMI, who pulled off a late victory by fall over Umi IMAI in the other semifinal, a battle of reigning Asian champions.

Natami was trailing 2-1 in the last minute when she used a front headlock roll to put Imai on her back and secured the fall at 5:31. Natami won the 59kg title at this year's Asian Championships, while Imai took home the 55kg gold.

Shohei YABIKU (JPN)Olympic bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU, right, and Nao KUSAKA know each other well as training partners. (Photo: Japan Wrestling Federation/Takeo Yabuki)

Another big name to fall was Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Shohei YABIKU, who was ousted in the Greco 77kg quarterfinals by collegiate champion Nao KUSAKU, with whom he trains at his alma mater Nippon Sports Science University.

Kusaku, a world U23 bronze medalist this year, led on criteria with the second of two passivity points handed out, then held on when placed on the bottom in par terre in the second period for a 1-1 victory.

Yabiku has been battling recent knee and other injuries since placing second at the Wladyslaw Pytlasinski Cup in Poland in July and made an early exit at the World Championships in Belgrade.

"It can't be said I'm in the best condition, but as long as I'm taking the mat, I'm thinking of winning, so I don't want that to be an excuse," Yabiku said.

Yabiku had two chances on top in par terre, but he was unable to execute the spectacular throws that he rode to an eye-opening run to the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

"What I mostly rely on was stopped," Yabiku said. "We practice together every day, so he knows me very well. The big reason for the loss was my ground attack. I'm confident I can defend on the ground, but the offense has become a source of anxiety. Bad things come out in me."

Meanwhile, Taishi NARIKUNI's bold quest to become the first wrestler in 49 years to pull off a freestyle-Greco double at the All-Japan never got started, as the world freestyle 70kg champion withdrew due to a broken rib suffered in practice.

Narikuni, who was entered at both freestyle 70kg and Greco 67kg, suffered the injury about a month ago, but only had it diagnosed last week after he continued to feel pain, according to a Facebook post by Narikuni's mother, a former two-time world champion.

Another less-heralded wrestler who was attempting the same feat, collegian Akito MUKAIDA, also withdrew due to injury. Mukaida is the younger brother of Olympic champion Mayu SHIDOCHI.

Results

Freestyle

57kg (11 entries)
Semifinal - Rikuto ARAI df. Ryuto SAKAKI, 5-4
Semifinal - Rei HIGUCHI df. Yuki TAKAHASHI by TF, 10-0, 3:43

74kg (14 entries)
Gold - Daichi TAKATANI df. Kirin KINOSHITA, 5-2

Bronze - Kojiro SHIGA df. Jintaro MOTOYAMA by TF, 10-0, 1:28
Bronze -Kota TAKAHASHI df. Ryutaro TOGIYA by TF, 10-0, 1:53

86kg (14 entries)
Semifinal - Hayato ISHIGURO df. Taisei MATSUYUKI, 4-3
Semifinal - Yudai TAKAHASHI df. Fumiya IGARASHI, 5-1

97kg (10 entries)
Gold - Takashi ISHIGURO df. Hibiki ITO by TF, 13-1, 5:51

Bronze - Shohei YAMAZAKI df. Toyoki HAMADA, 3-1
Bronze - Hiroto NINOMIYA df. Keiwan YOSHIDA by Def.

125kg (10 entries)
Gold - Daiki YAMAMOTO df. Ryusei FUJITA by TF, 12-0, 1:31

Bronze - Nozomi OISHI df. Takuya HIGUCHI by Def.
Bronze - Yuji FUKUI df. Kai SHUTTO, 3-0

Greco-Roman

63kg (16 entries)
Gold - Machiezo MARUYAMA df. Ryuto IKEDA, 6-1

Bronze - Kenshin MATSUMOTO df. Ryotaro FUJINAMI by Def.
Bronze - Yamato HAGIWARA df. Komei SAWADA, 7-1

