#WrestleAlmaty

Japan Pulls Women's Team from Asian Championships Over Suspected Contact with Coronavirus

Saturday, April 10, 2021 - 05:29 By Ken Marantz

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 10) --- The Japan women's team for the upcoming Asian Championships, which includes Olympic champions Risako KAWAI (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN), was suddenly withdrawn because of suspected contact with the coronavirus, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced on its website Friday.

The federation emphasized that no member of the 10-women team had tested positive for the coronavirus themselves, but that contact tracing showed an unspecified number may have been exposed to someone infected.

The decision was made just as the team was to have accompanied the men's freestyle team on the flight to Almaty via Istanbul for the tournament starting April 13. It follows the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament currently underway at the same venue.

The federation said that while no team members had tested positive in a PCR test the previous day, nor had any displayed symptoms of the coronavirus. But because of the suspected contact, it could not mitigate the risk of possibly infecting wrestlers from other countries in Almaty.

It was a shocking development, given that sports officials put strict protocols in place at the National Training Center in Tokyo, where the wrestling squads had pre-tournament national camps.

Kawai (57kg) and Dosho (68kg) were among five members of the women's team to Almaty who had already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, along with Mayu MUKAIDA (53kg), Yukako KAWAI (62kg) and Hiroe MINAGAWA (76kg).

For all but Dosho, it was to have been their first overseas competition since last year's Asian Championships held in New Delhi in February 2020. The Kawai sisters and Minagawa would have been defending their Asian titles. Dosho's last trip overseas was to the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan.

The other team members are: Remina YOSHIMOTO (50kg), Tsugumi SAKURAI (55kg), Akie HANAI (59kg), Miwa MORIKAWA (65kg) and Masako FURUICHI (72kg). They had earned their places on the team with victories at the All-Japan Championships in December 2020.

#WrestleAthens

Fernandez earns shot at second world U17 title in Athens

Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 14:51 By Vinay Siwach

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ATHENS, Greece (July 31) -- Returning world champion Tania FERNANDEZ (USA) earned herself a shot to win second title in a row after making the 61kg final in Athens, Greece.

Fernandez was one of the two United States wrestlers who reached the Women's Wrestling finals on Thursday in the Greek capital.

The two semifinal wins were after two semifinal losses but Fernandez and Epenesa ELISON (USA) kept the U.S. in the race for team title, making the final at 53kg and 61kg respectively.

Elison, who dominated her way to semifinals, was no different there as well. She caught Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ) in a lace and led 6-0. She then scored two takedowns and won 10-0.

Jiaqing JIANG (CHN) scored a late takedown to beat Rion OGAWA (JPN), 4-4, and book a place in the final against Elison.

Fernandez went one step better and pinned Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO) using an arm-bar and returned to the finals. She will take on YASHITA (IND) in the final after the Indian blanked Barbara BAGER (HUN), 5-0.

Uzbekistan had its second Women's Wrestling finalist in Athens as Asian U17 champion Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) blanked Maisei ELLIOTT (USA), 9-0 in the semifinals.

She will face An NAKANISHI (JPN) for the gold medal after the Japanese defeated Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ) 11-0 in the other semifinal, in typical Japanese style using a leg lace.

Japan got one more finalist, at 46kg, after Hanano OYA (JPN) denied returning bronze medalist Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA), 6-4, in the semifinals. Bouzakis was not able to cover the 6-0 lead Oya had built in the first period.

Oya will now face Janka SILLEI (HUN) in the gold-medal bout on Friday. Sillei dashed hopes of the hosts Greece by beating silver medalist Maria GKIKA (GRE), 10-4 which was eventually called a pin.

European U17 champion Ayla SAHIN (GER) held off Linda MARTINEZ (MEX), 6-0, in the semifinals at 69kg to earn a shot at the world title against Min ZHAO (CHN) who came from behind to beat MANISHA (IND) 6-4.

RESULTS

40kg
GOLD: Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) vs. An NAKANISHI (JPN)

SF 1: Shokhista SHONAZAROVA (UZB) df. Maisie ELLIOTT (USA), 9-0
SF 2: An NAKANISHI (JPN) df. Asema ASANGARYEVA (KGZ), 11-0

46kg
GOLD: Janka SILLEI (HUN) vs. Hanano OYA (JPN)

SF 1: Janka SILLEI (HUN) df. Maria GKIKA (GRE), via fall (10-4)
SF 2: Hanano OYA (JPN) df. Jaclyn BOUZAKIS (USA), 6-4

53kg
GOLD: Epenesa ELISON (USA) vs. Jiaqing JIANG (CHN)

SF 1: Epenesa ELISON (USA) df. Farida ABDRAKHMANOVA (KAZ), 10-0
SF 2: Jiaqing JIANG (CHN) df. Rion OGAWA (JPN), 4-4

61kg
GOLD: Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) vs. YASHITA (IND)

SF 1: Taina FERNANDEZ (USA) df. Miranda KAPANADZE (GEO), via fall
SF 2: YASHITA (IND) df. Barbara BAGER (HUN), 5-0

69kg
GOLD: Ayla SAHIN (GER) vs. Min ZHAO (CHN)

SF 1: Ayla SAHIN (GER) df. Linda MARTINEZ (MEX), 6-0
SF 2: Min ZHAO (CHN) df. MANISHA (IND), 6-4