Teen Star Fujinami Misses Shutout but Rolls to 2nd National Title at 53kg

Sunday, December 19, 2021 - 16:00 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO, Japan (December 19)--Teen phenom Akari FUJINAMI admits she's an attention-seeker who likes to stand out in the crowd, enough so that it motivated her to do something quite surprising after winning a world title in her international senior debut.

Less than three months later, it looks like Fujinami will be having a long stay in the spotlight after capturing a second national title just a month after her 18th birthday.

Fujinami gave up a rare takedown, but was otherwise unchallenged as she cruised to the women's 53kg title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships with an 8-2 victory in the final over former world silver medalist Nanami IRIE on Sunday at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"To win the title, I'm happy as usual, but looking at how I did it, there were some rough parts that I'll need to work on if I want to improve and get to where I want to be," said Fujinami, who won the gold medal at October's World Championships in Oslo with four straight technical fall victories and without surrendering a point.

Fujinami was one of three reigning world champions in action on the final day of the four-day tournament, which is serving as one of two domestic qualifiers for next year's World Championships in Belgrade, as well as for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The winners will also likely be selected for the Asian Championships, scheduled for April at a venue to be determined.

The results were mixed for the two other Oslo gold medalists, as Remina YOSHIMOTO managed to successfully defend her Emperor's Cup crown at women's 50kg, but Ken MATSUI went down to a humbling defeat in the Greco 55kg final.

Fujinami, who advanced to the final with a pair of 10-0 technical falls, capped her last tournament as a high schooler by extending a winning streak to 86 matches, dating back to her junior high school days in 2017.

Not that it matters to her. "The winning streak is in the past. I put more importance on now and what lies ahead," Fujinami said.

To qualify for Oslo, Fujinami won her first-ever events on the senior level, last year's Emperor's Cup and this year's Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, the second qualifier for Japan's world team held in May. She turned heads at both by handily defeating both Irie and two-time former world champion Haruna OKUNO.

This time, Fujinami only had beat the winner of a semifinal between those two, and that became Irie after riding a 4-point pancake to a close 5-4 decision over Okuno. But Irie, the 2019 world silver medalist at 55kg, proved a different foe for Fujinami than the one who was dealt shutout losses the first two times they met.

Fujinami, relying on her lightning-quick single-leg attack, had a 4-0 lead in the second period when Irie used a hard cross face to fend off a tackle and spin behind. It was only the second time in 19 matches this year that someone scored on Fujinami. In the first period, Irie managed to slip out of the grasp of a tackle attempt.

"In the final, there was a time where I had a hold [of a leg] and lost it," Fujinami said. "It was just sloppy. Part of it was that I rushed my tackles, so now I feel like I really have to work on the fine points in practice."

While the takedown might have been a moral victory for Irie, it was hardly enough, especially after Fujinami came back with a pair of takedowns to put the match away. But it makes Fujinami aware that ascending the throne means that others are going to look for ways to knock her off it.

"I'm grateful that people are studying me," Fujinami said. "If I can win even after they study me, then it shows that I am making progress."

Later, Fujinami's father, who is also her coach at Inabe Sogo Gakuin High School in Mie Prefecture, revealed that Akari did not practice in the two days before the tournament because of back pain. He said that that might have affected her movement in the final.

All that Fujinami has accomplished is shadowed by the fact that it has come without the presence of Tokyo Olympic champion Mayu MUKAIDA, who, like all of Japan's gold medalists, skipped the tournament. But Fujinami openly welcomes that battle, whenever it comes.

"I haven't faced her yet, but someday I think we'll meet up, and I believe that I will definitely win," said Fujinami, who has already committed to attending Nippon Sports Science University in the spring. "She's a strong opponent, but I have a strong determination to beat her."

Her fervent desire to be in the spotlight led to a surprise in Oslo beyond her gold-medal run. After her victory, she stunned the Japanese press by bypassing the translator and answering an English question in English. She had gone to an English-language school while in elementary school but had specially prepared for Oslo.

"I'm the type who likes to get attention, and I figured the Japan women's team would win a lot of titles and I had worked hard to be among them," Fujinami said. "But I was thinking, what can I do to stand out among them? I thought if I answer in English to English questions in an interview, that might do it.

"To do that, from about three months before the World Championships, my teacher and I would meet at lunch and practice doing an interview in English."

Asked how being a world champion has affected her life, she replied, "So many people were happy for me, it made me realize how awesome it is to win. I want to get even stronger and win more on the global stage."

