#WrestleAlmaty

Susaki Aims to Gain Olympic Spot with Golden Performance

Thursday, April 8, 2021 - 14:15 By Ken Marantz

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (April 8) --- Two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) can see a silver lining in the year-long postponement of the Asian qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics.

And while a silver medal in Almaty would be good enough to earn her a first trip to Olympics, the 21-year-old star has no intention of coming home with anything but the gold.

"When the Asian qualifying and Tokyo Olympics were postponed for a year, I felt I was given that amount of time to get stronger and I kept practicing," Susaki said in an online press conference earlier this week.

"As for not having matches, it gave me time to address the little issues that I couldn't do up to now. I was able to work on fine points and from that standpoint, I feel like I've grown in the past year."

Susaki will be aiming to secure a berth for Japan at 50kg, the only one of the six women's weight classes in which the Asian powerhouse did not clinch a spot at the 2019 world championships.

The women's tournament will be on the second day of the three-day tournament April 9-11, which will start with Greco-Roman and end with freestyle.

"It's good and I'm ready for matches," Susaki said of her current condition. "From the start of the year, I've had good practices in preparation as the tournament gets closer."

The tournament will mark her first international event since the 2019 World Cup, and first overall since the All-Japan Championships in December 2019, where she defeated rival Yuki IRIE (JPN) to earn the right to enter the Olympic qualifier.

"It's my first tournament in awhile, so I'm really looking forward to it," Susaki said. "The Olympics are on the line, so everyone is putting everything into this tournament. I will concentrate on each match as it comes and work my way to the title.

"I'm grateful to be able to make the challenge for the Tokyo Olympics. I want to definitely win and gain an Olympic berth, and come home with a smile."

Susaki will certainly be favored to grab one of the two spots available for Asia at the qualifying tournament. She will not contend with opponents from host Kazakhstan or China, as both of those countries qualified at the Nursultan worlds.

Regardless of the competition, and notwithstanding the fact that she does not need to do it, going for the gold has been her mantra since she started the sport, and has many more times than not also been the result. Since junior high school, she has lost only three times --- all to compatriot Irie. She is undefeated against the rest of humanity.

"To have come this far, no matter how it's done, I want to win the title and make the Olympic team," Susaki said. "From the time that the Tokyo Olympics were decided, I've regarded it as an event I definitely want to participate in and win the gold medal."

Susaki's main competition looks to come from 2020 Yarygin Grand Prix champion Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) and 2019 Yasur Dogu winner Seema SEEMA (IND).

Following the postponement, Susaki tried to stay focused on the task at hand, even though it was difficult as the Tokyo region went through two states of emergency and there were limited opportunities for match experience, as no Japanese wrestlers made trips abroad for competition.

"Over this past year, so many things happened, like there was a state of emergency declared and I had to go back home," Susaki said. "Would the Olympics be held or not? The situation was changing all the time. So it was a hectic year.

"But I could see my family and meet my friends, so as long as there was this 'support', I could stay strong through now. A lot happened, but because of those around me, I realized that they made me what I am today. As such, I want to repay them even in a small way by making it to the Olympics."

Without getting ahead of herself, Susaki is already looking forward to what awaits her after the tournament.

"When the Asian qualifying is over, I want to come back to Japan and eat all kinds of goodies, like sushi, pizza, cake. After I secure the Olympic spot, I think that everything will taste great."

U23 Asian and world champion Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Paths to Olympic spots varies

Of the Asian nations, host Kazakhstan and Japan secured the most Olympic berths at the world championships with eight each. Iran has sewn up six places, followed by China (5), India (4), Uzbekistan (3) and Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and the People's Republic of Korea (2).

For some hopefuls in Almaty, the path to the Olympics will be somewhat easier. There is one weight class in each style in which Asian nations have already secured four spots---freestyle 65kg, Greco 60kg and women 53kg.

Conversely, the Greco 67kg and 97kg divisions had no qualifiers, meaning all nations will be vying for the coveted spots, while there was only one qualifier each at freestyle 97kg and Greco 130kg.

Greco 67kg will feature veteran RYU Hansoo, the 2013 world champion at 66kg who has won a combined five titles at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, most recently in 2020 in New Delhi. Now 33, he is looking for one more trip to the Olympics, having finished fifth at Rio 2016.

Also entered in that weight class is Mohammad Reza GERAEI (IRI), the 2019 world U-23 and Asian champion at 72kg, and Meirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ), who finished second to Ryu at the 2019 Asian Championships, as well as 2020 Asian bronze medalist Ashu ASHU (IND) and 2019 world 72kg silver medalist Aram VARDANYAN (UZB).

Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist, has the added incentive of attempting to qualify for an Olympics on home soil.

Along with Rio 2016 silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN), who is aiming to qualify at freestyle 57kg, another Japanese wrestler in the spotlight is Sosuke TAKATANI (JPN), the 2014 world silver medalist at freestyle 74kg who will try to make it to a third Olympics, this time at 86kg.

