#WrestleTallinn

Marin Portille Wins Cuba’s First Women’s Junior World Gold; Susaki Strikes World Gold for Seventh Time

Thursday, August 15, 2019 - 20:06 By Eric Olanowski

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TALLINN, Estonia (August 15) -- Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) claimed Cuba’s first-ever women’s wrestling junior world titlle, while Yui SUSAKI (JPN) added a second consecutive junior world title to her resume that’s now littered with seven world gold medals. 

In the 76kg gold-medal bout, Marin Portille stopped Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE) from winning Chinese Taipei’s first-ever junior world title with a 10-6 victory. 

In the finals, Marin Portille trailed by three points late into the second period after giving up a four-point headlock, but quickly rebounded and gained two exposure points -- cutting Chang’s lead to one point. In dramatic fashion, Marin Portille scored a takedown with seven seconds left in the match and became Cuba’s first-ever women’s wrestling junior world gold medalist. Smiling from ear-to-ear, Marin Portille said, “I dedicate this win to the Cuban people. This win is very important because Cuba is a small island and I prepared very hard for this.” 

Still gleaming with joy, Marin Portille added, “I’m so emotional. I feel so good -- so nice. We won three medals at the Pan-Americans, but this is a step forward for Cuban women’s wrestling.” 

The newly minted junior world champion closed by saying she’ll be wrestling at the September’s Nur-Sultan World Championships.

Yui SUSAKI (JPN) downed Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS), 10-0, and won her seventh world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Meanwhile, Yui Susaki claimed back-to-back junior world titles after seizing a 10-0 victory over 2016 cadet world silver medalist Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS). 

With her win on Thursday night, Susaki brought her grand total to seven overall world gold medals since appearing at her first World Championships in 2014. When asked where this world title stacks up on her list, Susaki said, “My final goal is an Olympic gold medal. I will do my best and I will try to practice towards my final goal.” 

Susaki's world championship record is now 31-0 – with 29 of those wins being shutout victories. Perhaps a more impressive stat is Susaki has now outscored her 31 world championship opponents 290-6 and only gave up points in two matches en route to reaching the top of the podium seven times.

She believes the reason she’s so successful is because of her strength and mind. She said, “The reason why I get the championships is my own strength and mind.” 

Sae NANJO (JPN) gets emotional after winning the 59kg world title with a 12-1 win over reigning junior world champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA). (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Japan Collects Two Additional World Titles
In addition to Susaki’s gold medal, Sae NANJO (JPN) and Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) also won gold medals at 59kg and 68kg, respectively. 

In a rematch of last year’s 59kg junior world finals, Nanjo unseated reigning junior world champion Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), 12-1. 

Last year, Nichita scored a pair of takedowns -- which trumped Nanjo’s takedown and two one-point exchanges to win her first world title, 4-4.

But, Nanjo authored a much different story on Thursday night.

Much like last year, Nanjo surrendered the matches’ first points, but that was the last time the Moldovan wrestler would score. After Nanjo was hit with that inactivity point, she scored back-to-back takedowns and closed out the opening period in front by three points (4-1).  

Early in the second period, Nanjo stopped a Nichita duck under attempt and secured a takedown with a high crotch and led by five points (6-1). The Japanese wrestler quickly transitioned into a pair of leg laces off the right-sided high crotch and commanded the 10-1 lead. A flurry ending with Nanjo locking up in a cradle handed Japan their second gold medal of the day with the 12-1 victory. 

With her win on Thursday night, Nanjo now has two junior world titles on her resume. She also won the 2017 junior world title in Tampere, Finland. 

Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) was the third Japanese wrestler to claim gold on Thursday night. She took out Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 4-2 in the 68kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Naruha Matsuyuki scored the match-deciding takedown with 31 seconds left in the 68kg finals to stop Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) from winning Kyrgyzstan second-ever junior world gold medal. 

Matsuyuki, who represented Japan at the junior, U23 and senior World Championships last season, improved on her 2018 junior world bronze medal with a clutch counter offensive attack to give Japan their third gold medal of the day. 

Patrycja GIL (POL) gave Poland their first women's wrestling junior world title since 1999 with a 6-2 win over Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS) in the 55kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Gil Gives Poland First Junior World Title Since 1999
Patrycja GIL (POL) became Poland’s third woman to win a junior world title and first gold medalist since Edyta WITKOWSKA (POL) won the 1999 Junior World Championships in Bucharest, Romania. 

On Friday night, Gil grabbed a first-period takedown, but conceded a takedown and trailed 2018 junior world bronze medalist Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS), 2-2. Mid-way through the second period, while trailing on criteria, the Polish wrestler picked up four points from a double leg takedown and closed out the match, 6-2, to win her country’s first junior world title in 20 years. 

