Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold

Friday, October 6, 2023 - 18:43 By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 6) -- Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) flips the medal a few times before claiming it as the "best medal and God gift."

The Mongolian has his Asian Games gold medal around his neck. He can't stop staring at it before finally agreeing to speak for the interview.

There is one more thing that he calls a God's gift to him -- underhook, the deadly move he has mastered to win wrestling bouts.

It's a move that needs timing, accuracy, and perfect execution, combined with power to be perfect. Tumur Ochir has performed the move numerous times in his career and won. But what he did on Friday in the Lin'an Sports Culture and Exhibition Center was perfection. An underhook that brought down Asian champion Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg gold-medal bout was so clean that even Amouzad, who is equally good at it if not better, failed to defend himself.

Once he got the four points, Tumur Ochir continued to punish Amouzad for weak defense from par terre, getting three gut wrenches to win the 65kg gold medal 11-1. This is Tumur Ochir's first gold at a championship or Games at the senior level.

The activity point for Amouzad was the only point that Tumur Ochir gave up in five bouts in Hangzhou, winning other bouts by blanking his opponents. He won three of those 10-0 and the semifinal against Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) via fall.

"God gave me this [move]," Tumur Ochir said. "My body is for wrestling. This is the most important thing for me."

The final in Hangzhou was a rematch of the Asian Championships final from Astan which Amouzad won 3-1. While Tumur Ochir failed to break Amouzad's defense in Astana, he worked it out on Friday.

Once he got the underhook, Tumur Ochir positioned his left arm on Amouzad's biceps. A little adjustment and he launched the throw, using a little pull of Amouzad's left arm. He then transitioned it into a gut wrench and effortlessly turned Amouzad three times.

"In the second round, Amouzad was slowly getting tired and that is when I thought that I could perform this move. It was my chance to score," he said.

Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) scores against Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) in the 65kg final. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Amouzad's conditioning was also in question at the World Championships in Belgrade where he was the defending champion. He finished fifth after suffering a loss to eventual champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) and Shami MAMMEDOV (AIN).

In Hangzhou, Amouzad's first bout against Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB) made it more evident that the weight loss could be hampering his performance on the mat. Amouzad fell behind against Rakhmonov thrice before putting up a 12-6 win using counters. Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) then pushed him to the brink but he held on for a 2-1 win and booked a spot in the semifinal against BAJRANG. The underhook defense worked perfectly against Bajrang who was returning to international competition for the first time in 13 months. Amouzad got a huge four and then added a double-leg lift for another four to win 8-1 to enter the final.

The World Championships were disappointing for Tumur Ochir as well. He was the returning bronze medalist but finished 19th this year after suffering a close loss to Haji ALIYEV (AZE). The loss impacted Tumur Ochir significantly but he recovered from it to push himself at the Asian Games.

"At the World Championships, I lost and it made me feel very bad for a long time," he said. "But in the 10 days after that, I recovered from everything and I got the gold medal and I am really happy. I felt extremely disheartened after the World Championships."

As he failed to win a medal or finish in the top five at the World Championships, Tumur Ochir will have to try an Olympic quota for Mongolia at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek next year. With no Asian country qualifying at the World Championships barring Iran, it would be a tough ask.

"I will train hard and try my best," he said. "I will need to prepare for the Asian Qualifiers in Bishkek. I am researching about everyone who will be there."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) won the gold at 57kg, Japan's first in Freestyle. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The second Freestyle gold medal at the Asian Games on Friday was won by former U23 world champion Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) as he defeated Chongsong HAN (PRK) in the final. The gold medal ended Japan's 13-year wait for an Asian Games champion in Freestyle. Tatsuhiro YONEMITSU (JPN) was the last Asian Games champion in 2010.

Yonemitsu, who was in Hasegawa's corner in Hangzhou, himself had ended Japan's 16-year-long wait for a gold medal in the Asian Games after the 1994 edition.

Hasegawa, 27, was in control of the final from the opening whistle and mostly kept Han under check in the 7-3 win. Han was close to scoring on a few occasions but Hasegawa managed to defend the attacks.

"At the end, there were many times I nearly gave up points," he said. "At that time, I panicked a bit. I could hear [my coach]. I'm the type who listens to the coach, when I hear him, it calms me down. [Hearing to the coach] is not the biggest reason [for the win], but it was a big plus for me."

However, Hasegawa remained unsatisfied with his performance despite winning the gold medal.

"I'm not really that happy," Hasegawa said. "My feeling is that if it weren't for the great deal of support I received, I wouldn't have been here at all. Every time coach {Kenichi] Yumoto is in my corner I can wrestle relaxed. He told me to stay calm. When things get tough, he would shout advice, like the opponent is getting tired, or give it all to the end. I could clearly hear him and that spurred me on."

Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) defeated Asian champion AMAN 12-10 in the 57kg semifinal. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yumoto's advice came in handy in the semifinal against Asian champion AMAN as Hasegawa won 12-10 despite building a 6-1 lead at the break.

Aman stormed back with a takedown and increased the pace of the bout which challenged Hasegawa. But the Japanese was up for the challenge and countered Aman's single-leg attacks with takedowns.

He had earlier beaten Minghu LIU (CHN) and Nodirjon SAFAROV (UZB) 7-0 and 10-0 in the opening bout and quarterfinals.

A product of the Nippon Sports Science University, Hasegawa is employed by San-Ei Transportation along with the World Championships bronze medalist in Greco-Roman 77kg Nao KUSAKA (JPN). Both train full-time at the NSSU campus despite being employed.

"Kusaka got the ball rolling by taking third at the World Championships," Hasegawa said. "Unlike other companies, they really watch out for us. The president is always available and people are calling us. I think I'm really blessed."

In the bronze medal bouts, Asian champion Aman scored a 11-0 technical superiority win over Minghu LIU (CHN) to claim his first Asian Games medal at just 19 years of age. The second bronze medal was won by Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) as he defeated Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2.

At 65kg, Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) put up an impressive display against defending champion and four-time world medalist BAJRANG to win 10-0. The blanking meant that Bajrang will finish without a medal at an international tournament for the first time since 2017.

Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) claimed the other gold medal as he broke Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ) to win 11-6.

The 65kg medalists at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

RESULTS

57kg
GOLD: Toshihiro HASEGAWA (JPN) df. Chongsong HAN (PRK), 7-3

BRONZE: AMAN df. Minghu LIU (CHN), 11-0
BRONZE: Nasanbuyan NARMANDAKH (MGL) df. Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ), 8-2

65kg
GOLD: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI), 11-1

BRONZE: Kaiki YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. BAJRANG, 10-0
BRONZE: Kwang Jin KIM (PRK) df. Sanzhar MUKHTAR (KAZ), 11-6

#JapanWrestling

Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold

Thursday, December 18, 2025 - 14:47 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 18) -- Kaisei TANABE didn't have to deal with one Olympic champion in moving halfway to his goal of achieving a historic double of national titles in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. He likely won't be able to avoid another to complete the mission.

Tanabe powered his way to his first national crown in Greco with a victory at 63kg at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships on Thursday, the opening day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"While I feel relieved, I have my 'real job' of freestyle 65kg the day after tomorrow, so I have to get my mind ready and do the best I can," said Tanabe, the defending champion at freestyle 65kg who will face a potential major hurdle this year in Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA.

In other action, another potential future star with Iranian roots emerged on the scene after Waseda University's Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI captured the freestyle 79kg gold, while a clash of reigning world champions between Ami ISHII and Miwa MORIKAWA was set up for the women's 68kg title.

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for next year's Asian Championships, and the first of two qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Olympic weight classes are being contested over two days, while non-Olympic divisions are completed in a single day.

Kaisei TANABE, left, works to get behind Ryota KOSHIBA in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Tanabe acknowledged that he dodged a bullet when Paris 60kg gold medalist Kenichiro FUMITA withdrew on the eve of the tournament due to injury. Fumita was entered at 63kg in what would have been his first competition since his triumph in Paris.

As both are Nippon Sports Science University alumni and still train at the campus, Tanabe said he has spent some time sparring with Fumita.

"Part of me wanted to face him [today]. But in practice, I've never scored a point," he admitted. "It was a crummy feeling. But if we faced each other in an actual match, I would never give up and try my best to win. Without him here, this became my tournament and I felt I had to take the title."

On Thursday, Tanabe showed he was clearly the best of the rest, sailing through the field with three straight technical falls. He capped his day with 4-point throw that finished off an 8-0 victory in the final in just under two minutes over Ryota KOSHIBA, another NSSU alum who happens to also dabble in freestyle.

Tanabe, whose father Chikara TANABE was a freestyle 55kg bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a current NSSU coach, said he likes to integrate techniques from the two styles into each other.

"To put it as simply as I can, Greco is mostly about throws and often has big 4-point moves, while freestyle is mainly precise techniques," Tanabe said. "Amid that, I want to add the fine, small moves to Greco and, amid the small moves in freestyle, aim for the big move that gives me a point spread."

Kaisei TANABE finishes up his victory over Ryota KOSHIBA with a four-point throw in the Greco 63kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

This fall, Tanabe was among a number of Japanese wrestlers who participated in the German Bundesliga, where he said he sometimes worked on Greco with his teammates. And at times for fun, the Greco wrestlers and him would do freestyle.

