Asian Games

Rio Champ Dosho to Miss Asian Games Due to Shoulder Injury

Thursday, April 19, 2018 - 15:14 By Ken Marantz

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World and Olympic champion Sara DOSHO (JPN) will miss the Asian Games in Jakarta this summer due to a left shoulder injury suffered at the recent Women's World Cup, the Japan Wrestling Federation has announced on its website.

Dosho's reign as a world champion is also in doubt, as she will almost surely to be forced to skip the Japan Invitational Championships (Meiji Cup) in June, which is serving as the final domestic qualifying tournament for Japan's team to the world championships in Budapest in October.

Sara DOSHO (JPN) df. Aline FOCKEN (GER) by 3-0 to win the gold medal at the 2017 World Championship. Photo by Martin Gabor.

Dosho suffered the injury, which has necessitated surgery, during her 68kg match against Danielle LAPPAGE (CAN) on the opening day of the World Cup in Takasaki, Japan. Dosho took a 2-1 lead early, then held on to win by that score as Japan beat Canada 8-2.

The four-time world medalist skipped the gold-medal match the following day against China, which Japan won 6-4 for its fourth straight title. As team captain, she joined the celebrations on the mat.

Dosho, a product of powerhouse Shigakkan University who won a seventh consecutive national title last December, captured gold medals at 69kg at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 Paris world championships.

Dosho has not lost since the 2015 world championships in Las Vegas, where she fell in the third round 11-7 to FENG Zhou (CHN). She came back to win the bronze medal.

Ironically, Dosho and Feng were in line for a rematch in the final at the Women's World Cup, but Dosho's injury scuttled the clash.


Sara DOSHO (JPN) df. Martina KUENZ (AUT), 6-0 to seal her spot in the 2017 world finals. Photo by Martin Gabor. 

Dosho's place at the Asian Games will be taken in a three-way wrestle-off between Ayana GEMPEI, Miwa MORIKAWA, and Naruha MATSUYUKI on April 22 at the Ajinomoto National Training Center in Tokyo.

Gempei and Morikawa finished 1-2 at 65kg at the national championships, while Matsuyuki was the 72kg champion. All three were members of the Japan team in Takasaki.

At the Asian Games, wrestling will be held Aug. 19-22, with six weight classes in each style.

As entries must be finalized by the end of May, the Japan federation cannot use the results of the Meiji Cup to determine its team. As such, in principle, the winners of the respective weight classes at the national championships will fill the team spots, according to the website.

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Zagreb Open: Leydecker Makes Senior Debut with 53kg Gold

Sunday, February 8, 2026 - 01:23 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 7) -- If Japan swept the gold medals in Women's Wrestling on day three of the Zagreb Open on Friday, day four on Saturday was a different story. Japan failed to win any gold medal as four different countries crowned champions.

U20 world champion Everest LEYDECKER (USA) threw her name in the mix at 53kg by winning gold in her first senior event. MANISHA (IND), Asian champion at 62kg, moved down to 57kg and managed to win gold in Zagreb.

At 72kg, Buse TOSUN (TUR) had a tough path but she managed find a way and win gold after beating Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2, i the finals. The final gold of women's went to Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) who pinned Tristan KELLY (USA), via fall (9-1)..

Leydecker, just 18 years old, secured a one-sided victory over Roksana ZASINA (POL) in the final. She managed to score three takedowns and one point for activity clock against Zasina.

This was the American's first-ever senior event internationally but she showed no signs of being overawed by the situation.

In the semifinals, Leydecker faced two-time world bronze medalist ANTIM (IND) and rallied on her one takedown to win the match 2-2 on criteria.

While the norm is to move up weight classes as wrestlers try and adjust into the Olympic weight, Manisha decided to move down from 62kg to 57kg. The decision could backfire but on Saturday, Manisha showed no mercy to her opponents and winning the gold medal at 57kg.

Facing Himeka TOKUHARA in the final, Manisha gave no chance to the Japanese in the final and two points in the first period and one in the second to close out a 3-0 blanking.

Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) brought the best for the last as she pinned Tristan KELLY (USA) in the 76kg final and capture a gold medal for Romania. Two huge throws resulted in four-points and after the second throw, Anghel held Kelly on the mat to secure the fall and the gold medal.

Paris bronze medalist Buse TOSUN (TUR), wrestling at 72kg, captured the season-opening Ranking Series gold after comfortably beating Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2, in the final.

RESULTS

53kg
GOLD:  Everest LEYDECKER (USA) df. Roksana ZASINA (POL), 7-0

BRONZE: Umi IMAI (JPN) df. Annika WENDLE (GER), via forfeit
BRONZE: ANTIM (IND) df. Anjali KACHHAWA (IND), 10-0

57kg
GOLD: MANISHA (IND) df. Himeka TOKUHARA (JPN), 3-0

BRONZE: Amanda MARTINEZ (USA) df. Elvira SULEYMAN (TUR), 11-0
BRONZE: Amory ANDRICH (GER) df. Tindra DALMYR (SWE), 4-2

72kg
GOLD: Buse TOSUN (TUR) df. Diksha MALIK (IND), 5-2

BRONZE: Zahra KARIMZADA (AZE) df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 4-1
BRONZE: Veronika VILK (CRO) df. Kristina BRATCHIKOVA (UWW), via inj. def.

76kg
GOLD: Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU) df. Tristan KELLY (USA), via fall (9-1)

BRONZE: Kendra DACHER (FRA) df. PRIYA (IND), via fall (6-0)
BRONZE: Yasuha MATSUYUKI (JPN) df. Shauna KUEBECK (CAN), 10-0

Greco-Roman

77kg
GOLD: Ali OSKOU (IRI) df. Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), 9-1

BRONZE: Robert FRITSCH (HUN) df. Temuri ORJONIKIDZE (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Stoyan KUBATOV (BUL), 1-1

87kg
GOLD: Istvan TAKACS (HUN) df. Tamas LEVAI (HUN), 3-1

BRONZE: Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) df. Payton JACOBSON (USA), 2-1
BRONZE: Mukhammadkodir RASULOV (UZB) df. Matej MANDIC (CRO), 6-1