Semifinal - Ryuto IKEDA df. Ryotaro FUJINAMI by TF, 8-0, 1:51
Semifinal - Machiezo MARUYAMA df. Komei SAWADA, 5-3

67kg (13 entries)
Semifinal - Katsuaki ENDO df. Haruto YABE, 5-5
Semifinal - Kyotaro SOGABE df. Shigeki TSUTSUMI by TF, 9-0, 2:01

77kg (13 entries)
Semifinal - Nao KUSAKA df. Tatsuya FUJII, 5-1
Semifinal - Kodai SAKURABA df. Minto MAEDA, 8-6

87kg (10 entries)
Gold - Masato SUMI df. So SAKABE, 5-1

Bronze - Yuto MATSUZAKI df. Daisei ISOE by TF, 9-0, 1:55
Bronze - Yoji KAWAMURA df. Kaito MIYAMOTO by Def.

97kg (11 entries)
Gold - Yuta NARA df. Masayuki AMANO, 3-0

Bronze - Yuri NAKAZATO df. Kairi YOSHIMURA by TF, 10-0, 4:09
Bronze - Riku NAKAHARA df. Kyo KITAWAKI by TF, 8-0, 4:07

130kg (10 entries)
Gold - Sota OKUMURA df. Shion OBATA, 3-3

Bronze - Daigo NISHI df. Koei YAMADA, 1-1
Bronze - Ryuta KONO df. Naoto YAMAGUCHI, 3-1

Women

50kg (16 entries)
Semifinal - Yui SUSAKI df. Nanami IRIE by TF, 11-0, 2:47
Semifinal - Remina YOSHIMOTO df. Hanano SAKURAI by Fall, 3:57 (10-0)

57kg (10 entries)
Semifinal - Sae NANJO df. Tsugumi SAKURAI, 5-4
Semifinal - Sara NATAMI df. Umi IMAI by Fall, 5:31 (3-2)

59kg (15 entries)
Gold - Risako KINJO df. Yui SAKANO, 4-1

Bronze - Akie HANAI df. Natsuki YAMAGUCHI, 6-5
Bronze - Miyu NAKANISHI df. Nana IKEHATA by Fall, 3:54 (2-1)

Semifinal - Risako KINJO df. Akie HANAI, 5-0
Semifinal - Yui SAKANO df. Miyu NAKANISHI by TF, 11-0, 5:51

68kg (9 entries)
Gold - Ami ISHII df. Miwa MORIKAWA, 5-2

Bronze - Rin MIYAJI df. Naruha MATSUYUKI by TF, 10-0, 3:27
Bronze - Miyu IMAI df. Yui ISAKI by TF, 10-0, 1:10

72kg (8 entries)
Gold - Sumire NIIKURA df. Kanon KOBAYASHI, 7-5

Bronze - Yawara SHIOSAWA df. Mei SHINDO, 3-0
Bronze - Misaki WACHI df. Nana SAKAMOTO by TF, 10-0, 2:45

Semifinal - Sumire NIIKURA df. Mei SHINDO, 4-0
Semifinal - Kanon KOBAYASHI df. Misaki WACHI, 6-3

76kg (7 entries)
Gold - Ayano MORO df. Nodoka YAMAMOTO, 4-3

Bronze - Mizuki NAGASHIMA df. Nanaha TAKASU, 4-0

#WrestleBratislava

Losonczi downs Olympic champ Novikov for 87kg European gold

By Vinay Siwach

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 12) -- David LOSONCZI (HUN) had his task cut out at the European Championships.

Over the years, his performance at different competitions of two-day formats saw a dip on the second day. So Hungary coach Viktor LORINCZ told him to be focused for six minutes.

Losonczi was up against Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) in the 87kg final of the European Championships in Bratislava in Saturday. The two had recently met in the Paris Olympic semifinal which Novikov won.

But the final in European Championships was a different story.

