All Japan Championships

Susaki Outlasts Rival Irie for Ticket to Olympic Qualifier; Otoguro Clinches Tokyo 2020 Spot

Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 15:48 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (Dec. 22)—Given the stakes, it hardly produced the fireworks—and points—that were seen in their previous encounters. But a win is a win, and that was all that concerned Yui SUSAKI, who took a major step closer to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Susaki kept her once-faded Olympic dream alive by beating nemesis Yuki IRIE in an intense but ultimately dull 2-1 victory in the women’s 50kg final on the fourth and final day of the All Japan Championships on Sunday at Tokyo’s Komazawa Olympic Park Gym. 

All of the points came on the activity clock, and after Irie received her lone point with a minute to go, Susaki went into solid defense mode to preserve the victory and secure a ticket to the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in Xi’an, China, in February. 

“When she got a point, I kept believing I would win and didn’t panic,” said Susaki, who added to the lone national title she won in 2016. “I was able to wrestle to the end keeping a strong mind.”

Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI will also be on the flight to China, after he successfully dropped two weight classes and knocked off former world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI in an enthralling freestyle 57kg final with a razor-thin 7-6 win. 

Takuto OTOGURO, the 2018 world champion who secured Japan’s Olympic berth at freestyle 65kg with a fifth-place finish at this year’s World Championships in Nur-Sultan, filled that place himself by cruising to the title in that division. 

Susaki’s victory avenged a devastating loss in a playoff to Irie in July for a place on the team to Nur-Sultan. That not only ended her two-year reign as world champion, but, given the history of success by Japanese women in the lightest weight class, seemed to end her Olympic prospects. 

At Nur-Sultan, any Japanese winning a medal in an Olympic weight automatically filled the berth at Tokyo 2020. Five wrestlers fulfilled that criteria—Mayu MUKAIDA (53kg), Risako KAWAI (57kg), Yukako KAWAI (62kg) and Hiroe MINAGAWA (76kg) among the women, and Greco-Roman champion Kenichiro FUMITA (60kg).

Wrestlers who claimed berths for Japan but did not medal could fill the spot themselves with a victory at the All Japan, also known as the Emperor’s Cup, while a loss would put them in a playoff on Feb. 1 with the gold medalist. Of the three in that category, only Otoguro came out as a winner. 

In Nur-Sultan, Asian champion Irie’s tournament ended with a quarterfinal loss to SUN Yanan (CHN), leaving 50kg as the only women’s weight class in which Japan did not qualify for Tokyo 2020. 

That reopened the door for Susaki, who was determined to take advantage of this second and last chance.

“I’ve had this dream since I was little,” the 20-year-old Susaki said. “All I thought was to get stronger and definitely take advantage of this chance so I can win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.”

Sasaki, who defeated Rio 2016 Olympic champion Eri TOSAKA in Saturday’s semifinals, scored on the activity clock in the first period, then again a minute into the second. Irie gained her point a minute later.

Neither wrestler was able to get in deep with anything resembling an effective attack, as both seemed to be exercising caution against making the kind of mistake that can proved fatal in such a high-level battle.  

“I wanted to score a technical point, but my thoughts got out ahead of me,” Susaki said. “From an emotional viewpoint, it went well. But looking at the wrestling, there is room for improvement and I will work to fix that before the Asian qualifier.”

A tearful Irie, who remains the only wrestler on the planet to have beaten Susaki—she has done it three times—was at a loss for words, so deep was her disappointment. 

“I was only thinking about not giving up points, and trying to get points,” said Irie, 27, who was the two-time defending champion.

Technically, Irie’s Olympic prospects are not zero. Should Susaki get injured, or fail to earn a Tokyo spot in China, Irie could be chosen to enter the final world qualifying tournament. Asked about her future, she said she had not thought about it. 

Rei HIGUCHI, the Rio silver medalist, defeated Yuki TAKAHASHI, 7-6, and punched his ticket to the Asian Olympic Qualifier. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Higuchi makes big weight loss pay off
Should Higuchi ultimately make it to Tokyo 2020, it will have been via a quite circuitous route. After winning a silver at Rio 2016, he moved up to 61kg, then up to 65kg in a bid for a second trip to the Olympics. 

