#WrestleTokyo

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: 67kg

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 - 17:34 By Vinay Siwach

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TOKYO, Japan (July 23) – Big challenges lie ahead of returning Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB). The first is he is making his return in a new weight category, eight kilograms above the 59kg in which won a gold medal in the Rio Olympics.

Five world champions appear in the category which may throw a surprise Olympic champion given a mix of youth and veterans at this weight.

The Cuban has won the World Championships gold in the new weight in 2019 to qualify for the Games but a host of other wrestlers will fancy their chances of upsetting him. One of them will be Artem SURKOV (RUS) who lost the final in Nur-sultan.

The two will be the top contenders for the gold medal in Tokyo and are also the number one and three seeded for the Games. If they win all their matches, the two will clash in the final at 67kg.

Borrero, like in the Rio Olympics, is a big match player and raises his level at any big competition. At the 2015 World Championships, he stole the show by winning the gold medal and securing a place for Rio. He repeated the same in Nur-sultan despite not winning a medal at the 2018 Worlds.

In 2019, he has wins over former world champion Frank STAEBLER and upcoming star Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), both capable enough to topple any big star on the given day.

Surkov, a two-time world champion, will also have problems from the same lot as he debuts at the Olympics. While Borrero is his main rival, there is no doubt he will have to navigate through a minefield to reach the final.

One of his biggest challenges will be Elsayed who is seeded number two in the weight class and will meet Surkov not before the semifinal.

The lanky Egyptian has made a name for himself after he won two U23 World Championships gold medals and reached the semifinal of the 2019 Worlds, losing to Borrero. In the bronze medal, he lost to Staebler by a single point.

The German has three world gold medals but is yet to win an Olympic medal. Toyo could well be his last attempt to win the coveted medal. Lately, he has been competing at the 72kg weight class. After becoming the European champion in 2020, he lost to Selcuk CAN (TUR) in 2021.

He will have to drop down to 67kg and that could pose a big challenge for the 32-year-old who is not seeded and will be entered in a random draw at the Games. His previous two Olympics have resulted in a fifth and seventh-place finish in 2012 and 2016 respectively.

The wrestler who is seeded fourth in Mate NEMES (SRB). In Rio, a Serbian claimed the gold medal at this weight class and the same will be expected from Nemes who will be going to the Games for the first time.

But he will be going as a European champion which he won in 2021. In an incredible run at the 2019 Worlds, managed to reach the quarterfinal against Borrero before droppin that match. But he won the bronze medal, his first at the senior Worlds and since has been a top contender for the gold medal in Tokyo.But his lack of attacks against defensive wrestlers could still be a huge problem when he takes the mat in Tokyo.

A veteran Balint KORPASI (HUN) will also be searching for an Olympic medal after four world championships medals including a gold in 2016. Though he has never won the World medals at an Olympic weight class, he is dropping down from 72kg to try and bring glory to Hungary.

One of the links of the dominant Hungarian Grec-Roman team over the past decade, he will have to make way for the up and coming wrestlers from the country as Paris approaches.

And if Iran wants an Olympic champion after nine years, Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will be the wrestler they pin their hopes on. The younger of the Geraei brothers, Mohammadreza will take motivation from his brother as both compete at the Olympics. The U23 World champion at 72kg, had a dominant tournament in the Olympic Qualifiers in Almaty, including a win over Hansu RYU (KOR).

Now Ryu himself is looking for that first Olympic medal after he finished fifth at the Rio Games. The 31-year-old will use all his experience to get past that line in Tokyo. A world champion in 2013 and 2017, Ryu defeated Rasul CHANAYEV (AZE) at the 2019 Worlds, avenging his loss from Rio Olympics but lost to Borrero and later to Staebler in the repechage.

Three youngsters that can spring a surprise are Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), Parviz NASIBOV (UKR) and Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO). Don't miss out Aker AL OBAIDI (EOR), the wrestler who was granted the refugee quota for the Games.

Wrestling at the Tokyo Olympic Games kicks off August 1-7 at the Makuhari Messe with 67kg action beginning on August 3.