Remina Yoshimoto, the 2021 world champion, became the national champion at 50kg (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

For Yoshimoto, her victory at 50kg may have best revealed how far she has to go to catch up to Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Yui SUSAKI, who has beaten her in two career meetings.

Yoshimoto won a battle of activity clock points in the final against Umi ITO, receiving two in the second period for a dour 2-1 win over the teammate of Susaki's at Waseda University.

It was a rematch of the Meiji Cup final last spring but was a far cry from the 9-0 technical fall that Yoshimoto chalked up then.

"Without feeling pressure as the world champion, I was confident coming into here," Yoshimoto said. "I was able to win out against the tough competition, and that will be important for the future. That is part of making progress.

"But there were plenty of issues in my execution, and by drawing these out, I can work on them for the next tournament."

Yoshimoto knows she will have to pick up her game to have a chance against Susaki, who says she will enter next spring's Meiji Cup in a bid to earn a ticket to Belgrade and a third-world title.

"She's strong mentally," Yoshimoto said of Susaki. "She easily won at the Olympics, but she can find a way to win any match, even when she is losing. She's really amazing."

Yu Shiotani humbled world champion Ken Matsui with an 11-0 win in the 55kg final. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

At Greco 55kg, Matsui's bid for a first career national title in what was billed as a clash of history-makers ended with a pair of thuds, as Asian champion Yu SHIOTANI slammed him to the mat with consecutive 5-point throws in an 11-0 technical fall.

"It was pathetic, I couldn't do anything," Matsui said. "I was on a high after winning at the World Championships, so I took it too lightly and went into the match thinking, 'I've got this won.'"

Shiotani, awarded the top position in par terre, lifted Matsui perpendicular into the air, then just fell forward and dumped him onto the mat. He then repeated the process, ending the match at 1:42.

"It's not that I particularly like [that move], but it's nice to win that way," said Shiotani, a student at Takushoku University.

Shiotani lost a chance to qualify for Oslo when he finished second at last year's Emperor's Cup for the second straight year, then missed this year's Meiji Cup due to injury. That opened the door for NSSU's Matsui, who won the Meiji Cup and then struck gold in Oslo.

"I couldn't compete sometimes or I was always finishing second," Shiotani said. "Matsui went to the World Championships and won the title. That was hard to take. But I was able to face him here and I thought this time I'll beat him."

Both have already earned places in Japanese wrestling history. Matsui's victory in Oslo at age 20 years 8 months made him Japan's youngest-ever world Greco champion, while five months earlier, Shiotani won the Asian title at age 19 years 5 months, making him the nation's youngest-ever continental champion.

Veteran Tomohiro INOUE won his sixth national title and first in three years with a 5-1 victory in the Greco 72kg final over defending champion Shogo TAKAHASHI -- who Inoue coached years ago at Ikuei High School in Hyogo Prefecture.

The 34-year-old Inoue, a member of the Japan team to Oslo, showed the master still had some life left in him by scoring a gut wrench from par terre in the second period, then adding a takedown when Takahashi seemed to lose his balance and fell backward.

The two previously met in the 66kg final in 2015, with Inoue winning by technical fall.

Takahashi, 27, has spent almost all of recent years at 67kg, where he won three national titles and a 2019 Asian bronze medal but came up short in two shots at qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Sohsuke Takatani is now the third wrestler in Japan to win 11 consecutive national titles. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

In freestyle, Sohsuke TAKATANI became the third wrestler in Japanese history to win 11 consecutive national titles and fifth with 11 overall when he successfully defended his 92kg crown.

The 32-year-old Takatani had little trouble storming to a 12-2 technical fall over 2020 Asian silver medalist Takuma OTSU, putting him into an elite group with Yasutoshi MORIYAMA (16 straight titles from 1982-95) and Kyoko HAMAGUCHI (12 straight from 1996-2007).

Takatani, the 2014 world silver medalist at 74kg, put together his streak over four weight classes. This summer, he appeared in his third Olympics at 86kg but fell in the first round. He was the only member of Japan's Olympic team to enter the Emperor's Cup.

Toshihiro Hasegawa dropped down from 61kg to win the gold at 57kg. (Tateo Yabuki / Japan Wrestling Federation)

Toshihiro HASEGAWA, Japan's only freestyle medalist in Oslo when he won a bronze at 61kg, dropped down to 57kg and won his first national title with a 2-1 victory over Asian bronze medalist Yuto TAKESHITA.