He experienced some success, winning the world U-23 gold in 2018, but was ultimately unable to unseat Otoguro. Once Otoguro gained the Olympic berth for Japan in Nur-Sultan, Higuchi concluded it would be too difficult to beat him twice (at the All Japan and the playoff) and thus saw his only option as dropping down to 57kg to challenge Takahashi.

He started the process of cutting weight, having blown up to a lifetime heaviest of 68kg. “The temperance was really hard,” he said. “For three or four months, I had a diet of almost solely vegetables.”

In Sunday’s final against Takahashi, he showed no lack of energy, taking a 4-1 lead in the first period that he padded to 7-1 with a takedown and gut wrench early in the second.

But Takahashi has made a habit of putting on big comebacks, and in a 40-second span, put the pressure on and scored three step-outs. He then cut the gap to a single point with a takedown with :31 left.

At that point, Higuchi made a bold move and went for a single that, while ending in a stalemate, ate up precious time. That gave him some leeway to go into defensive mode and finish out the win for his first title since 2016 and third overall.

“I saw there was 30 seconds left on the clock, and I thought I had to go on the attack to keep him at bay and protect the lead, or he would get points,” Higuchi said. “In the end, it worked out.”

Takahashi had beaten Higuchi in two previous career meetings, but the last had been in 2014. 

Otoguro kept on track to the Olympics by routing 2017 world U-23 champion Rinya NAKAMURA, finishing up a 10-0 technical fall with one second left in the first period.

Otoguro could be joined at Tokyo 2020 by older brother Keisuke, who won the 74kg gold to set up a playoff with Mao OKUI, who clinched the Olympic spot in Nur-Sultan but fell Saturday in the first round.

Keisuke Otoguro used counter lifts and spin-behinds to perfection to outlast spunky Daichi TAKATANI 14-8 in the most entertaining match of the day. Having moved up from 70kg, he landed his third career title in a third different weight class. 

“If I don’t win the playoff [against Okui], this championship will not mean anything,” Otoguro said. 

Takatani had also made a drastic shift in weight classes. He had been among the beaten challengers of Takuto Otoguro at 65kg, then moved all the way up to 74kg for this tournament. His fearless determination spurred him into the final, along with the hope of joining older brother Sosuke, the 86kg champion, at the Asian qualifier.

Miwa MORIKAWA will meet Rio 2016 champion Sara DOSHO for Japan's Tokyo Olympic spot at 68kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

Morikawa takes title, gets 2nd shot at Dosho
In a showdown of reigning world junior champions, Miwa MORIKAWA edged Naruha MATSUYUKI 2-1 in the women’s 68kg final, earning her a place in the playoff for the Olympic spot in that weight class against Rio 2016 champion Sara DOSHO.

The playoff will be a rematch after Morikawa, the world 65kg junior champion, soundly defeated Dosho 9-2 in the semifinals on Friday. 

In the final against world 68kg junior champion Matsuyuki, Morikawa scored the winning point with a step-out with 1:29 left to win her first title in a weight class (67-69kg) that Dosho had dominated for the past eight years.

Dosho secured the Olympic spot for Japan in Nur-Sultan, but failed to clinch it for herself when she lost in the bronze-medal match to Anna SCHELL (GER). 

The two Greco-Roman tickets to Xi’an up for the grabs went to world team members. Defending champion Shogo TAKAHASHI defeated 2017 winner Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA 5-3 in the 67kg final, while Shohei YABIKU blanked Kodai SAKURABA 4-0 at 77kg for his first title in two years and fourth overall.

Day 4 results

Freestyle

57kg (25 entries)
Final - Rei HIGUCHI df. Yuki TAKAHASHI, 7-6
3rd Place - Kotaro KIYOOKA df. Taiki ARINOBU, 8-4
3rd Place – Yudai FUJITA def. Kaiki YAMAGUCHI by Def.

