World champs Fujinami, Sakurai capture Asian Games golds

Friday, October 6, 2023 - 02:57 By Vinay Siwach

LIN'AN, Hangzhou, China (October 5) -- It rarely matters who Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) faces on the mat. But Thursday was a little special for Fujinami as she faced a Chinese wrestler, Qianyu PANG (CHN), for the first time in her career.

Fujinami has been expecting to wrestle a Chinese wrestler for a long time now but has somehow avoided meeting one at the international tournaments she has wrestled.

While Pang could have brought a few new challenges for Fujinami, the result of the bout was rather expected. Fujinami rolled to a 10-0 technical superiority win in the 53kg final to win her first gold medal at the Asian Games.

Despite it being a one-sided affair, Fujinami doesn't play down the final against Pang, the silver medalist in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Fujinami scored the final of the five takedowns in the match with one minute and 24 seconds left on the clock.

"The Chinese opponent [Pang], made it to the final at the Tokyo Olympics, and I had seen live broadcasts of her at global events," Fujinami said. "She was an opponent who I wanted to face. I'm glad I had a chance to wrestle her."

Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) pins ANTIM during the 53kg quarterfinal. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The win was more special as Fujinami not only extended her unbeaten run in wrestling to 130 bouts but has now beaten all four Tokyo Olympic medalists with Pang being the final wrestler among the four.

Fujinami had defeated bronze medalist Bortulya BAT OCHIR (MGL) in February at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series. Four months later, she won against Tokyo champion Mayu MUKAIDA (now SHIDOCHI) in the Meiji Cup and defeated the second bronze medalist from Tokyo Vanesa KALADINSKAYA (AIN) two weeks ago en route to her second world title in Belgrade. While Mukaida did score points on Fujinami, the three others failed to do so.

"At the World Championships, the defense was my weak point. So I had to fix this at these Games. I competed with a goal of not letting my opponents touch my legs and the score reflected that."

The Asian Games gold medal is another addition to her two world titles and as many Asian Championships gold medals for Fujinami. But the teenager considers these a stepping stone towards reaching her ultimate goal of winning the gold medal in Paris.

"I'm happy right now to win the title at the Asian Games," she said. "But my ultimate goal is to win at the Paris Olympics. To that end, I want to further raise my wrestling skills."

The 19-year-old will wrestle in Paris after she qualified Japan for the Olympics at 53kg by winning the world title. According to Japan Wrestling Federation rules, a wrestler winning the quota with a medal will be the automatic choice for Paris. Fujinami secured that in Belgrade.

Pang, who still is carrying the hope of winning the Olympic gold, failed to earn the Paris quota for China in Belgrade and will have to travel to Bishkek for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers to earn a spot.

"I still want to win the gold medal," Pang said. "This is the first time competing against each other. I did not perform at my best level and my opponent was very strong. I just thought about how to defend. I need to learn from my opponent."

Fujinami too expressed her gratitude towards Pang for wrestling and said that she was exceeding her own expectations.

"Although I have never competed against her before, I spoke to her and felt that she has a good character," she said. "I really wanted to win this match. I was performing better than I thought in this match too."

That despite the turnaround time from the grueling World Championships being less than two weeks.

"It was only a short time, and there was the difficulty of cutting weight," she said. "But this is a multi-sports event held only once every four years. I entered this tournament wanting it to be a good step toward the Olympics."

An emotional Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) after winning the 50kg gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

While there was calmness about Fujinami and her wins, chaos took over the mat on either side of Fujinami's gold-medal bout.

Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) was in tears and confusion as her hand was raised after the 50kg final while Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) needed a stepout and caution in the final few seconds to win at 57kg.

With the three gold medals, Japan has ended the wait for an Asian Games gold in Women's Wrestling as it failed to win any at the 2018 Games in Jakarta.

Yoshimoto opened the gold account, but not before a heart-in-mouth moment against returning bronze medalist Son Hyang KIM (PRK) in the final seconds.

Kim, trailing 3-2, used a counter lift to expose Yoshimoto who was holding to Kim's left leg. Both Kim and Yoshimoto were awarded two points each and Kim was given one more point for the reverse at the buzzer. But Japan challenged the call. On review, it was confirmed that the time had expired before the reversal was confirmed, giving Yoshimoto a 5-4 win.

