To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
By William May
(Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
Kyodo World Services, senior sports writer:wmay52@hotmail.com)
JAPAN TAKES 2ND IN WOMEN’S ASIA CUP
ALMATY (November 29-30) - Japan lost
to China in the opening round of the Asia
Cup of women’s wrestling and had to settle
for second place in the inaugural version
of the continental dual meet competition.
In the meet with China, Japan got pins from
world champions Seiko Yamamoto and Kaori
Icho, but dropped 6-5 decisions on controversial
calls against Misato Shimizu and Norie Saito.
But with Japan leading 14-10 heading
into the final match, Miki Ninomiya lost
by fall at 72 kg, giving the team victory
to China with four wins to Japan’s three.
Japan rebounded in the second round with
a resounding 27-1 win over host Kazakhstan.
Japan also defeated Mongolia in the final
pairing of the round-robin competition. China
won the championship with a 3-0 record.
Results of Japan’s meets:
China 14, Japan 14
48 kg - Deng Weichan, China df. Misato Shimizu,
6-5
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan df. Tan Dongmei,
4-3
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Qiu Hongmei
by fall
59 kg - Su Lihui, China df. Rena Iwama, 8-2
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Huang Wenwen
by fall
67 kg - Wang Jiao, China df. Norie Saito,
6-5
73 kg - Zhang Don, China df. Miki Ninomiya
by fall
Japan 27, Kazakhstan 1
48 kg - Misato Shimizu, Japan df. Saniya
Rakhimova by fall
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan df. Nataliya
Ryzhkovskaya 6-1
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Elvira
Kurbanova by fall
59 kg - Rena Iwama, Japan df. Saltanat Abdrakhmanova
by fall
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Zhanna Kaikenova
by fall
67 kg - Norie Saito, Japan df. Olga Zhanibekova
by fall
72 kg - Miki Ninomiya, Japan df. Alena Krutogolova
by fall
Japan 24, Mongolia 4
48 kg - Enkhjargal Tsogtbazar, Mongolia df.
Misato Shimizu, 6-3
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan won by default
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Otgonjargal
Naidin, 7-0
59 kg - Rena Iwama, Japan df. Nazanburmaa
Ochirbat, 10-0
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Myagmarsuren
Tumen-Ulzil by injury default
67 kg - Norie Saito, Japan won by default
72 kg - Miki Ninomiya, Japan df. Burmaa Ochirbat,
16-5
MATSUMOTO DEFEATS EX-WORLD TEAM MEMBER IN
QUALIFIER
TOKYO (November 22) - Nihon University
freshman Shinya Matsumoto defeated one-time
national team member Hisashi Fujita at the
qualifying tournament for the Japanese national
championships in December. Matsumoto, wrestling
at 84 kg, rolled to a 10-0 technical fall
win at 2:08 over Fujita in the qualifying
matches at the national training center in
Tokyo. Fujita, formerly of Yamanashi Gakuin
University, placed 17th at the 2001 world
freestyle championships at 130 kg.
Meanwhile, in the greco-roman qualifying
matches, former Olympic team member Kazuyuki
Miyata lost 3-2 to Shinya Ayata at 66 kg
and fell short of his bid for a second trip
to the Olympics.
Miyata, 13th at 63 kg in freestyle at
the Sydney Games, was attempting to switch
styles after the Japan Wrestling Federation
indicated that world bronze medalist Kazuhiko
Ikematsu is their choice for freestyle at
66 kg.
In the women’s competition, former five-time
world champion Shoko Yoshimura posted a pair
of wins to advance to the national meet at
48 kg. Asia champion Mika Noguchi, slowed
by a leg injury, lost in the first round
and did not qualify for the national championships,
December 21-22 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium
in Tokyo.
Also, high school sensation Noriyuki
Takatsuka earned a berth at 60 kg in freestyle,
while former national champion Kiyofumi Kanabuchi
lost.
