#WrestleXian

Younger Geraei Earns Shot at Asian Greco Gold; Iran, Uzbekistan Put 2 Each in Finals

Sunday, April 28, 2019 - 09:01 By Ken Marantz

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XI’AN, China (April 28)— Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) has already exceeded his older brother at the Asian Championships, while Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) prevented the possibility of a Iranian sweep of the four heaviest weights in Greco-Roman. 

Geraei was one of two Iranians to advance to the finals in the five remaining weight classes on the final day of the six-day tournament in Xi’an, setting up a clash for the 72kg gold with local favorite ZHANG Hujun (CHN).

Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) gained a place in the 82kg final against Singh HARPEET (IND), but world bronze medalist Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI) was denied a shot at the 97kg gold after suffering a nail-biting 7-5 loss to Dzhuzupbekov in the semifinals.

Uzbekistan also placed two wrestlers in the finals in the night session at Xidian University’s Invengo Gymnasium, with 2018 bronze medalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) advancing at 60kg and Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) taking on Dzhuzupbekov at 97kg.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) will wrestle China's ZHANG Hujun in the 72kg finals. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Geraei, third at last summer’s Asian Games in Jakarta, overcame a high hurdle in the semifinals by beating 2017 world silver medalist Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3, capping the victory with a highlight-reel four-point throw.

Geraei had watched as older brother Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) had to settle for the 77kg bronze the day before, when Iran picked up golds at 87kg and 130kg. 

 “There was no effect on my wrestling,” Geraei said of his brother’s defeat. “But I was little sad about my brother. My brother could have been first.”

Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) will wrestle Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) in a rematch of the Asian Games bronze-medal match. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

ZHANG Hujun (CHN) seemed to be heading to the 97kg final when Dzhuzupbekov reversed him to his back during a roll attempt with 30 seconds left for the winning points. That avenged a loss to the Iranian at a tournament in Istanbul last year.

“Everyone was screaming and it was motivating me,” said Dzhuzupbekov, a bronze medalist on home soil last year in Bishkek as well as at the Asian Games. “At the end, I was just thinking to keep attacking him.”

The final against Turdiev, who turns 37 this week, will be a rematch of the bronze-medal match in Jakarta won by Dzhuzupbekov.

RI Se Ung (PRK) knocked off world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) and world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) on his road to the 60kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

The depth of quality in Asia in the 60kg division came out as neither 2017 world champion Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) nor 2018 world bronze medalist Sailike WALIHAN (CHN) made it to the final.

Both wrestlers were knocked off by crafty RI Se Ung (PRK), and will meet for a bronze medal. Ri will take on Bakhramov for the gold.

Ri, the silver medalist at Bishkek 2018, defeated Fumita, 5-3, in the quarterfnals. From the par terre position, Ri reeled off a pair of rolls before giving up a reversal to lead 5-1. In the second period, Fumita put the pressure on, but could only gain a two-point penalty for fleeing. 

“[The difference] was that I didn’t attack, that was big,” said Fumita, who returned from a knee injury to defeat 2018 Asian champion Shinobu OTA (JPN) at the national championships in December, a month after winning the world U23 title. 

Ri’s victory over Walihan in the semifinals followed a similar pattern, as he scored five points in the first period and went on to win 5-2.

Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ), the runner-up to Fumita at the Paris 2017 world championships and an Asian bronze medalist last year, failed to make it out of the first round, falling to LEE Jungbaik (KOR), who was subsequently ousted by Walihan.

RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to win his third Asian title when he competes against Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the 67kg finals. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

At 67kg, Asian Games champion RYU Hansu (KOR) will look to add to his long list of laurels, which includes two previous Asian titles, when he takes on world bronze medalist Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) in the final.

Ryu, a 2017 world champion, knocked off 2018 bronze medalist Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2, in the semifinals, while Shermakhanbet trailed 2-0 going into the second period against gritty Abdulkarim ALHASAN (SYR) before blitzing his way to a 10-2 technical fall victory.

Day 6 results

Greco-Roman

60kg (12 entries)
Gold – Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) v RI Se Ung (PRK)
Bronze – HUANG Jui Chi (TPE) vs Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Bronze – Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) v Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)

Semifinals
RI Se Ung (PRK) df. Sailike WALIHAN (CHN), 5-2
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) df. Gyanender GYANENDER (IND) by TF, 9-0, 1:24

67kg (14 entries)
Gold – Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) v RYU Hansu (KOR)
Bronze – ZHANG Gaoquan (CHN) v Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR)
Bronze – Shogo TAKAHASHI (JPN) v Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)

Semifinals
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ) df. Abdulkarim AL HASAN (SYR) by TF, 10-2, 4:06
RYU Hansu (KOR) df. Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB), 7-2

72kg (9 entries)
Gold – ZHANG Hujun (CHN) v Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
Bronze – Yogesh YOGESH (IND) v Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ)
Bronze – Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) v Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)

Semifinals
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) df. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ), 9-3
ZHANG Hujun (CHN) df. Ruslan TSAREV (KGZ), 5-5

82kg (9 entries)
Gold – Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) v Singh HARPEET (IND)
Bronze – Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ) v Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)
Bronze – Burgo BEISHALIEV (KGZ) v QIAN Haitao (CHN)