67kg Entries 
No. 1 Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
No. 2 Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
No. 3 Artem SURKOV (RUS)
No. 4 Mate NEMES (SRB)
Frank STAEBLER (GER)
Fredrik BJERREHUUS (DEN)
Souleymen NASR (TUN)
Abdelmalek MERABET (ALG)
Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Balint KORPASI (HUN)
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Karen ASLANYAN (ARM)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Aker AL OBAIDI (REFUGEE)

#JapanWrestling

Two-time Olympic champ Risako Kinjo brings curtain down on stellar career

Sunday, October 12, 2025 - 23:14 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (October 12) -- Risako KINJO (JPN), who won two Olympic gold medals under her maiden name of Kawai before capturing a fourth world title last year after giving birth, officially announced her retirement over the weekend.

"I felt that I had experienced everything that was good about being a wrestler," the 31-year-old Kinjo told the Japanese media Sunday on bringing down the curtain on one of wrestling's most sterling careers. "I felt fulfilled and happy with a life in which wrestling was my passion."

Kinjo also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child as she spoke to the media at the Japan Women's Open in Akitsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where she was coaching younger sister Yukako TSUNEMURA (JPN), who was returning to the mat for the first time since becoming a mother herself.

Kinjo first announced her retirement on her Instagram account on Saturday night, stating that in the 24 years since she started wrestling at age 7, "I have had good experiences and bad, highs and lows. But to win four world championships and two consecutive Olympics was all due to the support and encouragement of many people. I thank them all."

Kinjo first struck Olympic gold at 63kg at Rio in 2016, then won out in a duel that captivated the wrestling world with fellow Rio and four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) for the 57kg spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she took home a second gold.

Of the clash of the titans with Icho, Kawai remarked, "I had no more difficult period than that. I'm glad I was able to experience it."

In the Tokyo semifinals, Kinjo had to face yet another Rio gold medalist in Helen MAROULIS (USA), who had moved up from 53kg. Kinjo came away with a 2-1 win, then defeated Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) 5-0 for the gold.

With Yukako also winning the 62kg gold, it elevated the Kawai sisters to celebrity status in the host country. The two got their start in the sport at the kids' club run by their mother. Both of their parents were national-level wrestlers.

Soon after Tokyo, Risako married former wrestler Kiryu KINJO, and in May 2022, gave birth to a baby girl. Instead of settling down to a domestic life, motherhood lit a fresh flame to continue the sport.

"I had originally planned to win the Tokyo Olympics and then retire gracefully," Kinjo said. "I even told people around me that I would quit after the Tokyo Olympics. But when I got married and got pregnant, I felt that my body wasn't only my own, and I wanted to continue wrestling.

"While I was pregnant, I watched Yukako's matches and thought to myself, 'If it were me, I would do it like this,' so after my child was born, I decided to try it again."

Her bid to win a third straight Olympic gold in Paris, however, was derailed by the reigning world 57kg champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), who went on to triumph in the French capital.

Rebuffing speculation that the loss would mark her swan song, she showed her passion for the sport by sticking around. With the incentive of wanting to have her daughter see her compete and make some history, she had no qualms about moving into the non-Olympic weight of 59kg.

She suffered a setback of sorts at the Asian Championships in April 2024, when she lost to Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the semifinals and had to settle for a bronze medal.

But she righted the ship at the Non-Olympic Weight World Championships in October that year in Tirana, Albania, where she cruised into the 59kg final and defeated Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) 4-2.

"No one from Japan had ever achieved becoming a 'world No. 1 as a mama', and it would be ideal if I could do it," Kinjo recalled thinking. "When I accomplished it at the World Championships last October, as soon as it was over I thought there is nothing else that I want."

That victory added to the three consecutive senior world golds that she won from 2017 to 2019. She also has a silver from 2015, and her laurels include a world cadet (U17) gold and two world junior (U20) titles, and she was a four-time Asian champion.

Kinjo was a star at Shigakkan University during its golden era as the elite powerhouse of women's wrestling in Japan, also producing such greats as Icho, Saori YOSHIDA (JPN), Eri TOSAKA (JPN), Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN).

Looking ahead, she says her focus will be on raising her new baby while staying involved in the sport.

"Right now I am eight months pregnant, and first and foremost I will put my full efforts into proper childcare. And at the same time, I will be Yukako's coach and always maintain a link to wrestling," she said.

At the Japan Women's Open, a second-tier event that offers qualifying spots at the All-Japan Championships, Yukako showed she still has some rust to be knocked off. Entered at 59kg, she won her first two matches before falling to high schooler Miuna KIMURA (JPN) 4-1 in the semifinals.

The tournament also saw the return of Sakurai for her first competition since winning the gold in Paris. She needed three wins to take the 57kg title, defeating collegian Himeka HASEGAWA (JPN) 5-0 in the final.