Along with Yoshimura at 48 kg, Momoko
Sera and junior world champion Sachiko Akasaka
won berths in the national meet at 48 --
the lone Olympic weight category in which
Japan does not have the reigning world champion.
SATO, MATSUMOTO, FROSH WINNERS AT COLLEGE
FS C’SHIPS
NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. (November
7-8) - Waseda’s Satoshi Sato and Shinya
Matsumoto of Nihon University became the
11th and 12th wrestlers to win titles as
freshman at the national freestyle wrestling
collegiate championships. Sato, out of Akita
Shogyo high school, won the title at 66 kg
while Matsumoto, formerly of Amino high school
in Kyoto, took the 96-kg crown at Naruohama
gymnasium near Kobe.
Meanwhile, Seshito Shimizu (55 kg, Nippon
Sports Science University), Takafumi Kojima
(60, NSSU), Kazuyuki Nagashima (84, Waseda)
and Akihito Tanaka (120, Senshu) all added
the student championship title to wins this
summer at the collegiate open.
Nagashima was the lone repeat champion
in this year’s collegiate championships.
The team title went to NSSU with 52 points
while dual meet champion Nihon University
was second with 42 points. Takushoku University
was third with 35 points.
The title was NSSU’s 18th overall in
the freestyle championships and first in
two years. Previous freshman winners in this
meet were: Mitsuru Sato (NSSU, 1980); Takashi
Kobayashi (NU, 1981); Tamon Honda (NU, 1981);
Kosei Akaishi (NU, 1983); Hiroshi Yamashita
(NSSU, 1984); Madoka Koizumi (Doshisha, 1987),
Tsuyoshi Ogita (Waseda, 1990); Seitaro Yoshida
(Kokushikan, 1995); Kosuke Ibe (Toyo, 1996)
and Kunihiko Obata (Yamanashi Gakuin, 1999).
Out of the 10 first-year champions, Honda,
Akaishi and Obata went on to
win four championships in a row.
In the medal matches:
55 kg
Championship
Seshito Shimizu (NSSU) df. Tsunehira Hasegawa
(Aoyama Gakuin), 12-7
Third-place
Masashi Saito (NU) df. Shinpei Fujimoto (W)
by TF 10-0, 4:10
60 kg
Championship
Takafumi Kojima (NSSU) df. Kenta Fujimoto
(NU), 5-3, 7:22
Third-place
Junpei Hashiji (Daito Bunka) df. Kosuke Hashii
(Ritsumeikan), 8-3
66 kg
Championship
Satoshi Sato (W) df. Toru Baba (Gunma) by
TF, 10-0, 3:59
Third-place
Akihiko Yamanami (NSSU) df. Hiroshi Goto
(Meiji) 7-1
74 kg
Championship
Ryuta Takahashi (Takushoku) df. Yosuke Kato
(NSSU) 5-0
Third-place
Yuta Nakasuji (NU) df. Hidenori Ozaki (G)
by fall, 1:18 (7-0)
84 kg
Championship
Kazuyuki Nagashima (W) df. Takao Isokawa
(T) on criteria 1-1, 9:00
Third-place
Satoru Yamamoto (NSSU) df. Mitsuhide Hirasawa
(Senshu) by TF, 11-0, 1:40
96 kg
Championship
Shinya Matsumoto (NU) df. Jun Aisawa (Chuo),
4-0
Third-place
Ken Sogabe (Kokushikan) df. Masahide Moriyama
(NSSU), 4-2
120 kg
Championship
Akihito Tanaka (S) df. Naoki Sawada (T) by
fall, 1:50 (5-0)
Third-place
Koichiro Nishida (NU) df. Issei Sugiura (Yamanashi
Gakuin), 4-0
YOSHIDA, K. ICHO NAMED WORLD CUP WINNERS
TOKYO (November 26) - Saori Yoshida and
Kaori Icho were named individual winners
at last month’s World Cup of women’s wrestling
held in Tokyo, according to a recent posting
on the FILA Database website. Yoshida, who
won at 55 kg, extended her streak of championships
in international competition to 15. Icho
(63 kg) added a second World Cup crown to
her two world championship titles.
