#WrestleNewDelhi

World Champ Fumita Shows Effective Defensive Side in Regaining Asian Gold

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 18:30 By Ken Marantz

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NEW DELHI (Feb. 19) — Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)  was put on the defensive in the final, but it hardly kept the world champion from regaining the Greco-Roman 60kg gold medal at the Asian Championships.

Fumita scored points off a counter to an arm throw attempt by Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) and went on to notch a 4-0 victory in the final as the Greco-Roman competition concluded on the second day in New Delhi.

“He’s really good at throws, and I felt that from the first contact,” Fumita said. “So, I kept firmly in mind not letting him complete a throw.”

Just as he regained the world title that he last won in 2017, Fumita regained the Asian gold that he had previously captured three years ago—also in New Delhi. The victory on Wednesday night also assured he will finish at the top of the UWW rankings and gain the top seed for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“It’s an honor,” Fumita said of the top seed. “It’s a rare thing, as there have hardly been any Japanese No. 1 going the into Olympics. For me, with No. 1 seed comes responsibility, but I will work hard to be worthy of it.”

Fumita said his main objective coming into New Delhi was to score points from the standing position. While he failed to actually do so in any of his three matches, he said he feels he made progress.

“In the end, I didn’t score any points, but in terms of form, I feel my wrestling was very good,” he said. “My coach said it was good and that I [have the basis] for making more progress.”

Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) shutout Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 4-0, and claimed his second Asian gold medal. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

In the final, Sharshenbekov, the world U-23 silver medalist, came out aggressively and threw caution to the wind with a twisting arm throw. But Fumita reacted perfectly and stopped the move halfway to gain 2 points. When Sharshenbekov got to his feet, Fumita forced him out for a 3-0 lead. At the end of the first period, Sharshenbekov attempted the same move, but came up with nothing but air. 

In the second period, Fumita gained a point for passivity, but was unable to pad his lead in the par terre position, despite having scored a combined 14 points from it in his previous two matches. Still, he was never put in danger and fought off all further attempts to secure the gold.

By winning the world gold last September in Nur-Sultan, Fumita secured his place at the Tokyo Olympics, which is where his ultimate goal lies. Prospects are high he can end Japan’s long Greco gold drought at the Olympics—the country has not had a Greco champion since Atsuji Miyahara won the 52kg gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Is that something he keeps in mind?

“That was more than 10 years before I was born, so it’s not something I actually have a sense of,” Fumita said. “It’s sad that there hasn’t been a Japanese Greco champion in all that time. For me, I want to get [a gold] and help make Greco more popular.”

Fumita said he will compete one more time before the Tokyo Games, at the Grand Prix of Germany in Dortmund in June. 

RYU Hansu (KOR) scored the 4-1 win over Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB) and won his third Asian title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Ryu preps for Olympic qualifier with continental gold
In other action, former two-time world champion RYU Hansu (KOR) capped his preparatory tournament for next month’s Asian Olympic qualifier by winning hjs second straight 67kg title and third Asian gold overall.

The other three golds at stake all went to Iran, with two of them coming at the expense of Korean opponents. 

Ryu, the 2017 world champion who finished eighth in Nur-Sultan and still needs to qualify for Tokyo 2020, chalked up a 4-1 win in the final over Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB), who was coming off a victory at the Matteo Pellicone ranking series event.

Ryu gained a passivity point and a takedown for a 3-0 lead into the second period. Bakhshilloev gained a chance to go ahead when he received a passivity point and the par terre advantage. When he was unable to turn Ryu, his side lost a challenge that Ryu was using his legs to block, giving Ryu a 4-1 lead, which is how the match ended. 

“This competition was a check for me ahead of the next competition,” Ryu said. “It was most important to work on my par terre technique. If I can perfect this technique, I can get a medal at the next competition.”

Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) ended his finals match early against Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) with an 8-0 technical superiority win. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

In the 72kg final, 2018 world junior champion Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) put together a 4-point takedown-roll combination in each period, defeating Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) by 8-0 technical fall in 4:09.

Compatriot Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) followed by adding the senior gold to his Asian U-23 title with a 3-1 win over CHOI Junhyeong (KOR) in the 82kg final. 

World U-23 bronze medalist Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) then capped the night by scoring the go-ahead takedown with :57 left to capture the 97kg gold with a 5-2 win over LEE Seyeol (KOR).

Iran, which also picked up a pair of bronze medals from Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) at 60kg and Hossein ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI) at 67kg, easily won the team title with 190 points. The Iranians took home medals in all but one of the 10 weight classes.

Uzbekistan, which captured three bronze medals on the final day, finished second with 146 points, 10 ahead of Kazakhstan in third.

Host India had no finalists on Wednesday, but went 3-for-3 in the third-place matches, much to the delight of the sparse home crowd at K.D. Jadhav Wrestling Stadium. Winning bronzes were Ashu ASHU (IND) at 67kg, Aditya KUNDU (IND) at 72kg and Hardeep HARDEEP (IND) at 97kg.

The most exciting bronze-medal match came at 82kg, in which world 77kg bronze medalist Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) was losing 2-1 to Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ), only to execute a nifty duck-under tackle that sent his opponent to his back for a fall with :12 left. 

The competition continues Thursday with five weight classes (50kg, 55kg, 59kg, 68kg, 76kg) in women’s wrestling. 