65kg (21 entries)
Final - Takuto OTOGURO df. Rinya NAKAMURA by TF, 10-0, 2:59
3rd Place – Shoya SHIMAE df. Ryoma ANRAKU, 3-2
3rd Place – Masakazu KAMOI df. Takuma TANIYAMA, 2-2 

74kg (26 entries)
Final - Keisuke OTOGURO df. Daichi TAKATANI, 14-8
3rd Place – Yuto MIWA df. Ken HOSAKA, 4-3
3rd Place - Jintaro MOTOYAMA df. Ranmaru AKAOGI by TF, 10-0, 2:42

Greco-Roman
67kg (21 entries)
Final - Shogo TAKAHASHI df. Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA, 5-3
3rd Place - Katsuaki ENDO df. Daigo KOBAYASHI by TF, 9-1, 5:02
3rd Place - Yuji UEGAKI df. Ryo MATSUI, 6-1

77kg (17 entries)
Final - Shohei YABIKU df. Kodai SAKURABA, 4-0}
3rd Place - Tomohiro INOUE df. Yudai KOMURO by TF, 9-0, 2:01
3rd Place – So SAKABE def. Takeshi IZUMI by Def.

Women’s Wrestling
50kg (25 entries)
Final - Yui SUSAKI df. Yuki IRIE, 2-1 
3rd Place – Miho IGARASHI df. Remina YOSHIMOTO, 4-2
3rd Place - Eri TOSAKA df. Umi ITO, 12-4

68kg (9 entries)
Final - Miwa MORIKAWA df. Naruha MATSUYUKI, 2-1
3rd Place – Rin MIYAJI df. Sara DOSHO by Def. 
3rd Place - Masako FURUICHI df. Hikaru IDE by Fall, 1:53 (8-0)

#WrestleZagreb

Kougioumtsidis gives Greece historic world gold as 1st male champion

Monday, September 15, 2025 - 20:27 By Ken Marantz

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ZAGREB, Croatia (September 15) -- For all of Greece's history in the sport of wrestling-- one of the current styles even bears the country's name -- it had never produced a male world champion.

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) rectified that situation with a determined performance, defeating Levi HAINES (USA) 3-2 in the 79kg final on Monday night, the third day of the World Championships in Zagreb when four freestyle golds were up for grabs.

"I'm very proud," Kougioumtsidis said. "I'm the first one who won a gold medal at the World Championships. It's my dream come true. I failed at the Olympics last year. I think this year is a good achievement. I achieved my goal."

In other finals, Chongsong HAN (PRK) gave his country its first world gold since 2019 with a come-from-behind victory at 57kg, while Japan and the United States each picked up their second golds of the competition, with Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) winning at 74kg under sad circumstances and Trent HIDLAY (USA) putting on a comeback for the ages to triumph at 92kg.

Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) scores a stepout against Levi HAINES (USA) in the 79kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The 23-year-old Kougioumtsidis came to Zagreb flying under the radar for title favorites. He was a two-time European U23 champion, and won the senior gold in 2022, but had lost in the first round at 74kg at the Paris Olympics and was third at this year's Budapest Ranking Series.

But he steadily battled his way through the rounds to advance to final, where he wrestled a solid and sensible match that took advantage of opportunities while keeping his American foe at bay.

After receiving an activity point, Kougioumtsidis got in on a single that led to a stepout and a 2-0 lead at the break. He repeated the move again in the second period and, although he surrendered a takedown with :02 left, it wasn't enough to deter him from his appointment with destiny.

"He's a very offensive wrestler, I know that," Kougioumtsidis said. "He has very good conditioning. My condition is also good. I was a bit tired from yesterday because of four matches. But I won, that's what matters most."

Kougioumtsidis said that after his disappointment in Paris, he took some time off, then spent time training in Georgia.

"After the Olympics I had maybe five months off because I wasn't feeling very good," he said. "I had very good training. This year, I mostly was in Georgia for camp and thanks to my sparring partners from Georgia that helped me. I achieved the biggest goal here."

Until Kougioumtsidis' victory, the lone Greek to ever step to the top of the medal podium at the World Championships was Sofia POUMPOURIDOU (GRE), who won the women's 51kg gold in 2002 on home soil in Chalkida, Greece.

Only three times has a Greek man ever even advanced to a world final (Giorgios ATHANASSIADIS (GRE) did in twice), all in freestyle, but never did they come away with a gold. The last time was in 1991.

"I'm very lucky also that I am Greek," Kougioumtsidis said. "So I feel like I made all Greeks proud. I am Greek and I love my country."

Chongsong HAN (PRK)Chongsong HAN (PRK) works on a gut-wrench against Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ) during the 57kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 57kg, things could hardly have gone worse for Han in his gold-medal match with Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), which was a rematch of their semifinal clash at the 2023 Asian Games, which Han won 4-2.