Seiko Yamamoto was listed in second place
at 59 kg behind American Sally Roberts, while
Norie Saito (67 kg) and Kyoko Hamaguchi (72)
were third.
Final individual rankings from the World
Cup.
48 kg
1. Patricia Miranda, U.S.
2. Yang Zuying, China
3. Carol Huynh, Canada
51 kg
1. Lyndsey Belisle, Canada
2. Jenny Wong, U.S.
3. Ren Xueceng, China
55 kg
1. Saori Yoshida, Japan
2. Tonya Verbeek, Canada
3. Natalia Golts, Russia
59 kg
1. Sally Roberts, U.S.
2. Seiko Yamamoto, Japan
3. Breanne Graham, Canada
63 kg
1. Kaori Icho, Japan
2. Sara McMann. U.S.
3. Su Huihua, China
67 kg
1. Kristie Marano, U.S.
2. Svetlana Martynenko, Russia
3. Norie Saito, Japan
72 kg
1. Toccara Montgomery, U.S.
2. Christina Nordhagen, Canada
3. Kyoko Hamaguchi, Japan
RITSUMEIKAN WINS 5TH STRAIGHT WEST JAPAN
COLLEGE CROWN
OSAKA (November 22-23) - Ritsumeikan
University of Kyoto rolled over Tokuyama
University 5-2 to claim the fall version
of the west Japan collegiate dual meet championships.
Ritsumeikan, powered mostly by local talent,
won its fifth straight team title in the
west Japan championships, which are held
every spring and fall. Chukyo Gakuin University
of Nagoya won the second division crown.
NAKAO PULLS OUT OF NATIONAL C’SHIPS
TOKYO (November 19) - Yoshihiro Nakao,
a member of the Japanese national team the
last two years, has pulled out of the national
championship meet in December. Nakao did
not attend the national team training camp
in Tokyo in November and Nakao’s coach said
the defending national champion at 96 kg
would not wrestle in the upcoming all-Japan
meet.
JAPAN GARNERS 3 GOLD AT ASIA CADET MEET
TAIPEI (November 13-14) - Fumika Masaya
and Kie Tanaka each won four matches in the
girls’ competition to claim titles at 65
kg and 70 kg respectively at the Asian cadet
wrestling championships. Masaya is a student
at Miyako Shogyo high school in Iwate Prefecture
while Tanaka wrestles at the high school
affiliate of Chukyo Women’s University in
Aichi.
Mizuho Shibata, also of CWU high school,
was second at 52 kg as was Eriko Nakata of
Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan-Uji high school at 60
kg. In the boys’ event, Tetsuya Saikawa
of Ashikaga Kogyo high school in Tochigi
won the 76-kg crown in greco-roman.Tomohiro
Inoue of Ikuei high school in Hyogo was second
at 69 kg in greco-roman and Masaharu Kaji,
also from Ikuei, was third at 42 kg.
In freestyle, Shota Nagae of Hisai high
school in Mie finished in third place
at 46 kg.
USHIJIMA, TOIDA COLLECT SILVER AT CLANSMAN
INT’L
VANCOUVER, Canada (November 7-8) - Hiroki
Ushijima and Yukihiro Toida collected silver
medals in the Clansman International men’s
freestyle wrestling meet. Ushijima lost to
former world bronze medalist Alexander Kontoev
of Russia by technical fall in the 55-kg
final while Toida fell to former world champion
Zaur Botaev, also of Russia, 5-0 at 66 kg.
Takenori Yokoyama finished sixth at 84 kg.
WRESTLING OUT OF 2005 E. ASIAN GAMES
TOKYO (November 6) - Wrestling will not
be one of the 17 sports to be held at the
2005 East Asian Games in Macao, informed
sources have revealed. Judo and volleyball
are also among the Olympic sports that will
not be contested at the regional multi-sport
event, while six non-Olympic sports -- including
dance sport and dragonboat -- are on the
program.