Day 2 results

Greco-Roman

60kg (10 entries)
GOLD – Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) df. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ), 4-0
BRONZE - Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Gyanender GYANENDER (IND), 6-0 
BRONZE - Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) df. Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), 4-3 

67kg (11 entries)
GOLD – RYU Hansu (KOR) df. Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB), 4-1
BRONZE - Ashu ASHU (IND) df. Abdulkarim ALHASAN (SYR), 8-1
BRONZE - Hossein ASSADI KOLMATI (IRI) df. Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN), 5-3

72kg (9 entries)
GOLD – Almin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) df. Ibragim MAGOMADOV (KAZ) by TF, 8-0, 4:09
BRONZE - Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ) df. CHEN Yan Kai (TPE) by Fall, :41 (8-0)
BRONZE - Aditya KUNDU (IND) df. Nao KUSAKA (JPN) by TF, 8-0, 1:46

82kg (7 entries)
GOLD – Mahdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) df. CHOI Junhyeong (KOR), 3-1
BRONZE - Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) df. Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ) by Fall, 5:48 (8-2)

97kg (10 entries)
GOLD – Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) df. LEE Seyeol (KOR), 5-2
BRONZE - Muhammadali SHAMSIDDINOV (UZB) df. Ponlawat SIAMMAI (THA) by Fall, :24 (4-0) 
BRONZE - Hardeep HARDEEP (IND) df. Beksultan MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), 3-1 

Obituary

Japanese legend and Olympic champ Obara passes away aged 44

Saturday, July 19, 2025 - 11:00 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (July 19) — Legendary Japanese wrestler Hitomi OBARA, the 2012 London Olympic gold medalist at women's 48kg and an eight-time world champion, passed away on Friday, the Japanese media reported on Saturday. She was 44.

The Japan Self-Defense Force Physical Training School, where Obara was a women's coach, said it was withholding the cause of death "out of consideration for the privacy and emotions of the bereaved family," according to The Yomiuri Shimbun.

Obara, the mother of two elementary school-aged children, was a director in the Japan Wrestling Federation, and had just been appointed in June as a coach of the women's national team for the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics along with fellow former Olympic champion Kaori ICHO.

Obara, who won six of her world titles at 51kg under her maiden name of SAKAMOTO, became a model case for the ups and downs of high-level sports and the ability to overcome grave disappointment. Her victory at the London Olympics, at age 31, came after being denied spots on Japan's team at both of the two previous Olympics by fellow legend Saori YOSHIDA.

Born in 1981 in the wrestling hotbed of Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, in northern Japan, Obara went on to attend Chukyo University (now Shigakkan), which she helped turn into a national powerhouse along with Yoshida and fellow Hachinohe native Icho.

"It's hard, it's hard, I can't keep from crying," former Shigakkan and national team coach Kazuhito SAKAE was quoted as telling the Japanese media. "She was a wrestling prodigy. At the least, she was a hard worker with a strong sense of responsibility. She was wrestling's heaven-sent child. I still can't believe it." 

Obara won back-to-back world 51kg titles in 1999 and 2000. A serious knee injury would keep her from returning to the world championships until 2005, from which she won four in a row.

In between, she attempted to make the Japanese's squad to the 2004 Athens Olympics, but that dream ended with a loss by fall to Yoshida in the 55kg final at the All-Japan Championships in December 2002. She would only compete once in 2003 before returning in earnest in 2004 and beginning her streak of world titles the following year.

But more disappointment came her way in the qualifying process for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Again it was Yoshida who squashed her dreams, beating her 2-0 (2-0, 4-0) in the 2006 All-Japan final. After the match, Obara sat for hours sobbing in a corner of the warm-up room, a towel draped over her head.

Obara managed to rebound from the defeat to win a playoff for the 51kg spot at the 2007 World Championships, where she won gold No. 5. After adding No. 6 a year later with a run to the gold that included a victory over future Olympic champ Helen MAROULIS (USA), she decided to retire.

But despite all of her success, the lack of a Olympic gold -- or even an appearance, for that matter -- still left a sting that would not abate. That, and the decision of her younger sister Makiko to retire, led her to attempt the difficult path of cutting down to 48kg to make it to London.

Makiko was a world bronze medalist at 48kg in 2005 and 2008, but decided to end her career after placing eighth in 2009. Hitomi had never wanted to displace her sister from the national team, but now the door to 48kg was open.

Her biggest battle may have been with the scale. On the mat, she was as unbeatable as ever, storming to world golds in 2010 and 2011 -- now as Obara after getting married in 2010.

There was one slip-up along the way -- a semifinal loss to So Sim HYANG (PRK) at the 2010 Asian Games that ended her 70-match winning streak in international matches. But she regained her confidence with a decisive win at the All-Japan, and it was with a full head of steam that she headed to the London Olympics, which she had announced would be her swan song.

In London, Obara knocked off defending Olympic champion Carol HUYNH (CAN) in the semifinals before coming from behind in the final to defeat Mariya STADNIK (AZE) 2-1 (0-4, 1-0, 2-0) -- a replay of the gold-medal match at the 2011 worlds.

"If you keep doing what you love and never give up, you can achieve your dream," Obara told students at the junior high school she attended during a visit in January last year.

Upon retiring, Obara joined the staff at the Self-Defense Force Physical Training School, where she was also an officer. Among the members she coached were Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO, Himeka TOKUHARA and Masako FURUICHI, who all made Japan's team to this year's World Championships.

In 2022, Obara was inducted into UWW's Hall of Fame along with Yoshida and Icho.