RESULTS
50kg 
GOLD - Yui SUSAKI (JPN) df. Daria KHVOSTOVA (RUS), 10-0 
BRONZE - Mariia VYNNYK (UKR) df. Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU), 9-9 
BRONZE - Maria LEORDA (MDA) df. Natallia VARAKINA (BLR), 4-2

55kg
GOLD - Patrycja GIL (POL) df. Ekaterina VERBINA (RUS), 6-2 
BRONZE - Saki IGARASHI (JPN) df. Eunyoung PARK (KOR), 4-0 
BRONZE - Sezen Behchetova BELBEROVA (BUL) df. Anastasia BLAYVAS (GER), 8-0 

59kg
GOLD - Sae NANJO (JPN) df. Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), via fall
BRONZE - Kateryna ZELENYKH (UKR) df. Anshu ANSHU (IND), 12-1 
BRONZE - Morena DE VITA (ITA) df. Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ), 6-6 

68kg
GOLD - Naruha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 4-2 
BRONZE - Khanum VELIEVA (RUS) df. Jayden Leigh LAURENT (USA), 9-1 
BRONZE - Ewelina Weronika CIUNEK (POL) df. Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL), 4-2 

76kg
GOLD - Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB) df. Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE), 10-6
BRONZE - Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Qian JIANG (CHN), 2-1 
BRONZE - Bernadett NAGY (HUN) df. Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA), 10-0  

#JapanWrestling

Fujinami to move up to 57kg in quest for consecutive Olympic golds

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 - 12:12 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (November 26) -- Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) won't be defending her Olympic gold at women's 53kg at the 2028 Los Angeles Games. That's bad news for anyone aiming to strike gold at 57kg.

Fujinami has announced that she will move up to the next Olympic weight class starting next year, the Japan federation website and Japan media widely recently reported.

Fujinami, who turned 21 on November 11, cited the difficulty of cutting weight for the decision, as well as the historic aspect that no woman wrestler has ever won a second straight Olympic gold after moving to a higher weight class.

"I have decided to move up to the 57kg weight class," Fujinami said after Sunday's East Japan Collegiate Women's League, a team tournament that marked her first competition since winning the gold at the Paris Olympics in August. "Considering my height and my normal weight, I think I can give my best performance at 57."

Fujinami competed at 59kg in the five-team league tournament (one school was a no-show), which was run in a round-robin, duel-meet format with only three weight classes -- 53kg, 59kg and 76kg.

She won both of her matches by fall, extending her current winning streak to 139 matches dating back to her junior high school days in September 2017.

The 1.64-meter Fujinami was actually wrestling near her natural weight, which she says is "about 61kg." But even against two opponents from higher weight classes -- Ikuei University's Ichika ARAI (JPN) was the 2023 world U20 silver medalist at 57kg -- her skills and speed were still overwhelming.

"It has been really hard to cut down to 53kg," Fujinami said. "I felt I lost muscle during the process. I feel I can give my best performance by going down three kilos from my natural weight."

Asked when she expects to make her full-fledged "debut" at the new weight, she replied in a text message, "It will be sometime next year. I haven't decided exactly when yet."

With a full schedule of post-Olympic TV appearances and local events curtailing her training, she has already ruled out appearing at next month's Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships.

It is likely she will compete at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in the spring, as that tournament, along with the Emperor's Cup, will serve as qualifiers for the 2025 World Championships.

The move up to 57kg will likely put her on a collision course with the reigning Olympic champion, Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN). The two met last year at the East Japan Collegiate tournament, with Fujinami coming away with a 5-0 victory.

The challenge of possibly accomplishing a historic first appeals to Fujinami, who last year won her second career world title at 53kg in Belgrade.

"I heard that no [woman] has moved up a weight class and won another Olympic gold," Fujinami said. "It will difficult, but that's what makes it challenging. I hope I can become stronger at the next [Olympics] in Los Angeles."

Two Japanese women -- Saori YOSHIDA (JPN) and Kaori ICHO (JPN) -- have won an additional Olympic gold after going down a weight, but that was mainly because the number of weight classes was expanded from four to six, allowing them to compete more closely to their normal weight.

Among men, the legendary Aleksandr MEDVED (URS) won the freestyle 97kg gold in 1964, then triumphed again at 97+kg in 1968, while Levan TEDASHVILI (URS) won at freestyle 82kg in 1972 and 90kg in 1976. More recently, Abdulrashid SADULAEV claimed the freestyle 86kg gold in 2016, then won again at 97kg in 2021.

Fujinami said she doesn't expect to make any major alterations to her wrestling style at the heavier weight.

"I have no intention of making any big changes in my wrestling style," she said. "I will still try to keep the opponent from getting at my legs, and take the initiative to score points. Still, I can feel the extra weight of four kilos, so how I increase my weight could affect how I perform."

At this year's East Japan league tournament, Fujinami's Nippon Sport Science University was relegated to second by Ikuei University, which won 2-1 in their duel meet. Ikuei got victories from Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) and Ami ISHII (JPN), who both won gold medals at last month's Non-Olympic Weight Category World Championships.