Like Susaki, his goal is to not only to qualify, but to win the tournament. His reasoning is that he took second the two previous times, but failed to medal at the Olympics. "It is bad luck," he said. "Now I'm going to be in 1st place and go to the Olympics."

Among those standing in his way are Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ), a 2018 Asian bronze medalist who was fifth last year, and Gankhuyag GANBAATAR (MGL), an Asian bronze medalist in 2019.

Also worth watching will be American-born Domenic ABOU NADER (LBN), a silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games. The former All-American at Michigan University will aim to become the first wrestler from Lebanon to qualify for the Olympics since 1980 and seventh in history.

In women's wrestling, it will be interesting to see how up-and-coming Sonam MALIK (IND) fares at 62kg. The 2019 world cadet champion at 65kg knocked off Rio 2016 silver medalist Sakshi MALIK (IND) 8-7 at the Indian national trials in Lucknow.

"Sakshi Malik is our role model, she won the medal at the Olympics," Sonam told Indian media. "My coach said, 'You have nothing to lose' and give your best in the match. It was in my mind that I want to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics."

In Almaty, she can expect tough competition from Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ), the silver medalist at last year's Asian Championships, and Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), a 2019 Asian bronze medalist along with Sakshi.

#WrestleAlmaty

Susaki Secures Olympic Spot as Japan, China Fill Missing Women's Berths

Saturday, April 10, 2021 - 10:32 By Ken Marantz

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AL:MATY, Kazakhstan (April 10) -- After waiting a year for her chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, two-time world champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) needed just over six minutes over three matches to secure the coveted spot.

Susaki won all three of her round-robin matches by technical fall in the women's 50kg class, assuring a top-two finish going into her final match to be held at the night session of Asian Olympic qualifying tournament on Saturday.

"Getting here was a long, tough road," Susaki said. "Really, it was because of the support and cooperation from a lot of people that I am here now."

Having achieved her primary goal of taking home an Olympic ticket from the Baluan Sholak Palace of Culture and Sports in Almaty, Susaki will now aim to add the 50kg title when she faces Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) in the de facto gold-medal match.

Tsogt Ochir also won all of her three matches inside the distance to set up a showdown for bragging rights with Susaki in the fifth round of matches.

The 50kg class was the only one that Japan did not secure an Olympic spot at the 2019 World Championships in Nursultan. With Susaki's performance, the Olympic host will now be sending a full slate of six wrestlers in the women's competition.

China will also have a presence in all six weight classes after filling the two slots it had missed out on in Nursultan, with Jia LONG (CHN) advancing to the semifinals at 62kg  and Feng ZHOU (CHN) doing likewise at 68kg, although the latter had some bumps along the way.

Because the Asian nations secured so many women's Olympic berths at the Nursultan worlds -- a total of 16 -- all weight classes in Almaty had no more than seven entries and were competed using preliminary groups. The 50kg and 76kg have only five entries each, meaning a straight round-robin competition without semifinals or finals.

Mongolia, which gained just one Olympic spot in Nursultan, picked up three more, and could add another depending on how Burmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL) fares in her final match at 76kg. India and Uzbekistan could also gain a place.

At this point, India and Kyrgyzstan have both clinched two berths each, while host Kazakhstan gained one through an inspired performance from veteran Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ), who will be returning to the Olympics after a 13-year absence.

Susaki had missed the 2019 World Championships after losing out on a place on the Japan team to rival Yuki IRIE (JPN), who remains the only wrestler on the planet to have defeated the 21-year-old. But when Irie failed to finish among the top six, it reopened the door to the Tokyo Games for Susaki.

She did not waste the opportunity, and avenged the loss the Irie at the 2019 All-Japan Championships to earn a ticket to the Asian Olympic qualifier. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, she along with the rest of the sporting world had to endure delays and postponements.

"I went through hard times when all hope had been lost about going to the Olympics," Susaki said. "It was very difficult. But going through that experience made me stronger."

Susaki started her campaign with a 50-second 10-0 technical fall over Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB), then followed that an 11-0 technical fall in 1:55 over Miran CHEON (KOR). In the latter, she mixed things up a bit by adding a gut wrench to her trademark lace lock.

The berth at the Olympics -- where the wrestling competition will be held in her native Chiba Prefecture --became hers with a no-messing-around 10-0 technical fall over Seema SEEMA (IND) in 3:25. The only reason the match lasted so long was that Susaki spent the latter half of the first period trying gain a fall with a leg lock and crossface hold before time ran out.

In the 68kg semifinals, Zhou, a 2018 world bronze medalist, gave up an early takedown to Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR), but stormed back with a pair of 4-point moves to win 12-2 technical fall in 3:32.