Semifinals
Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) df. Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) by TF, 10-0, 4:27
Singh HARPEET (IND) df. QIAN Haitao (CHN) by TF, 10-1, 3:42

97kg (9 entries)
Gold – Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) v Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ)
Bronze – LEE Seyeol (KOR) v XIAO Di (CHN)
Bronze – Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) v Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI)

Semifinals
Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ) df. Mahdi ALIYARIFEIZABADI (IRI), 7-5
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB) df. XIAO Di (CHN), 4-1

#JapanWrestling

Tokyo Olympic champ Otoguro calls it a career at 26

Sunday, April 6, 2025 - 14:27 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (April 6) -- Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), whose dynamic moves and fierce tenacity thrilled fans around the world, suddenly announced his retirement, bringing down the curtain on a short but glory-filled career also plagued by injuries.

"Some may be surprised by this sudden announcement, but I have decided to retire as a wrestler," the 26-year-old Otoguro wrote on Instagram on Friday that included an English translation. "I discovered wrestling and became obsessed with it, and [was] loved and supported so much that it was a happy wrestling life."

Otoguro, who still remains Japan's youngest-ever male world champion for the freestyle 65kg gold he won in 2018, said he feels no uneasiness about leaving the mat, while adding a cryptic message about how the sport lost some of its shine for him.

"I have no regrets, because I was able to play the wrestling I love until I started to hate it," Otoguro wrote.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Takuto Otoguro (@01096taku)

It seems that being unable to defend his Olympic title at the 2024 Paris Games likely swayed his decision. First, he was hampered by a lingering foot injury and failed to secure Japan's quota at 65kg at the 2023 World Championships. Then he lost out in the domestic qualifying process to eventual gold medalist Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN).

As it turned out, the 6-6 loss to Kiyooka in the semifinals at the All-Japan Championships in December 2023 would prove to be Otoguro's final match. There was no symbolic leaving of the shoes on the mat at the time.

In stepping away, Otoguro paid tribute to all those who helped him achieve his success, while expressing his gratitude for putting up with his self-acknowledged stubbornness.

"My family, coaches, trainers, fellow wrestlers, and everyone who supported me and cheered me on," Otoguro wrote. "I can't mention all of their names, but I think I was a crazy and difficult wrestler to deal with. Thank you for believing in me and supporting me."

Otoguro won gold and bronze medals in three appearances at the cadet (U17) worlds, but gained widespread global notoriety with his dazzling performance at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest.

Otoguro overcame an ankle injury to notch a 16-9 victory over Bajrang PUNIA (IND) in a wild, freewheeling final that was selected as UWW's Freestyle Match of the Year  -- overshadowing his 15-10 come-from-behind win in the semifinals over Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS).  He was also chosen as the Breakout Performer of the Year.

That made him, at 19 years 10 months, Japan's youngest-ever male world gold medalist, breaking the previous record held by 1976 Olympic gold medalist Yuji TAKADA (JPN), his head coach at Yamanashi Gakuin University.

Otoguro, who won back-to-back titles at the Asian Championships in 2020 and 2021, hit the pinnacle of his career at the Tokyo Olympics. He defeated in succession Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN), avenging a loss in the bronze-medal match at the 2019 worlds; Gadshimurad RASHIDOV (ROC), the 2019 world champion; and Haji ALIEV (AZE), a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion.

Otoguro started wrestling at age 4, following older brother Keisuke into the wrestling club coached by their father. He found success early, winning five straight national titles for his elementary school age group from second to sixth grades.

In a 2019 interview with The Japan News, Otoguro recalled the battles he and Keisuke had in their home, and how it laid the foundation for his future success.  "We would break windows, and open holes in the wall," he said, his soft-spoken, reserved nature contrasting with his aggressive style on the mat. "It would escalate from wrestling into fighting. It made us both better. It was the best way."

Otoguro opted to leave their home in Yamanashi Prefecture after elementary school to enroll in the JOC Elite Academy in Tokyo. He won the national junior high school title, then became the fourth wrestler in history to win the national Inter-High tournament for three consecutive years.

For university, Otoguro returned to his home prefecture to attend Yamanashi Gakuin, where his practice partners included 2017 world 57kg champion Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) and world 70kg bronze medalist Yuji FUJINAMI (JPN), the older brother Paris women's gold medalist Akari FUJINAMI (JPN).

"Of course he works hard, but what I am most envious about him is his total preparation for matches," Takahashi was quoted as saying by The Japan News. "He knows no fear. He is really remarkable."

Early in his freshman year, Otoguro suffered his first major injury, a torn cruciate ligament in the knee, that kept him off the mat for about a year. But he came back in the fall of 2017 and, at that year's All-Japan, defeated 2016 Rio Olympics 57kg silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) for the first of three national titles.

Upon graduation, Otoguro followed Keisuke again, this time to the Japan Self-Defense Forces' Physical Training School team. He has not indicated what he plans to do in the future.

"To everyone who loved my wrestling: I feel a little lonely, but this is farewell as a wrestler. I hope that the wrestling world moves in a positive direction in the future."