Losonczi wrapped his arm around Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) and scored a takedown in the first 30 seconds to take a 2-0 lead. Novikov locked Losonczi around the chest and tried to shift to a seatbelt position but the Hungarian pushed Novikov out-of-bounds with his head to lead 3-0. Novikov was put in par terre which gave Losonczi one more point but he failed to score from par terre and settled for the 4-0 lead.

Novikov's chance came in the second period when he got the par terre position. He turned Losonczi one time but when he tried the second time, both wrestlers were out of bounds. Losonczi led 4-3 with 1:31 left on the clock.

There was no comeback for Novikov in the final. Earlier in the tournament, Novikov had won two bouts in thrilling fashion, scoring late, one time with only one second left.

"During the break I told him that just three more minute and you can be the European champion. So this pushed him," Lorincz said.

After the loss, Novikov said that he made a few which cost him dearly in the final.

"This is still the beginning of the season and I am not 100 percent, especially after winning the Paris Olympics. I think, mentally I am not ready. Olympics was different," Novikov said. "My goal is the World Championships. I am European champion and Olympic champion. I want to be world champion. More work and hope and I will be world champion. I was much better in the final than yesterday. I gifted him two positions after locking him. I made mistakes and you can't make mistakes at this level. Before the Olympics, I knew that any thing is possible. But after Olympic, I know that everything is possible. All you need is belief in yourself."

At 63kg, Kerem KAMAL (TUR) earned his second European title with big win in the final. Kamal came out with a takedown and suplex for a 6-0 lead. Armenia challenged the call asking for a foul hold below the legs from Kamal but it lost the challenge on review to give Kamal another point.

Aslanyan got one back when Turkiye challenged for a throw which was adjudged a risk action from Aslanyan who got a point for lost challenge. Both wrestlers were without any challenges after that.

In the second period, Aslanyan pushed the pace but failed to break Kamal. A stepout got him the second point which cut the lead to 7-2 with a minute left in the final.

At 55kg, Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) denied Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) his third European title by beating the Azerbaijan wrestler 1-1 in the final.

Sefershaev got the benefit of the new Greco-Roman rule that United World Wrestling is testing at the European Championships which awards the wrestler who got the first point the win if the match ends 1-1.

The former European champion got the first par terre advantage but failed to score any points. However, he defended his par terre position when Azizli got the advantage in the second period and kept his 1-1 lead for the gold, his second at the European Championships.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) did not need any par terre advantages in his 77kg final against Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) as he scored a arm-drag takedown for two points in the second period and won his fourth straight European title.

This was Amoyan's first tournament since winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics and he did not show any sings of being away from the mat.

At 130kg, Sergei SEMENOV (UWW) defended his title with a 1-1 criteria win over Hamza BAKIR (TUR).

RESULTS

55kg
GOLD: Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) df. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), 1-1

BRONZE: Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) df. Manvel KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 8-1
BRONZE: Artiom DELEANU (MDA) df. Arnold MEGALY (SVK), 8-0

63kg
GOLD: Kerem KAMAL (TUR) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), 7-2

BRONZE: Mairbek SALIMOV (POL) df. Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR), 10-0
BRONZE: Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA) df. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE), via fall

77kg
GOLD: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) df. Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), 4-3

BRONZE: Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR) df. Albin OLOFSSON (SWE), via fall
BRONZE: Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA) df. Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL), 3-1

87kg
GOLD: David LOSONCZI (HUN) df. Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), 4-3

BRONZE: Islam ABBASOV (AZE) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR), 2-1
BRONZE: Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) df. Hannes WAGNER (GER), 3-1

130kg
GOLD: Sergei SEMENOV (UWW) df. Hamza BAKIR (TUR), 1-1

BRONZE: Darius VITEK (HUN) df. Dzmitry ZARUBSKI (UWW), 6-0
BRONZE: Jello KRAHMER (GER) df. Beka KANDELAKI (AZE), 1-1