In the final, Zhou faces a rematch with Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), whom she defeated in their group match 7-5. In that match, Zhou trailed 5-1 with a minute left, then having cut the lead to 5-3, used a front headlock roll to score four points in the final 10 seconds.

Zhou was not in much of a mood to talk about her performance, only that she expects to do better in Tokyo. "I don't want to say anything," she said. "I will win the gold in Tokyo. That's it. Nothing else.

"I don't feel I expressed myself completely in this competition. But I think I can do better."

Zhumanazarova gained her Olympic place and advanced to the final after also spotting her opponent a lead, rebounding from a 3-0 deficit to defeat Nisha NISHA (IND) by 13-3 technical fall in 4:15. After tying the match at the end of the first period, Zhumanazarova gained a takedown then finished the match with four lock-lace rolls.

China's Long, who finished third at the 2020 Matteo Pellicone Tournament, used a slick ankle pick to pick apart 2014 world champion Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) in their 62kg semifinal, scoring a 10-0 technical fall in 4:27.

Long will also have a rematch in the final, but against an opponent who had defeated her earlier in the day. Young Sonam SONAM (IND), who beat Long 5-2, clinched her Olympic ticket by rebounding from a 6-0 deficit to forge out a 9-6 win over plucky Asian silver medalist Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ).

"The Kazakh girl was a very good wrestler and I was trailing 0-6, but I was confident of winning even after that," said Sonam, the 2019 world cadet champion. "This is incredible."

Sonam said that qualifying along with teammate Anshu ANSHU (IND), who made the final at 57kg, makes it all the more special.

"I train with Anshu, she is my partner and to qualify with her is great," Sonam said. "One of the best feelings."

For Anshu, her biggest battle might have been the one with the scale. She won all three of her matches by technical fall, capped by a 12-2 rout of  Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB).

"I was above weight and we reached Almaty just seven hours before weigh-in," Anshu said. "I was running at the airport in Tashkent to reduce weight. I just wanted to do it, qualify myself for Tokyo."

Her opponent in the final, Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL), was equally dominant, as her 10-0 victory over Jieun UM (KOR) was her third technical fall of the day as well.

The award for gutsiet performance must go to Akhmetova Amanzhol, who endured a painful knee made worse in the semifinal to forge out an 11-1 technical fall over Hyungjoo KIM (KOR).

"When the bout finished, I was only thinking about going to Tokyo," Akhmetova Amanzhol said.

In the final, she will have a rematch of the most exciting bout of the day with Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL), who advanced with a quick fall over Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE).

In their group match, Bat Ochir led 8-1 when Akhmetova Amanzhol pancaked her onto her back for 4 points, and the Mongoila was only saved by the buzzer that ended the first period.

In the second period, the Kazakh went ahead 9-8 with a nifty 4-point back trip with Bat Ochir holding her leg in the air. With :02 left, Bat Ochir received 1 point for a stepout, then lost a challenge to have it revised to a takedown to give Akhmetova Amanzhol a 10-9 victory.

Akhmetova, now 35, will be returning to the Olympics for the first time since appearing at Beijing 2008, where she placed fifth at 48kg.

She showed she was still a force to be reckoned with at last year's Asian Championships, where she stunned two-time world champion Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) in the final for her third Asian gold and first since 2014.

Women's wrestling results

50kg
Group Standings (through 4 rounds)
1. Namuuntsetseg TSOGT OCHIR (MGL) 3-0 (13 pts); 2. Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 3-0 (12 pts); 3. Dauletbike YAKHSHIMURATOVA (UZB) 2-2 (8 pts); 4. Seema SEEMA (IND) 0-3 (1 pt); 5. Miran CHEON (KOR) 0-3 (1 pt).

Tsogt Ochir and Susaki clinch top two spots.

53kg
Semifinals
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ) df. Hyungjoo KIM (KOR) by TF, 11-1, 6:00
Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) df. Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE) by Fall, 1:16 (2-0)

57kg
Semifinals
Anshu ANSHU (IND) df. Shokhida AKHMEDOVA (UZB) by TF, 12-2, 3:20
Khongorzul BOLDSAIKHAN (MGL) df. Jieun UM (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 1:52

62kg
Semifinals
Jia LONG (CHN) df. Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 4:27
Sonam SONAM (IND) df. Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ), 9-6

68kg
Semifinals
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) df. Nisha NISHA (IND) by TF, 13-3, 4:15
Feng ZHOU (CHN) df. Hyeonyeong PARK (KOR) by TF, 12-2, 3:32

76kg
Group Standings (through 4 rounds)
1. Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) 4-0 (16 pts); 2. Burmaa OCHIRBAT (MGL) 2-1 (6 pts); 3. Pooja POOJA (IND) 1-2 (6 pts); 4. Shakhribonu ELLIEVA (UZB) 1-2 (5 pts); 5. Seoyeon JEONG (KOR) 0-3 (2 pts).

Medet Kyzy clinches first place.