Tanabe won his first national title at freestyle 61kg in 2024, then moved up to 65kg last year and won the gold in the absence of Kiyooka, who like other Olympic medalists was on an extended post-Olympics hiatus. He just missed out on the two-style double that year when he lost in the Greco 67kg final to Katsuaki ENDO.

Tanabe won the freestyle 65kg gold at the Asian Championships in March, then finally clashed with Kiyooka -- also an NSSU alum -- two months later at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, which is the second of the two domestic qualifiers for major international tournaments.

Tanabe held his own in a close 4-3 loss in the final, but Kiyooka dominated a playoff for the team to the World Championships with a one-sided 13-2 victory. Kiyooka went on to take the silver medal in Zagreb.

Should Tanabe manage to capture the gold on Sunday, it would make him the first wrestler to complete the Greco-freestyle double at the same tournament since Mitsuo YOSHIDA did it back in 1973 with victories in the 100kg weight classes.

As it is, Tanabe's victory on Thursday made him the first to achieve a career double since Atsushi MATSUMOTO switched to Greco and won at 85kg in 2016 after winning the first three of four national freestyle titles at 84/86kg between 2011 and 2014. He returned to freestyle and won again at 92kg in 2018.

Ironically, another wrestler could beat Tanabe to the punch. Taishi NARIKUNI, the 2022 world champion at freestyle 70kg, is entered in that weight class as well as Greco 72kg. Both divisions will be completed before Sunday, when the freestyle 65kg final will be held.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, right, spins behind Kanata YAMAGUCHI in the freestyle 79kg final. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

At freestyle 79kg, Gharehdaghi used effective counters to score an 8-0 victory in the final over Kanata YAMAGUCHI, a world U20 bronze medalist at 74kg who had beaten him in two previous encounters.

That followed up on Gharehdaghi's victory at the Meiji Cup in May, which was tempered by a loss in the world team playoff to last year's Emperor's Cup champion Ryonosuke KAMIYA, who has moved up to 86kg.

"Losing the playoff was devastating, and I was determined to work hard so that I wouldn't lose again," said the 19-year-old Gharehdaghi, a product of the JOC Elite Academy.

Gharehdaghi was born and raised in Japan to an Iranian father and Japanese mother. Through the influence of his father, who works in the automobile industry, he started wrestling at age 3.

Although he shares a compassion for the sport with his ancestral homeland, he has only been there on visits and cannot speak Persian.

His background is similar to that of one of Japan's top rising stars, world 97kg bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA, one of six siblings in the sport who use their mother's family name. They all started the sport at a kids wrestling club outside of Tokyo run by their father.

"I'm well aware of them," Gharehdaghi said. "I really respect them. Every one of them is strong. Their father was here today and gave me some advice."

In other finals on the opening day, Asian bronze medalist Takashi ISHIGURO went on the offensive in the second period to notch a 6-3 victory at freestyle 92kg over Daisuke MASUDA to defend his crown and claim a fifth career national title.

Kenta OGUSU won the Greco 55kg gold by completing a 9-1 technical fall with one second left over Mizuki ARAKI, who had knocked off Asian champion Kohei YAMAGIWA in the semifinals.

At women's 65kg, 2024 world U20 champion Nana IKEHATA defeated Haruka KOBARA 6-0 for her first national title, while Mahiro YOSHITAKE defeated Chisato YOSHIDA 7-2 for her third national crown and first at 72kg.

World champion Ami ISHII scores a takedown in the women's 68kg semifinal against Kaede MATSUYAMA. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Ishii, Morikawa set up clash; Kagami sharp in return

In Olympic weight classes that were competed through the semifinals, a blockbuster final was set up at women's 68kg when Ishii, the reigning world champion, advanced to a showdown with Morikawa, the winner at 65kg in Zagreb.

Ishii won both of her matches by one-sided technical falls -- giving up a lone takedown in her opening match when she lost her balance.

"I didn't think my matches went very well," Ishii said. "Especially in the first match, I rushed it too much. I want to be the aggressor and have crushing victories."

Morikawa met some stiff resistance in her semifinal with world U20 champion Ray HOSHINO, scoring two first-period takedowns before holding on for a 6-2 victory. Hoshino had knocked off three-time world medalist Masako FURUICHI 8-6 in the quarterfinals.

Ishii and Morikawa have met three times, with Ishii holding a 2-1 advantage. She won their first meeting 5-2 in the 2022 Emperor's Cup final. They clashed again in the semifinals at the 2023 Meiji Cup, with Morikawa winning 8-5. That set up a world team playoff between the two, which Ishii won 2-1.

Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI, left, competes for the first time since her victory in Paris. (Photo: Takeo Yabuki / wrestling-spirits.jp)

Meanwhile, Olympic 76kg champion Yuka KAGAMI looked sharp in her first competition since her victory in Paris, scoring a technical fall before beating defending champion and Asian bronze medalist Nodoka YAMAMOTO 13-4 to advance to the final.

