To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）
SASAMOTO, TSURUMAKI 3RD IN NIKOLA PETROV INT’L
SOFIA (March 18-19) - Veteran Makoto Sasamoto and up-and-coming Tsukasa
Tsurumaki grabbed bronze medals at the Nikola Petrov International greco-roman
wrestling tournament.
Wrestling on the final day of the Golden Grand Prix tourney in Sofia,
Sasamoto and Tsurumaki each pocketed 1,000 dollars for their third-place
finishes. At 60 kg, Sasamoto fell to world bronze medalist Eusebiu Diaconu
of Romania in the semifinals, but rebounded with a 2-1 win over last year’s
junior world champion Davor Stefanek of Serbia-Montenegro for the bronze
medal.
Tsurumaki, meanwhile, posted a win over Georgia’s Manuchar Kvirkvelia,
a former world champion at 66 kg, in the first round at 74 kg but fell
to France’s Christophe Guenot in semifinals. Tsurumaki came back with a
reverse waist-lock to lift for the fall against Greece’s Konstantos Papadopulos
in the bronze medal match.
On the first day of competition, all four Japanese entries, including
Poland Open winner Shingo Matsumoto, failed to advance beyond their first
round matches.
Results of matches with Japanese entries:
55 kg - TOYOTA, Masatoshi (did not place)
1R - lost to Jasem Amiri (IRI), 1-2 (1-1x=last point, 4-1, 0-3)
----
55 kg - HASEGAWA, Kohei (dnp)
1R - lost to Chochua Irakli (GEO), 0-2 (1-3, 1-3)
----
60 kg - SASAMOTO, Makoto (3rd place)
1R - df. Nurbakyt Tengizbayev (KAZ), 2-0 (3-0, 1x-1=last)
2R - df. Bunyamin Emik (TUR), 2-1 (0-5, 4-0, 2-1)
SF - lost to Eusebiu Diaconu (ROM), 0-2 (0-5, 0-4)
F3 - df. Davor Stefanek (SCG), 2-1 (7-0, 0-9, 6-0)
----
66 jg - IMURO, Masaki (dnp)
1R - lost to Ambako Vachazde (RUS) by TF, 0-2 (0-6, 0-6)
----
74 kg - TSURUMAKI, Tsukasa (3rd place)
1R - df. Manuchar Kvirkvelia (GEO), 2-0 (8-0, 3-0)
2R - df. Emre Comlekcioglu (TUR), 2-0 (5-0, 7-2)
SF - lost to Christophe Guenot (FRA), 0-2 (1-2, 0-5)
F3 - df. Konstantinos Papadopulos (GRE) by fall, 2P=time not available
----
84 kg - MATSUMOTO, Shingo (dnp)
1R - lost to Noumonvi Melonin (FRA), 0-2 (0-6, 0-2)