Ahead 1-0 in the second period, Almaz Uulu stopped an arm throw attempt -- which, if challenged, could possibly have been overturned as a slip -- then added two 2-point exposures to go up 7-0.

Han determinedly fought on, and a scramble that he initiated with a front headlock roll gave him six points to cut the lead to 9-6. He then scored a takedown and added two gut wrenches to notch a 12-9 victory.

Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) and Chermen VALIEV (ALB) wrestle in the 74kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

At 74kg, Takahashi won by injury default after his opponent in the final, Olympic bronze medalist Chermen VALIEV (ALB), suffered a serious knee injury and, after trying to soldier on for a short time, was forced to give up the fight.

"It leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste, but I feel like I won the world title with the tackle that works best for me, so I'm happy," Takahashi said.

Takahashi, the 2024 world U23 champion, had a 3-2 lead when Valiev tried to counter a single-leg attempt 35 seconds into the second period by going over the top.

Takahashi had Valiev's left leg at an acute angle and his own action caused the knee to pop, after which he immediately sank to the mat in pain.

"When I got in on the single, I tried to get my head out and finish it off as I always do," said Takahashi, who scored off an identical move in the first period. "It was all but done, I thought. But the opponent was entangled deeper than I thought, and I heard a snap."

Valiev's leg was taped and he limped into the circle, but it was obvious it would be almost an impossible task to continue, much less win. Takahashi scored a stepout, then got a takedown that Valiev initially countered -- much to everyone's surprise -- but could not continue the move. Another takedown finally proved to Valiev that it was futile to go on and the match was ended at 4:07.

While Takahashi did not deliberately target the injured leg, nor did he let up on Valiev, which he said would have been disrespectful to such a high-level competitor. He also recalls not being given any special treatment when he suffered a similar injury himself while winning last year's U23 title.

"He's a strong competitor, and once you take the mat, you can't let your guard down," Takahashi said. "I thought to just give everything I had. When I had my injury a year ago, the opponent came right at me without thinking about it. Conversely, it would be rude to have eased up."

Takahashi's victory comes at what is increasingly looking like a golden era for Japan in freestyle. Following up on the two golds and a silver at the Paris Olympics, Japan got one of the first golds in Zagreb when Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) won the 70kg title on Sunday. And earlier Monday, Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) advanced to the 65kg final.

"At the Olympics, Japan really did amazingly well, so there were high expectations for this [competition]," Takahashi said. "Instead of feeling pressure or nerves, we want to show 'Japan is strong' and that actually gives us more confidence."

Looking ahead, which could include a direct clash with Paris silver medalist Daichi TAKATANI (JPN), Takahashi has his eyes firmly set on 2028.

"I'm really happy to be the world champion, but what I am aiming for is the Los Angeles Olympics," he said. "The Olympics is a stage where you can be a champion just once every four years. I will work on sharpening my tackles."

In the last bout of the evening, Hidlay was being tossed around like a rag doll by Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW), only to rally from an eight-point deficit through sheer persistence and determination. When the dust cleared, Hidlay had himself a 13-10 win and a gold medal in his senior world debut.

"It wasn't my best wrestling match as I wrestle a lot better and cleaner than that," the 26-year-old Hidlay said. "But I would say nothing probably describes my wrestling style and career better than being down by eight points and figuring out a way to win within a short time."

Gadzhimagomedov, a relative unknown on the scene, relied almost solely on a counter lift and throw that he used to great effect early on, scoring a pair of 4-pointers to take a 10-2 lead. When he tried a third one that could have ended the match, Hidlay managed to hold his position enough to get an exposure, which, with an unsuccessful challenge, cut the gap to 10-5 at the break.

In the second period, Gadzhimagomedov didn't seem to have the energy to get the necessary height to complete the move, and Hidlay finished off a pair of double-leg takedowns to pull within one with a minute to go. Then he hit the coup de grace, a 4-point takedown with :15 left to complete the miracle.

"I think the work I put in in the first period, I wasn't scoring, but it was taking it out of him a little bit," Hidlay said. "It was just a matter of time before I was able to get to my scores."

Hidlay, the 2022 world U20 silver medalist at 86kg, called being a senior world champion "surreal" and said that it hadn't fully sunken in yet.