Hasegawa, after giving up an activity clock point, used a slick duck under for a takedown with :05 left in the first period, and made that hold up to edge Takeshita, who ousted 2019 world junior champion Toshiya ABE 2-1 in the semifinals.

Day 4 Results

Freestyle

57kg (11 entries)
Final - Toshihiro HASEGAWA df. Yuto TAKESHITA, 2-1
3rd Place - Toshiya ABE df. Rikuto ARAI by TF, 14-4, 5:42
Semifinal - Takeshita df. Abe, 2-1
Semifinal - Hasegawa df. Arai, 4-2

92kg (12 entries)
Final - Sohsuke TAKATANI df. Takuma OTSU by TF, 12-2, 5:53
3rd Place - Yuto ITSUTSU df. Ryoichi YAMANAKA by TF, 10-0, 1:12
Semifinal - Takatani df. Itsutsu by TF, 17-4, 4:12
Semifinal - Otsu df. Yamanaka, 2-1

Greco-Roman

55kg (11 entries)
Final - Yu SHIOTANI df. Ken MATSUI by TF, 11-0, 1:42
3rd Place - Taiga ONISHI df. Kagetora OKAMOTO by Def.
Semifinal - Matsui df. Okamoto by Fall, 2:00 (9-0)
Semifinal - Shiotani df. Onishi by TF, 10-0, 2:15

72kg (12 entries)
Final - Tomohiro INOUE df. Shogo TAKAHASHI, 5-1
3rd Place - Seiya TERADA df. Daigo KOBAYASHI by Inj. Def., 0:44
Semifinal - Takahashi df. Terada, 5-1
Semifinal - Inoue df. Kobayashi by TF, 9-0, 4:23

Women's Wrestling

50kg (12 entries)
Final - Remina YOSHIMOTO df. Umi ITO, 2-1
3rd Place - Miho IGARASHI df. Haruna MORIKAWA by TF, 15-2, 6:00
Semifinal - Yoshimoto df. Morikawa by TF, 10-0, 1:13
Semifinal - Ito df. Igarashi by TF, 10-0, 1:27

53kg (12 entries)
Final - Akari FUJINAMI df. Nanami IRIE, 8-2
3rd Place - Haruna OKUNO df. Yumi SHIMONO, 5-3
Semifinal - Fujinami df. Shimono by TF, 10-0, 4:39
Semifinal - Irie df. Okuno, 5-4

#WrestleTirana

World Championships: Sadulaev caps golden return with 92kg title

Friday, November 1, 2024 - 00:20 By Ken Marantz

TIRANA, Albania (October 31)--After a long absence from the mat forced by a combination of injuries and extenuating circumstances beyond his control, two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) returned in triumph.

It wasn't at his usual weight class and he has no plans to remain there, but for now the Russian great can be satisfied with adding yet another global gold medal to his formidable collection.

Sadulaev won his sixth world title in a third different weight class when he defeated Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 6-0 in the final at freestyle 92kg on Thursday, the final day of the Non-Olympic Weight Categories in Tirana.

"I can’t express what I feel yet," Sadulaev said. "I am very happy to be back on the top place of the podium of the world championships. This time it was a bit more difficult than the previous ones. There were many things that didn’t depend on me. I am glad."

Meanwhile, up-and-coming Masanosuke ONO (JPN), following up on Japan's success in the lightest weights at the Paris Olympics, completed a dominant run to the 61kg gold, while Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) and Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) ended long waits to return to the medal podium by making it to the top step at 70kg and 79kg, respectively.

Sadulaev, wrestling at 92kg for the first time in his career and down from 97kg for the first time since winning the 86kg gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, put up his usual granite wall of defense, while also showing the combination of speed, power and agility on the attack that sets him apart from his peers.

"I was about 98kg when I started the preparation," Sadulaev said. "The weight cut was not so difficult. I stopped eating flour and sweets, and the weight started to go down. Only the last two kilograms were a bit difficult to cut.

"The only problem was that I had the weigh-ins at 8 a.m. in the morning, then we arrived at the venue and I started wrestling in 30 minutes, I didn’t even have any time to rest. All the matches were just happening one by one with no rest. That’s why I got a bit tired in the semifinal match."

In the final, Sadulaev was on the activity clock in the first period when he scored a takedown, then added a pair of gut wrenches to build a 6-0 lead. From there, he held off everything that Maisuradze threw at him to add to the five world titles he won starting in 2014.

The last time the world saw Sadulaev, he suffered a serious neck injury and was beaten in the semifinals at the 2023 World Championships in Belgrade by Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), a former member of Sadulaev's wrestling school in Dagestan now competing for Bahrain who won the gold in Paris.