Kagami, who was limited to an activity point in the first period by Yamamoto, was being pressured at the edge early in the second when she neatly reversed the tide and dumped her opponent for a 4-point takedown.

Kagami padded the lead and, despite giving up a takedown and roll, she was never in danger. In Friday's final, she will face veteran Yasuha MATSUYUKI.

At Greco 87kg, rising teen star Taizo YOSHIDA, a world senior and U20 bronze medalist at 82kg, posted two technical falls, each inside of two minutes, to advance to the final. Two-time defending champion So SAKABE was a late withdrawal.

Day 1 Results

Freestyle

57kg (18 entries)
SF 1: Yamato OGAWA df. Kento YUMIYA, 6-4
SF 2: Fuga SASAKI df. Yamato FURUSAWA, 3-1

79kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 8-0
BRONZE: Kaiyo IMAI df. Hirotaka ABE, 7-0
BRONZE: Subaru TAKAHARA df. Kojiro SHIGA, 5-2

SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Hirotaka ABE by TF, 10-0, 2:06
SF 2: Kanata YAMAGUCHI df. Subaru TAKAHARA by TF, 12-2, 3:45

92kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Daisuke MASUDA, 6-3
BRONZE: Satoshi MIURA df. Sorato KANAZAWA,6-2
BRONZE: Ryogo ASANO df. Takato UCHIDA by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Takashi ISHIGURO df. Sorato KANAZAWA, 7-5
SF 2: Daisuke MASUDA df. Takato UCHIDA, 4-1

125kg (10 entries)
SF 1: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Akinari ORIYAMA by TF, 10-0, :50
SF 2: Taira SONODA df. Hibiki ITO, 3-2

Greco-Roman

55kg (17 entries)
GOLD: Kenta OGUSU df. Mizuki ARAKI by TF, 9-1, 5:59
BRONZE: Kohei YAMAGIWA df. Daisuke MORISHITA, 5-0
BRONZE: Sanshiro TAKAHASHI vs Taketo NINOMIYA by TF, 9-0, 2:00

SF 1: Mizuki ARAKI df. Kohei YAMAGIWA, 6-5
SF 2: Kenta OGUSU df. Sanshiro TAKAHASHI by TF, 9-1, 4:04

63kg (19 entries)
GOLD: Kaisei TANABE df. Ryota KOSHIBA by TF, 8-0, 1:54
BRONZE: Kazuki YABE df. Shoya ITO, 7-0
BRONZE: Toya MINAMI df. Miruto TOKUHIGA, 7-5

SF 1: Kaisei TANABE df. Kazuki YABE by TF, 8-0, 1:12
SF 2: Ryota KOSHIBA df. Miruto TOKUHIGA by TF, 9-0, 3:56

87kg (9 entries)
SF 1: Taizo YOSHIDA df. Genki YAHAGI by TF, 9-0, 1:59
SF 2: Daisei ISOE df. Chihiro MOTOHASHI, 10-5

97kg (16 entries)
SF 1: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Koki MATSUMOTO by TF, 9-0, 4:12
SF 2: Takahiro TSURUTA df. Kanta SHIOKAWA, 5-0

Women's Wrestling

65kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Nana IKEHATA df. Haruka KOBARA, 6-0
BRONZE: Suzu SASAKI df. Chika AKASHI by TF, 14-4, 2:59
BRONZE: Nanoha YASHIMA df. Rin MIYAJI, by Inj. Def.

SF 1: Nana IKEHATA df. Suzu SASAKI, 10-2
SF 2: Haruka KOBARA df. Nanoha YASHIMA, 6-4

68kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Ami ISHII df. Kaede MATSUYAMA by TF, 10-0, 3:41
SF 2: Miwa MORIKAWA df. Ray HOSHINO, 6-2

72kg (9 entries)
GOLD: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Chisato YOSHIDA, 7-2
BRONZE: Ai SAKAI df. Miyu TAKAYAMA, 5-5
BRONZE: Yuka FUJIKURA df. Asahi NAKAMURA, 8-0

SF 1: Chisato YOSHIDA df. Miyu TAKAYAMA by TF, 10-0, 4:56
SF 2: Mahiro YOSHITAKE df. Yuka FUJIKURA, 4-0

76kg (8 entries)
SF 1: Yuka KAGAMI df. Nodoka YAMAMOTO, 13-4
SF 2: Yasuha MATSUYUKI df. Makoto KOMADA, 7-0

Tumur Ochir's 'god's gift' lands Asian Games gold

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Tanabe moves halfway to historic double victory with Greco 63kg gold