#Bishkek2018

China Overshadows Japan, Sends Quartet into Finals as Women's Wrestling Gets Underway

Thursday, March 1, 2018 - 10:31 By Ken Marantz

Share this article

A Far Eastern country dominated the opening session of the women's wrestling competition at the Asian Championships and no, it wasn't Japan.

China, led by a pair of Zhous, put four wrestlers into the finals of the five weight classes at stake on the third day at Kozhomkul Sports Palace, while only two Japanese managed to make it to gold-medal matches.

LEI Chun (CHN) stormed into the 50kg final with a pair of technical falls and will face Vinesh VINESH (IND), a silver medalist a year ago in New Delhi who will aim to become the first Indian woman to win an Asian title.

The other Chinese going for gold will be RONG Ningning (59kg), New Delhi 2017 bronze medalist ZHOU Feng (68kg) and ZHOU Qian (76kg).

The Chinese just missed out on making it 5-for-5, but LUO Lannuan (CHN) lost a heartbreaking 6-5 decision in the 55kg quarterfinals to OH Hyemin (KOR). Oh advanced to the final, where she will face Saki IGARASHI (JPN).

China's showing was not such a surprise to Siemon CHTEREV, a former two-time world medalist from Bulgaria hired six months ago to coach the women's team.

"For our team, this is a good result," Chterev said.

Chterev pointed out that the Chinese women outdid their Japanese counterparts at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in January in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where they came away with five golds, two silvers and a bronze. Among the winners were Rong and Zhou Qian.

Asked if he set a goal for medals in Bishkek, Chterev replied, "I want every time to win a gold medal."

In the finals, Rong will face Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB), while Zhou Feng is pitted against three-time Asian medalist Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) and Zhou Qian will take on Paris 2017  world bronze medalist Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN).

India's Vinesh provided the surprise of the session when she scraped out a 4x-4 win over former Asian champion Yuki IRIE (JPN). That gave her a measure of revenge for a loss in the New Delhi final to Japan's Yui SUSAKI, who went on to win the world gold in Paris.

Irie, an Asian champion in 2015, had pulled a surprise of her own by beating Susaki at the Japan national championships in December.

Irie and Minagawa are the only national champions on the team to Bishkek, as the Japan federation put priority on the Women's World Cup that the nation will host in mid-March and sent obstensibly a young, second-string team.

Against Vinesh, Irie was the dominant wrestler but fell victim to her own impatience and a fatal error. While trying to finish off a takedown, she attempted for force Vinesh over, but the Indian clamped down on her arm and threw her for a 4-point move.

Irie completed two takedowns in the second period to tie the score at 4-4, but Vinesh thwarted her attempts for a third and held on for a win by criteria.

"The Indian wrestler is strong, but she didn't do anything," Japan women's coach Hideo Sasayama said. "There are not many competitors who do those throws like that. It happened to her this time. This gives her something to reflect on and will be good for her in the end."

While Japan was never likely to approach its showing from New Delhi, where it won five of eight golds with a team that included world and Olympic champions, Sasayama said gaining international experience was also an objective.

"We have young wrestlers and they didn't perform so well, but it becomes a good learning experience," he said. "It gives them something to work on for the next time. For the wrestlers who can still get a medal [tonight], we hope they can finish up with a win."

Women's Wrestling
50kg (12 entries)
Gold - LEI Chun (CHN) v Vinesh VINESH (IND)

Bronze –  Aktenge KEUNIMJAEVA (UZB) v Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL)
Bronze – KIM Hyungjoo v Yuki IRIE (JPN)

Semifinal – LEI Chun (CHN) df. Narangerel ERDENESUKH (MGL) by TF, 11-0, 0:34
Semifinal – Vinesh VINESH (IND) df. Yuki IRIE (JPN), 4x-4

55kg (9 entries)
Gold - Saki IGARASHI (JPN) v OH Hyemin (KOR)

Bronze –  Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ) v Davaachimeg ERKHEMBAYAR (MGL)
Bronze – LUO Lannuan (CHN) v Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB)

Semifinal – Saki IGARASHI (JPN) df. Nazgul NURAKHAN (KAZ), 3-0
Semifinal – OH Hyemin (KOR) df. Amina ALIMBETOVA (UZB), 3-1

59kg (10 entries)
Gold - Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) v RONG Ningning (CHN)

Bronze –  Sangeeta SANGEETA (IND) v UM Jieun (KOR)
Bronze – Phimsuphak AINPHEN (THA) v Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL)