Sadulaev was declared ineligible to defend his Olympic 97kg title in Paris as part of sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and skipped what would have been his return at this year's European Championships in February due to injury.

"I found out that I will be wrestling at 92kg at the worlds only at the end of September," Sadulaev said. "I talked to the president of the federation. I was preparing to compete at the Olympic Games, but unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to enter, that’s why I decided to give it a try here...One and a half months was enough for me to prepare."

But as he showed over the two days in Tirana, he could be as competitive as ever. He started by handily defeating fellow superstar David TAYLOR (USA) in a classic matchup in the first round, then showed that his fire for success still burned bright within him when he scraped together a 4-point takedown in the final seconds to edge Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 5-3 in the semifinals.

"It didn’t really matter if I had to wrestle Taylor in the final match or in the qualification round," Sadulaev said. "It would have been more interesting if it was a final match. It would have been very spectacular if we wrestled in the final.

"In the semifinal match, I missed an attack, and in the end, I had to get a last-second score. I think it made the match even more interesting."

Looking ahead, Sadulaev said he will be heading back up to 97kg. "This was the only one time for me wrestling at 92kg. This is not my weight class, I will be back at 97kg again. I just used this opportunity not to lose another year. I had to make history to win the world championships in three different weight classes."

The dynamic Ono, who won the world U20 gold in September, never let up on the gas in storming to a quick 10-0 victory in the 61kg final over Ahmet DUMAN (TUR).

As he did throughout the tournament, Ono transitioned immediately to a gut wrench from a takedown, scoring six quick points before Duman knew what hit him. Ono then used a snap-down to a low ankle for another takedown, then a gut wrench to finish the rout in 1:22.

Ono, who started his golden run with a 10-2 win over Tokyo Olympic and former two-time world champion Zavur UGUEV (AIN), reeled off 12-0, 11-0 and 12-0 victories to advance to the final.

The senior Asian bronze medalist this year at 65kg, he later revealed that an injury had hampered his preparations. "One month ago, I broke my ankle and I couldn't practice at all," Ono said. "The Uguev match was my first live wrestling after the fracture, and I was very unsure how I would do."

For Ono, currently a student at Yamanashi Gakuin University, the school that produced Tokyo Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN), the question is where does he go from here?

Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), who followed Otoguro by winning the 65kg gold in Paris, beat Ono in the final at the 2023 All-Japan Championships during the Olympic qualifying process. Going down to 57kg, where Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) won the Paris gold, seems unlikely.

Wherever he ends up, he will go with confidence. "I don't know if I'll go to 65kg and face him [Kiyooka]," Ono said. "If I do, I'm definitely going to win."

As for celebrating his triumph in Tirana, that will have to wait. "In five days, I have the Japan University championships," he said.

In the 70kg final, Kaipanov scored all of his points in the second period to defeat Asian silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) 5-3 and add the gold to the world silver he won in 2019 and become just the second world freestyle champion in Kazakhstan history -- and second in two years.

Kaipanov, a two-time former Asian champion, twice scored 2-point exposures by stopping body-lock throw attempts by Aoyagi, a former teammate of Ono's at Yamanashi Gakuin who was coming off a bronze-medal finish at the World U23 Championships held a week ago in the same venue.

Kaipanov's victory came a year after Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) captured the 92kg title in Belgrade to become their country's first-ever freestyle gold medalist.

Kentchadze, a four-time European bronze medalist whose only previous world medal was a 74kg silver won in 2015, scored six takedowns in a 13-4 victory over 2023 world U23 champion Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN) to take the 79kg gold.

Kentchadze, who was fifth at the 74kg at last year's worlds in Belgrade, gave up an opening takedown, but responded by scoring two himself to go ahead. After the second, however, he got stuffed attempting a roll to go behind 4-4, but righted the ship and added two more takedowns before the break to lead 8-4.

In the second period, Kentchadze sandwiched two more takedowns around a stepout to pull away and emerge victorious in the tournament's most crowded weight class with 33 entries.

Taylor claims emotional bronze

Taylor didn't get the gold that he came out of retirement to get in Tirana, but he did show a bit of his old magic in claiming a bronze medal at 92kg with an impressive 6-2 comeback victory over Ghasempour.

"When you're good for so long, you never know when it's time to be done," said an emotional Taylor, the Tokyo Olympic and three-time world champion at 86kg. "I just got an opportunity to go out the way I wanted to."