"It was my first time facing a DPR Korea wrestler," Yoshimoto said. "If I don't win in Japan, I can't go to overseas tournaments. The next time I face a DPR Korea wrestler, I will reflect on what happened here and use that to my advantage. This time I got in on several tackles, and if I could have solidly gotten the takedowns, the match would have gone easier for me. I will practice hard to improve in this aspect."

Yoshimoto shot numerous times and got to Kim's right leg many times however she did not manage to finish all. She scored the first takedown during Kim's activity period and led 3-0. Kim answered with a double-leg in the second period to close the gap to just one point.

But like most bouts between Japan and DPR Korean wrestlers, there was a twist in the tale. Yoshimoto shot for the single leg and Kim used all her reverse to get the lift. As the challenge decision was announced, Kim began celebrating her win leaving Yoshimoto stunned. It was later when she saw the scoreboard she realized that she won 5-4.

"Up to now, when DPR Korea wrestlers faced the Japanese, they have been able to come back and win matches at the very end," Yoshimoto said. "If I became defensive, it would be the same pattern. So I went on the attack. I got in on a tackle, but I couldn't finish it off. Anyway, it was the right move to attack."

Yoshimoto, a trainee at the Shigakkan University, lost to Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Meiji Cup in the final seconds of the 50kg final, leaving her frustrated. Thursday was another example of Yoshimoto failing to finish the last attempt.

"Half of me is relieved, and half is anguish," Yoshimoto said in the post-match interview with tears still rolling down from her eyes. "From the time I lost in June [to Susaki], I worked the whole time on finishing off tackles. This time, the same thing happened and I'm still lagging. That's very frustrating.

"This summer, I was able to train at Shigakkan, but there was no air conditioning. That's pretty rare, but I worked on stamina training. In the final, the DPR Koreans started getting particularly tired, and I thought that put us on the same level and I could outlast her on strength. It was a dangerous match, but I think the result came [from my preparations]."

Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), blue, survived this fall position for over a minute against In Sun JONG (PRK). (Photo: UWW / Sachiko Hotaka)

The 57kg final was a bout of two halves, World champion Sakurai managed to beat In Sun JONG (PRK) after mounting a comeback from 6-0 down. Jong, who was impressive in her defense using the split, was clearly the better wrestler for five minutes of the bout.

Sakurai's every attempt to score was easily foiled by Jong before she began to get tired. A stepout opened the scoring for Sakurai and the trend would continue with Jong receiving an activity warning and two stepouts with one caution. Sakurai now trailed 6-5 with 20 seconds on the clock. She could go behind Jong who literally walked out of off the mat, receiving another caution, giving up her lead to Sakurai 7-6.

"It's heavy [the medal].," Sakurai said. "It's the heaviest of the gold medals I've received. There's really a difference between winning and second place."

Talking about the final bout, Sakurai said that she believed that she would be able to win despite trailing 6-0 at the break because of the close wins she has managed domestically.

"Mentally, I wasn't beaten and that allowed me to get the win," she said. "I was behind the whole match and I came back in the final minute. In Japan, there are matches where I didn't give up to the very end and I was able t to win at the last second. Because of that, I could win today when my back was to the wall."

Sakurai has dished out wins from the jaws of defeat including her Meiji Cup final win against Sae NANJO (JPN). She used a buzzer-beating headpinch to make the Japan team for the World Championships.

"No matter who the opponent is, no matter how strong, I am mentally strong when I go out on the mat," she said. "Generally, I'm not the strong-minded type, but when I'm on the mat, I stay determined to the end."

Uzbekistan opens account

In the bronze medal bouts, Uzbekistan captured two, their first-ever medals in women's wrestling at the Asian Games.

Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) was the first bronze medalist at 50kg as she defeated Pooja GEHLOT 9-2. Both wrestlers lost to Yoshimoto in the earlier rounds.

Soon, Asian silver medalist Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) pinned MANSI in the 57kg bronze-medal bout to claim the second medal for Uzbekistan.

"This the first medal for Uzbekistan in Asian Games," Sobirova said. "So the bronze medal is worth the gold medal."

China claimed the other bronze medals at 50kg and 57kg. The second bronze medal at 50kg was won by Jiang ZHU (CHN) who pinned Miran CHEON (KOR) while Kexin HONG (CHN) rolled to a 10-0 win over Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL).