Semifinal – Nabira ESENBAEVA (UZB) df. UM Jieun (KOR) by TF, 11-1, 3:36
Semifinal – RONG Ningning (CHN) df. Shoovdor BAATARJAV (MGL) by TF, 10-0, 1:53

68kg (9 entries)
Gold - ZHOU Feng (CHN) v Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL)

Bronze –  PARK Sujin (KOR) v Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Bronze –  Divya KAKRAN (IND) v Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)

Semifinal – ZHOU Feng (CHN) df. Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ) by TF, 10-0,
Semifinal – Tumentsetseg SHARKHUU (MGL) df. Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 2x-2

76kg (9 entries)
Gold - Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) v ZHOU Qian (CHN)

Bronze –  Chantsalnyamaa AMGALANBAATAR (MGL) v Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Bronze – Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) v HWANG Eunju (KOR)

Semifinal – Hiroe MINAGAWA SUZUKI (JPN) df. HWANG Eunju (KOR) by TF, 10-0, 1:01
Semifinal – ZHOU Qian (CHN) df. Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ), 2-1

#WrestleParis

Paris 2024: For France wrestling trio, Olympics come home. Literally

Wednesday, July 17, 2024 - 07:40 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

PARIS (July 17) -- To compete at a home Olympics can be an unparalleled career high for the best of athletes. Even more so for the three French wrestlers, for whom the Games have come home — quite literally.

When Koumba LARROQUE, Ameline DOUARRE and Mamadassa SYLLA check in at the Athletes Village in Seine Saint Denis and step on the mat at the picturesque venue in Champs de Mars, it’ll mark a culmination of their stories that took shape just a stone's throw away, at the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

 Koumba LARROQUE (FRA)
Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) at Club Bagnolet Lutte 93.

Indeed, there are many wrestling strongholds in France. Dijon, roughly 320 km from Paris, is one such hub that is home to many young stars. And quite a few of them train at France’s National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance — commonly known as INSEP, a facility that’s also designated as the United World Wrestling Center.

However, the presence of wrestling stars who have honed their skills at Bagnolet, the famous Parisian club, in the French team is steeped in symbolism. Not least because it is located close to the two Olympic landmark sites.

But by competing at the home Games, the trio will also carry forward the commune’s century-long wrestling tradition, which also captures the growth of the sport between the two Olympics Paris has hosted.

Ameline DOUARRE (FRA)Ameline DOUARRE (FRA) will compete at Paris Olympics in 62kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

It was exactly a hundred years ago, in 1924, that the Association Sportive et Gymnasnique de Bagnolet reinvented and transformed itself into a sports club, kick-starting a revolution of sorts in the area not too far from Paris’s city center.

Nothing nails down Bagnolet’s wrestling culture more than the fact that, according to a survey on the club’s website, two out of three youngsters wrestled. However, it was only after an agreement was reached with the department of Seine Saint Denis — the heart of the Games where the Athletes Village is located — that the sport really took off and the Club Bagnolet Lutte 93 came into being in its current form in 2005.

From Mélonin NOUMONVI, the 2014 Greco-Roman world champion, to Olympic gold medalist Steeve GUENOT and his bronze medal-winning brother Christophe as well as the latest sensation, the former U20 and U23 world champion Larroque – many French champions have spent key years of their development at the club.

But Larroque, Douarre and Sylla have a chance to do something none of their predecessors could: compete in their own backyard.

Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA) after his qualification for the 2024 Paris Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Sylla, who discovered wrestling at age 15, finished fifth at the European Championships this year and will compete in the 67 kg Greco-Roman category. Douarre is a last-minute entrant to the draw after withdrawals in the 62 kg weight class.

Sylla, who was a second-choice wrestler for the qualification tournament in Baku, became the first wrestler from France to qualify in Grec-Roman since the 2012 London Games, the last time France won an Olympic medal in wrestling, a bronze by 2008 Beijing champion Steve GUENOT (FRA).

Larroque, though, remains the flag-bearer for French wrestling at the Paris Olympics. Introduced to wrestling at age 9, a youth Olympics medallist at 16, and U23 world champion when she was 19 and a senior worlds silver medallist in the same year, Larroque was destined for greatness.

But her career arc suffered a setback. An injury in the 2018 World Championship final meant she was away from the mat for almost a year. Once she recovered, Larroque looked like a shadow of her past self as she could not manage any podium finishes. And although she made it to Tokyo, she was eliminated after the first round itself.

Paris provides the 68kg wrestler a path to redemption. To finish among medals in front of her family and friends — and a short distance away from her club — would undoubtedly be an unparalleled high in Larroque’s career.