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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 

Stadnik retires: Europe's best who rewrote history

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - 11:06 By Vinay Siwach

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BAKU, Azerbaijan (February 4) -- Four Olympic medals, six World Championships medals, 10 European titles, two European Games golds, many triumphs and heartbreaks later, Mariya STADNIK (AZE) has called it a day.

Stadnik, who debuted 22 years ago in 2003, announced her decision to retire from wrestling in an event organized by Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Baku on Monday. In an emotional video, Stadnik can be seen removing her shoes on the mat in front of a crowd and then speaking about her career.

"I recorded my name in the history of Women's Wrestling. Thank you to everyone who created this story together with me," Stadnik wrote on Instagram. "Now it's time to close this page of my life and write a new history."

Back in 2003, Stadnik began with a gold medal at the U17 European Championships, won a U20 world title two years later, added senior one as well and had a storied Olympic career which was laden with heartbreaks.

"I always had the motivation and will to win," Stadnik said last year. "I have had this will since early childhood, and this is endless."

READ MORE: Stadnik, 34, remains unbeaten in Europe

Though her will has stretched her career over two decades, Stadnik's decision to retire came after a lot of thought.

"In wrestling, I used all my chances," Stadnik said. "Now I understand that the time has come when I can be useful for wrestling in another role."

The 36-year-old, who was born in Ukraine but competed for Azerbaijan, will be moving into a caretaker role with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation in Women's Wrestling and will be responsible for churning out new stars.

When Stadnik made her debut in 2003, Japan, China, United States and Canada were top nations. However, Stadnik changed that. She won her first World Championships medal in 2007 and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in which she won a bronze medal as an 18-year-old.

Soon, she won her first world title in 2009 and emerged as the new force from Europe. She went on to win the European Championships as well. Stadnik brought competition to Women's Wrestling.

"For these countries, the competition with me was always serious," she said. "We always had tense and intriguing fights that were followed by the whole world. Mariya Stadnik from Azerbaijan was always a danger for them."

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

Perhaps it was no surprise that she was in the final of 2011 World Championships and 2012 London Games. However, she came up short both times to Hitomi OBARI (JPN).

"I give a lot of respect to Obara because she was stronger than me at that moment and the London gold was hers," she said. "She was my strongest opponent whom I respect very much."

Barring those Japanese hurdles, Stadnik was unstoppable. She added more medals at the continental level and always stood on the podium at the World Championships.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)A dejected Mariya STADNIK (AZE) at the 48kg medal ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Then came the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Stadnik was at the peak of her wrestling her. A Olympic gold would take so much off her back. She was in the final of the 48kg in Rio and the gold medal was within touching distance as she was leading Eri TOSAKA (JPN) 2-1 in the final. But Tosaka crushed those dreams in the final five seconds, beating Stadnik 3-2.

Stadnik till today has no explanation as to what happened in those last five seconds of the final against Tosaka.

"I didn't watch my match from Rio for two years and still can't find an explanation why that competition ended like that," Stadnik said. "I knew and felt that the Rio gold should have been mine."

Stadnik geared up for one more time. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics would have been perfect ending for her. But by then, wrestling had changed with two-day weight ins, a newer generation of wrestlers had come up and Yui SUSAKI (JPN) was on a mission.

Mariya STADNIK (AZE)Mariya STADNIK (AZE) lost her first meeting with Yui SUSAKI (JPN) 2-2 at the Klippan Lady Open in 2018. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Max Rose-Fynn)

The first time Stadnik and Susaki faced each other was in the Klippan Lady Open final in 2018. Stadnik was winning the final but Susaki scored a stepout in the final second to shock Stadnik.

People doubted Stadnik and her mental strength. The 2019 World Championships gave a huge boost of confidence for Stadnik who won her second of the two world titles in Astana, exactly ten years after winning her first.

The Tokyo Olympics were just 10 months away and Stadnik was ready for it. However, with COVID-19 pandemic, it got pushed to 2021 and Susaki went on to win the gold medal with a 41-0 record in four bouts including a 10-0 rout of Stadnik in the semifinals.

Stadnik still managed to win a bronze medal, her fourth of the Olympics, tying her with Kaori ICHO (JPN) and Saori YOSHIDA (JPN). Icho was four golds and Yoshida has three silver and one bronze.

"I know people talk about the gold medal but I am so happy with this bronze. It's satisfying," she said back in 2021.

But Stadnik wasn't satisfied with wrestling. After being away from the mat in 2022, she returned in 2023 and won her ninth European title, the most in Women's Wrestling, extending her unbeaten streak in European Championships to 34 bouts.

Then she made a run for the Paris Olympics and though that meant taking losses to opponents she used to toy with in the past, the mother of two secured her place for Paris in the final qualifiers in Istanbul. Her body was ageing, reducing weight was becoming gruesome and her opponents were becoming quicker.

She returned home without a medal but became the first female wrestler to compete at five Olympics. Soon after Paris, Stadnik reflected on what she has left for wrestling and decided that a role off the mat was more suited now. Letting go off something so big in her life was hard and emotional for her.

"When I watched the video in which I take my shoes off, I had tears," she said. "This is the end of an important part of my life. What I loved so much for many years is ending."