#WrestleOslo

#WrestleOslo Day Eight Preview: GR 63kg, 67kg and 87kg

Saturday, September 25, 2021 - 14:38 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (September 25) -- A day when two Olympic weight classes will be in action, a total of eight wrestlers who competed in Tokyo will take the mat in Oslo, Norway. Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will be leading the field at 67kg with former world champion Hansu RYU (KOR). At 87kg, five Tokyo Olympians will be in action as bronze medalist Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) will be taking on Islam ABBASOV (AZE), Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR), Lasha GOBADZE (GEO) and Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ).

The third will be 63kg, a non-Olympic weight, but a number of age-group world medalists are entered including U23 World champion Meysam DALKHANI (IRI). The host country Norway is going ahead with veteran Stig BERGE (NOR) who won a bronze medal at the Rio Olympics.

But the fireworks are sure to go off at 87kg as big-throwing and dark horse Maskevich tries to put the disappointment of Tokyo behind him. He was in serious form going into the Olympics but suffered a tame loss to Mohamed METWALLY (EGY) in the opening round. Maskevich won the gold at the Individual World Cup in 2020 and a silver at the 2021 European Championships after suffering a loss to Datunashvili in the final.

If Datunashvili can build on his success from Tokyo, it will hardly be a surprise that he reaches the final in Oslo. After winning the European Championships, he qualified for the Tokyo Games from Last Chance Qualifier in Bulgaria before winning the bronze in Tokyo. He lost to eventual champion Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) but rallied back to beat Bachir SID AZARA (ALG) and Ivan HUKLEK (CRO) in the repechage and bronze medal bout respectively.

Abbasov and Gobadze will also be big threats to the gold medal as the former is a European Championships and Games silver medalist and Gobadze will like to win the gold in the Olympic weight class after winning the 82kg at the 2019 World Championships. Both were in Tokyo but lost in the opening rounds. Unlike Datunashvili, they did not get a chance in repechage and had to return empty-handed from Japan.

Belenuik decided to take a break after winning the gold in Tokyo but Ukraine can still hope for a golden run in Oslo as the talented Semen NAVIKOV (UKR) looks to finally step up and take over the weight class. He won the U23 World Championships twice and even captured the gold at the senior European Championships in 2020.

Malid ALIRZAEV (ROC), another U23 world champion, will also try to fill the big shoes of Davit CHAKVETADZE (ROC) as he was selected for the Oslo tournament.

ROC named a young squad for the Oslo World Championships as Nazir ABDULLAEV (ROC) was included for the 67kg weight class. The Individual World Cup winner will be a big threat to Geraei's quest to become an Olympic and World champion in the same year.

Mohammadreza GERAEIMohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won the gold in Tokyo. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

Geraei's run in Tokyo was a big savior for Iran's otherwise disappointing performance. He defeated three-time world champion Frank STABLER (GER) in the quarterfinal and then Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) in the semifinal. In the final, Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) in the final. The U23 world champion is likely to face, who finished fifth in Tokyo, again in Oslo. Zoidze won a U23 world silver medal but has been one of the top performers at the continental level in Europe. He now has a chance to take things to the next level by winning a senior Worlds medal.

But a wrestler who will try to regain his lost form is two-time world champion Ryu. The two-time Asian Games winner was once again denied an Olympic medal after he lost in the opening round to young star and Tokyo bronze medalist Mohamed EL-SAYED (EGY).

An under-the-radar wrestler in Oslo could be Zaur KABALOEV (ITA). The former Russian Wrestling Federation national champion has made the switch to Italy after 2019 and will now be representing the European nation in Oslo. Along with Asian champion Tsuchika SHIMOYAMADA (JPN) and Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ), a multiple-time world bronze medalist, Kabaloev can stun the field at 67kg.

Sultan ASSETULYSultan ASSETULY (KAZ) and Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) wrestled in the final of 2021 Asian Championships. (Photo: UWW / Sachiko HOTAKA)

Senior Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) and U23 world champion Dalkhani will be the top names at 63kg in Oslo. The two wrestled in the final of the Asian Championships in 2021 with the Kazakhstan wrestler winning the gold. Assetuly will now have a chance to win his first senior World Championships medal.

The same goes for Dalkhani who has shown great results at the age-group level but will be tested at this level for the first time.

Testing them will be local hope and veteran Berge who will look to excite the local fans who are allowed to attend the competition. Berge's performances have fallen a little in the last couple of years but his silver medals at European Championships and Matteo Pellicone in 2020 served as a reminder that he can still pull off big performances.

Apart from Berge, U23 European champion Hrachya POGHOSYAN (ARM) will also be in the mix in Oslo. The 22-year-old Armenian will be wrestling at his first senior Worlds and only the third international tournament at this level. He finished fifth at the senior European Championships last year.