"I just had so many emotions kind of flood over you in that moment and you kind of just go blind to the world," he said. "Just for a couple of seconds, you just feel like you're floating.

"It's just something I've worked for my entire life, my entire career. To have it all come together in that fashion is just pretty incredible."

Harutyunyan denies Mexico first-ever world medal

Earlier, Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) came an agonizing few centimeters from giving Mexico its first-ever world medalist.

That was the distance Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) kept his knee off the mat, preventing what would have been a last-second winning takedown in their 57kg bronze-medal match.

With a denied challenge giving him a final point, four-time European champion Harutyunyan secured a 7-4 win and a fourth world medal in five years.

Harutyunyan looked to be cruising to victory when he added a takedown and exposure to an activity point for a 5-0 lead going into the second period. But Bravo Young, a collegiate star in the United States, launched a comeback, sandwiching two takedowns around a Harutyunyan stepout to cut the gap to 6-4.

With the clock ticking down, Bravo Young deftly deked his way behind Harutyunyan, but the Armenian resisted as the Mexican did all he could to get his opponent's knee to hit the mat.

The other 57kg bronze went to Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB), who was on the activity clock when he scored a second-period takedown to give him a 3-1 victory over Vladimir EGOROV (MKD). With the victory, Abdullaev adds the world bronze to his Olympic bronze from last year in Paris.

Former Olympic and three-time world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) assured he wouldn't leave Zagreb empty-handed, and he did it with a dramatic last-second victory over David CARR (USA) at 74kg.

Sidakov received an activity point in the first period, but he was on the clock in the second when Carr scored a stepout. Seconds later, the activity point was added to Carr's tally to put him ahead 2-1.

It looked like that was how it was going to end, but the cagey Sidakov managed to slip behind and force Carr over the edge for a stepout with :05 left to secure a 2-2 win on criteria.

Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) earned the other 74kg bronze with a 3-1 victory over Yones EMAMI (IRI), securing the decisive points with a second-period takedown for his fourth career world medal.

Iran picked up two bronze medals, with 2024 Asian champion Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) taking home one at 79kg and reigning Asian champion Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) winning the other at 92kg.

Nokhodi, the 2024 Asian champion, took home his fifth world medal -- alas, still no gold -- when he scored a takedown and stepout in the first period and held on for a 4-2 victory over Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) at 79kg.

Firouzpour quickly finished off Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ), latching onto a cradle as he defended against a takedown attempt, then rocking backward to put the Kazakh onto his back and secure a fall in 1:49 for his first senior world medal.

The other 79kg bronze was claimed by Asian silver medalist Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN), who was trailing Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) until the last minute when he went on a point-scoring spree, including a 4-point pancake, for a 9-2 victory.

European silver medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) broke open a close match in the second period to beat Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 5-1 for the other 92kg bronze, upping his tally of world medals to four.

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

57kg (31 entries)
GOLD: Chongsong HAN (PRK) df. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 12-9

BRONZE: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) df. Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX), 7-4
BRONZE: Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) df. Vladimir EGOROV (MKD), 3-1

65kg (34 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) df. Peiman BIABANI (CAN), 5-0
SEMIFINAL: Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB), 5-0

74kg (35 entries)
GOLD: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Chermen VALIEV (ALB) by Inj. Def., 4:07 (8-2)

BRONZE: Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) df. David CARR (USA), 2-2
BRONZE: Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Yones EMAMI (IRI), 3-1

79kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) df. Levi HAINES (USA), 3-2

BRONZE: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE), 4-2
BRONZE: Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 9-2

92kg (26 entries)
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW), 13-10

BRONZE: Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 5-1
BRONZE: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) df. Kamil KURUGLIYEV (KAZ) by Fall, 1:49 (4-0)

97kg (29 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 5-2
SEMIFINAL: Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), 9-1

Women's Wrestling

55kg (18 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Kyong Ryong OH (PRK) df. Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN) by Fall, 1:06 (4-0)
SEMIFINAL: Ekaterina VERBINA (UWW) df. Andreea ANA (ROU), 5-3

59kg (22 entries)
SEMIFINAL: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Altjin TOGTOKH (MGL), by Fall, 1:22 (6-0)
SEMIFINAL: Maria VYNNYK (URK) df. Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN), 10-5