@@@TOKYO (March 28) - Kyoko Hamaguchi defeated would-be challenger Ayako Murashima in straight sets to win her 10th Japan Queens Cup crown and secure a berth on the Japanese national team for the world championships this fall in China.
@@@Hamaguchi had little trouble with the former Chukyo Womens University
standout in the final at 72 kg as she fashioned a 4-0, 3-0 victory with
a pair of double-leg takedowns at Komazawa Gymnasium. Hamaguchi, a five-time
former world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, also won her 10th straight
national championships title at the all-Japan meet in December.@@@Olympic and world champion Saori Yoshida notched three straights falls on her way to her fifth straight JQC championship at 55 kg. Yoshida ran her current winning streak to 89 and was named the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Kaori Icho, meanwhile, despite being slowed by a collarbone injury suffered last week in practice, held her opponents scoreless at 63 kg to make it six straight at the JQC.
@@@Hamaguchi, Yoshida and Icho all secured berths on the Japanese squad for the world championships opening September 25 in Guangzhou, China. They will be joined by Chiharu Icho (48), Hitomi Sakamoto (51) and Eri Sakamoto (67).
@@@At 59 kg, reigning world champion Ayako Shoda avenged her loss at the national championships with a 2-1 win over Seiko Yamamoto. Shoda and Yamamoto will square off June 4 in a special national team wrestle-off for
the world team.
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Results of the JQC championship finals:
48 - Chiharu Icho df. Makiko Sakamoto, 2-0 (1-0=2:02, 1-0)
51 - Hitomi Sakamoto df. Yuri Kai, 2-0 (7-0=0:38, 3-0)
55 - Saori Yoshida df. Chikako Matsukawa by fall, 1P=1:01
59 - Ayako Shoda df. Seiko Yamamoto, 2-1 (0-3=2:03, 1-0, 3-2)
63 - Kaori Icho df. Yoshiko Inoue, 2-0 (2-0, 2-0)
67 - Eri Sakamoto df. Mimi Sugawara, 2-0 (1-0, 4-2)
72 - Kyoko Hamaguchi df. Ayako Murashima, 2-0 (4-0, 3-0)