At 53kg, ANTIM saw off Tokyo bronze medalist Bat Ochir to add a bronze medal to her World Championships bronze medal. A takedown was the difference as she defeated the Mongolian 3-1. The second bronze medal was won by Hyogyong CHOE (PRK) as she beat Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE).

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Remina YOSHIMOTO (JPN) df. Son Hyang KIM (PRK) 5-4

BRONZE: Jiang ZHU (CHN) df. Miran CHEON (KOR), via fall
BRONZE: Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) df. Pooja GEHLOT, 9-2

53kg
GOLD: Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) df. Qianyu PANG (CHN), 10-0

BRONZE: ANTIM df. Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL), 3-1
BRONZE: Hyogyong CHOE (PRK) df. Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE), 11-0

57kg
GOLD: Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN) df. In Sun JONG (PRK), 7-6

BRONZE: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL), 10-0
BRONZE: Laylokhon SOBIROVA (UZB) df. MANSI, via fall

#WrestleAmman

Masoumi: Young star's quest for wrestling glory

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 - 15:56 By Vinay Siwach

AMMAN, Jordan (March 18) — Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) already has his eyes set on next week’s Asian Championships in Amman. His goal is clear: gold. But the path to the podium runs through two opponents he knows all too well — Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) and BUHEEERDUN (CHN).

Two years ago at the Asian Championships in Astana, the then 18-year-old Masoumi suffered his only international losses to non-Iranian wrestlers. A semifinal defeat to Munkhtur was followed by a bitter loss to Buheeerdun in the bronze-medal bout at 125kg. Now, as a more focused and confident 20-year-old, Masoumi is eager to avenge those setbacks.

Masoumi has grown immensely since then. He is now a six-time world champion in various age groups, with two more titles added in 2024. In those competitions, he didn’t allow a single point to be scored against him. He continued his flawless form at the 2025 Zagreb Open, outscoring his opponents 42-0 in four matches. His elbow, which had once been a source of discomfort, is now fully healed, and Masoumi shows no signs of slowing down.

"I hope to use this experience and return to win the World Championships in Zagreb," he says after claiming gold in the Croatian capital.

Masoumi is on phone with his family, showing them the new sneakers he has bought in Zagreb. Not one but three pairs.

He loves shoes.

"I have a sneaker collection myself, and I really love shoes," he said. "I always carry a lot of them with me. For example, in this tournament alone, I brought five pairs. I mostly try to wear special brands and new collections. I think I have around 100 pairs of shoes."

That's where he spends most his money.

"I don't have to spend money on my face because it's perfect."

That is one way of easing off before the interview. Masoumi settles down with a big bar of chocolate which he finishes by the first two questions into the interview.

Masoumi has just won the Zagreb Open gold medal in a dominating manner and began the new Olympic cycle with a bang.

"The ultimate dream for every athlete is definitely an Olympic gold, and that’s mine as well," he says. "I want to stand on the podium in Los Angeles in four years."

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Masoumi is the most exciting heavyweight wrestling on the planet. He isn't your regular teenager of 125kg. Masoumi is a very quick for 125kg who destroys his opponents with a smile. He has six age-group world titles in three years.

He can gut-wrench, switch to the typical Iranian underhook pushouts and even wore down the opponents with his heavy-hands.

Masoumi was 16 when made his international debut at the 2021 U17 World Championships in Budapest at 110kg. He outscored his opponents 35-1 in four bouts and won gold. Then came the U20 World Championships next year. He won gold at 125kg and followed it with a gold medal at the U23 Worlds the same year. He was 17.

His senior debut came in 2022 at the World Cup in Coralville, Iowa, where he won all three of his bouts as Iran finished second to the United States.

The year 2023 wasn’t as fruitful, with Masoumi suffering losses at the Asian Championships and domestically. However, he was given the chance to challenge Zare for a spot in the Iranian team for the Paris Olympics. The match-up took place at the 2024 Zagreb Open, but Masoumi came up short.

Since then, he has bounced back with gold medals at five international tournaments, and now he is aiming for a sixth in Amman.

So, how did a wrestler from Gilan, a province not traditionally known for freestyle wrestling, rise to prominence so quickly?

“There’s no rivalry between us and Mazandaran,” Masoumi says. "It feels good to beat a province known for producing many wrestlers like Mazandaran, but I don’t feel good about defeating a specific city or village. There’s no animosity."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) with his father Fardin. (Photo courtesy Amirreza Masoumi)

Masoumi was born in Masal village of the Gilan town in northern Iran. His father, Fardin, is a two-time World Championships medalists and the one who pushed him into wrestling.