Ghasempour, the 2021 and 2022 world champion at 92kg, opened the scoring with a takedown while on the activity clock to lead 2-0 at the break. In the second period, Taylor went on the offensive and scored three takedowns against the tough Iranian, the last coming with two seconds left to preserve the victory.

After the match, Taylor remained on the mat for a short while, drinking in the atmosphere and the applause of the crowd. Later, he smile broadly on the medal podium and posed for photo together with Sadulaev.

The 33-year-old had retired after failing to make the U.S. team to the Paris Olympics and took the head coaching job at powerhouse Oklahoma State University. But the chance to face Sadulaev for the first time and possibly add to his gold medal collection was incentive enough to bring him back to the mat. The luck of the draw saw him face Sadulaev in the first round, where he lost 7-0.

"It was a tough decision to wrestle, but I didn't want it to end the way it did in April," Taylor said. "Going into this, I was hyperfocused on wrestling Sadulaev. The game script didn't go as I thought. I should have wrestled [him] like I did [against Ghasempour]. [The bronze-medal match] was a match of redemption. It was a world-final caliber match."

Although they met just that one time, Sadulaev had kind parting words for Taylor. "I want to congratulate Taylor on an amazing career," he said. "He was one of the best wrestlers of the modern time. I wish him good luck. Sooner or later, I will retire as well. But not now."

In the other 92kg bronze-medal match, Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) gave Slovakia a second bronze of the night when he rode a six-point lead to an 8-6 victory over a spirited Benjamin HONIS (ITA), who had been aiming to become Italy's first world medalist not named Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) since 2018.

Vito ARUJAU (USA), denied the chance to defend his world 61kg title by Ono in the semifinals, came away with a bronze medal by taking one of the biggest scalps of his career, beating Ugaev 8-3.

Arujau, shaking off a painful finger injury that caused him to need treatment during the second period, scored four takedowns in toppling the normally 57kg Uguev, who had obvious trouble handling the extra weight.

The other 61kg bronze went to Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL), who came up with a big move to defeat Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by fall. Tseveensuren started with a 4-point pancake that Norvuzov reversed for 2, then countered a takedown attempt by locking the Azeri in a cradle and securing the fall at 2:30.

Russian-born Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) ended Tajikistan's 17-wait for a second world medal when he broke open a tight match with a 10-point flurry in the second period to defeat Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) 13-2 in a 70kg bronze-medal match.

Kudiev, a bronze medalist at this year's Antalya Ranking Series at 65kg, followed in the footsteps of another native Russian, Yusup ABDUSALOMOV (TJK), who won a silver at freestyle 84kg in 2007.

European U23 champion Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN), last year's world U23 gold medalist, claimed his first senior world medal with a 10-0 victory in the other 70kg bronze-medal match over Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR). Sheriev scored three takedowns in the second period to end the match with :08 left.

At 79kg, Asian champion Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI), who knocked off six-time world champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) before losing to Kentchadze in the semifinals, overwhelmed young Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) 10-0 to take home a world medal for the third consecutive year.

Takahashi, the world U23 champion at 74kg a week ago in Tirana, did a remarkable job of making it to the bronze-medal match, having come back from massive deficits in both of his repechage matches just a few hours earlier.

Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK), the 2021 European champion, scored a 2-point exposure on a counter in the second period to edge Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL) 2-1 for the other 79kg bronze.

Freestyle Results

61kg (27 entries)
GOLD: Masanosuke ONO (JPN) df. Ahmet DUMAN (TUR) by TF, 10-0, 1:22

BRONZE: Tsogbadrakh TSEVEENSUREN (MGL) df Nuraddin NOVRUZOV (AZE) by Fall, 2:30 (8-2)
BRONZE: Vito ARUJAU (USA) df. Zavur UGUEV (AIN), 8-3

70kg (25 entries)
GOLD: Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ) df. Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), 5-3

BRONZE: Inalbek SHERIEV (AIN) df. Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) by TF, 10-0, 5:52
BRONZE: Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK) df. Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) by TF, 13-2, 4:39

79kg (33 entries)
GOLD: Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) df. Magomed MAGOMAEV (AIN), 13-4

BRONZE: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI) df. Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) by TF, 10-0, 3:49
BRONZE: Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK) df. Suldkhuu OLONBAYAR (MGL), 2-1

92kg (29 entries)
GOLD: Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 6-0

BRONZE: David TAYLOR (USA) df. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), 6-2
BRONZE: Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK) df. Benjamin HONIS (ITA), 8-6

Teen Star Fujinami Misses Shutout but Rolls to 2nd National Title at 53kg

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World Championships: Sadulaev caps golden return with 92kg title