Ibragim LABAZANOV (ROC), a silver medalist from the European Championships, will also be looking to win the gold medal for his country. The 2016 Rio Olympian has the experience of performing at the big stage and this could well be his chance to claim his spot back in the Russian Wrestling Federation team.

Former cadet world champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) can also upset a few in Oslo as he transforms into a senior wrestler. His bronze medal at the senior Euros in 2020 can be seen as the first step and he will be keen on winning another medal on the final day of the World Championships as the finals for all three weight classes will be held on October 10, Tuesday.

#JapanWrestling

Another Ono rises: Konami follows brother's footsteps

Friday, August 29, 2025 - 02:52 By Ikuo Higuchi

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TOKYO (August 27) -- When you think of the name Ono from Shimane Prefecture, many will recall Masanosuke ONO (JPN), a world champion who is quickly becoming a global star, who now primarily competes in the United States.

Ono's younger sister Konami, who was undefeated in the national tournament during her elementary school years, is just like her brother. She went on to attend Nippon Sport Science University Ohka High School in Tokyo, where she grew up steadily, winning the Inter-High School Championships in 2023 and also winning silver at the U17 World Championships the same year.

A shoulder injury caused her to slow down, but through repeated practice at Nippon Sport Science University she regained her former strength and won the East Japan Student Championships and the All Japan Amateur Championships [women's competition is open to university students as well] last week.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN), left, won a silver medal at the 2023 U17 World Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Being coached by 2004 Athens Olympic bronze medalist Chikara TANABE and Kaori ICHO, she described herself as being in "the best environment."

Ono had been suffering from pain in the right shoulder and had to undergo a surgery in June last year. She had initially aimed for a comeback last year at the All Japan Championships [Emperor's Cup] in December, but was forced to withdraw. She returned to competition in April of this year at the Junior Queen's Cup U20, where she won one match, but lost the next match to a junior from high school by technical superiority.

"There were times when my shoulder would dislocate just by walking. It was a frustrating year," said Ono with her voice becoming teary, as if the pain had returned. "I'm happy because I was injured and couldn't wrestle for a while," she said but added, "I realized I need to practice more and get stronger."

Inspiration from brother Ono

While she was off the mat, Konami watched her brother Masanosuke win the gold medal at the U20 World Championships in 2024 and later become the world champion at 61kg at the Non-Olympic World Championships.

"It's not something I could ever imitate," she says, and although he is someone she should "admire" rather than "target," he is also someone close to her, having competed alongside since childhood. "I want to study hard and catch up," she says.

Konami ONO (JPN)Konami ONO (JPN) with world and Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA). (Photo courtesy: Masaharu Ono) 

Earlier in spring, Konami accompanied her older brother to the United States, where he trains at Pennsylvania State University. She was still recovering and was unable to train, but she watched her brother's win against 2024 Paris Olympic silver medalist Spencer LEE (USA).

"I thought American wrestling was really amazing. It was inspiring," she said.

What made the biggest impression on Konami was how much fun her brother seemed to be having wrestling, even though he was in a foreign country.

"He really enjoys wrestling," she said. "I was amazed that there are people who love wrestling that much [laughs].

"My brother is my role model," she said. "I often watch his techniques and aspire to be like him."

What she finds particularly impressive is his speed, and the way he unconsciously develops his techniques. She herself sometimes has trouble deciding what to do next during a match, but her brother's body moves without a second thought. "I need to be able to come out with techniques one after the other," she said.

Training with Fujinami, Onishi

While Ono found his path in the United States, Konami is thinking of firmly establishing herself in Japan.

"I think that if I stay at Nippon Sport Science University, I will become really strong," she says, believing that his current environment is the place where she can develop the skills to compete on the world stage.

Not only is there an impressive coaching staff, but there are also world-class athletes such as 2024 Olympic champion Akari FUJINAMI (JPN) and Asian champion Sakura ONISHI (JPN) in the 57kg and 59kg weight class, respectively. Fujinami won gold at the Olympics in 53kg.

"I practice with Akari every day. She's really strong..." she said, admiringly, and when she's not sparring, she's always following Fujinami's movements to study them.

Since they are both in the 57kg weight class, could she challenge Fujinami as early as the All Japan Championships in December? To that question, she gave no clear answer, saying, "I'm not at the level where I can fight yet..." and said that she might move up a weight class as her body grows, so it's still up in the air, but perhaps the day is approaching when the middleweight trio, including Onishi, will take to the world stage.

Rather than setting big goals, her current goal is to "compete in many matches and enjoy wrestling." She says that she is actually enjoying it, so perhaps she is getting closer to her brother's level. Her next concrete goal is the All Japan Women's Open Championships in October.

She vowed to make a leap forward, saying, "I want to train both my body and mind and become even stronger. I want to become a star from Shimane Prefecture!"