"When I was three or four years old, when my father wrestled and I went to the competition hall to watch his practice, my childhood was intertwined with wrestling right there," he says. "I was able to get to know the wrestling environment much better in my childhood."

But it was a third-place finish, Masoumi's first medal at a national tournament, which resulted in congratulatory message and reception for Masoumi which he loved.

"I was 12 or 13 years old at the time," he said. "When I came third, I saw everyone come to our house and congratulate me, and I saw what a good feeling it was. So I tried to continue this process until now that I am here."

Standing tall at two metres, Masoumi is lanky for 125kg. More Geno than Zare. But he has to continuously monitor his weight which he does not want to go too high.

"My mother is almost 180cm tall and my father is 186cm," he said. "We're a tall family overall. However, I still control myself a lot to keep my weight down, especially since my mom tries not to feed me too much. I'm right on the edge for the 125 kg weight class, and if I gain any more weight, I'll have to cut it. That's why I'm very careful. My physique is also more similar to my mom and dad's."

Fardin was his first coach and Masoumi would watch his father's bouts against different competitors. While he kept a few techniques of his father, Masoumi was impressed with the others as well. Like the double underhooks he uses to drive his opponents out-of-bounds. Masoumi says he picked that from former world champion Bilyal MAKHOV (RUS).

"I mostly learned this from Makhov and his techniques in the World Championship final -- how he would get under his opponent’s armpit and drive them backward," he said. "I really liked how he was always moving forward. He was physically huge and kept attacking non-stop."

Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) with former world champion Reza YAZDANI (IRI). (Photo courtesy Amirreza Masoumi)

As he kept putting Gilan on the wrestling map, Masoumi was now being known. People will come to his home, farm and his father's business to congratulate. Being a successful Iran has its share of challenges. Growing up in Gilan and around wrestling, Masoumi wasn't unaware of the pressure it brings. There are fans who become your coach from stands, or even warm-up partners. Iran wrestlers are in the public eye most of their lives.

"I don't know about other countries, but in Iran, it's like that," Masoumi says. "It's the love."

Masoumi's first experience of "stardom" came after he former Asian champion Yadollah MOHEBI (IRI) at the selection trials in Iran.

"When I came out [of the stadium], there was a huge crowd, and a lot of spectators had come for the wrestling," Masoumi recalls ."I noticed many fans were coming up to take pictures with me. That’s when I felt like I was slowly entering an environment with a lot of pressure, and I realized I was growing in this kind of atmosphere."

Masoumi's personality clicks with the fans. He is humble yet celebrates his wins, he acknowledges the fans and doesn't shy away from being cheeky with his opponents after winning the bouts. He also witty.

"I think this comes down to my personality. I’m a bit hyperactive and always try to have my own unique style without being afraid," he says.

He expects them in Amman as well.

For Masoumi, the Asian Championships hold major significance -- not just for this year, but for his entire career. While world champion and Olympic silver medalist Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) holds the top spot for Iran at 125kg, Masoumi is gunning for that position.

A gold medal in Amman would give Masoumi the chance to challenge Zare for a spot on Iran team for the 2025 World Championships.

"My opponent, Zare, is a tough competitor," Masoumi says. "I’ve been wrestling against him in Iran’s national team trials for three years now. I believe I can secure my spot on the national team this year and win gold at the World Championships."

Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI) defeated Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) in the 125kg final at the Zagreb Open in 2024. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Zare is also in top form, having won gold at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in similar dominant fashion. The world waits for their third meeting, likely at the Takhti Cup, Iran’s premier tournament, at the end of April. The winner of the best-of-three series will secure a spot at the World Championships.

"I need to compete in the Asian Championships," Masoumi says. "Any wrestler who wants to start in Iran should begin with the Takhti Cup and then move on to the 2025 World Championships."

Masoumi believes his unique wrestling style will give Zare trouble.

"I feel that match will be a great one for all wrestling fans. I think my wrestling style in the heavyweight category is quite unique. I don’t think there’s anyone in Iran’s heavyweight division with a six-pack. Naturally, in my mind, I aim to defeat Amirhossein to make up for my two previous losses."

World champs Fujinami, Sakurai capture Asian Games golds

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Masoumi: Young star's quest for wrestling glory