SOFIA (August 3) - Shinichi Yumoto (Photo) won four matches with four different
strategies and let people back in Japan know he is the real deal by winning
the Dan Kolov international freestyle wrestling competition.Yumoto, who won the Beloglazov international a week ago at 55 kg, blitzed former world bronze medalist Naranbaatar Bayaraa of Mongolia in his first match and stopped local favorite Svetoslav Neychev with a tight
defense. "I did not come here as Japan's entry in this year's world championships, so I just wanted to wrestle my best," Yumoto said after receiving his gold.
"(National champion Tomohiro) Matsunaga-san and (No. 2 Hideki) Taoka-san have won these competitions before, so I wanted to be sure and win to follow in their footsteps." National team coach Takahiro Wada was not surprised by Yumoto's performance. "He wrestles even with Matsunaga in practice, so I expected that he
had the best chance to do well on this tour."
On a young freestyle team with limited international experience, Takayuki Suzuki at 66 kg made a promising showing after failing to make weight at the Beloglazov tournament. Suzuki racked up three wins against a pair of losses for fifth place. He struggled, however, against former 74-kg world champion Nikolai Paslar in
the battle for the bronze medal.
Suzuki found it hard to score against the defense of the diminutive Paslar and had to settle for fifth place.
Yumoto's twin brother, Kenichi, is nursing a painful lower back and did not wrestle at 60 kg.
Matsunaga, meanwhile, who had been expected to tangle with world champion Radoslav Velikov of Bulgaria stayed in Japan to rest an injured knee. Velikov also sat out the competition with medical problems.
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Results of matches involving Japanese wrestlers:
55 kg - YUMOTO, Shinichi (1st, 13 entries)
R1 - df. Naranbaatar Bayaraa (MGL), 2-0 (7-0=1:31, 6-0=1:52)
Yumoto ducked for takedown in the first and then rolled up the technical on the mat. Yumoto spun behind the 2005 world bronze medalist in the second and sewed up the technical with a pair of tilts.
R2 - df. Svetoslav Neychev (BUL), 2-0 (1-0, 2-1)
Yumoto scored with quick double-leg takedowns in both periods and then held off the junior world bronze medalist for the win.
SF - df. Zhassular Mukhtarbekuly (KAZ) by fall, 1P=1:53 (8-2)
Yumoto took a 3-2 lead off a headlock, then dropped his opponent to his back off a takedown counter and covered for the fall.
F1 - df. Labazan Askerbiev (RUS), 2-0 (1-0, 6-2)
Yumoto hoisted his opponent off the mat in the first period and received only a point going out of bounds. In the second period, trailing 1-2, Yumoto got his opponent in the air again and dropped to his back for three points. Two more points for a tilt added to Yumoto's margin of victory.
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60 kg - YUMOTO, Kenichi (24 entries)
Yumoto did not enter because of lower back pains.
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66 kg - SUZUKI, Takayuki (5th, 23 entries)
R1 - df. Manuel Ortiz (ESP), 2-0 (2-0, 2-0)
Suzuki scored with double-leg takedowns on his way to an easy win.
R2 - df. Asset Dukenbaev (KAZ), 2-0 (1-0, 3-2)
In a late scramble, Suzuki is thrown to his back off a takedown attempt, but comes out on top and then tilts for the win.
R3 - lost to Rasul Djukaev (RUS), 1-2 (2-0, 0-1=2:10, 0-1)
Suzuki missed his chance to win with the clinch in the second and was forced out of bounds. In the third period, Djukaev scored late with a low single and then held off Suzuki's switch attempts.
r1 - df. Csaba Mihaly (ROM), 2-1 (2b-2, 0-3, 4-3)
Suzuki steps over a double-leg counter for two points to win the first period on criteria, then gets thrown in the second. After a third period scramble ends 3-3, Suzuki uses front headlock and thigh trap for the winning
point.
F3 - lost to Nikolai Paslar (BUL), 0-2 (0-2, 1-6)
Suzuki could not get under the shorter Paslar for a clear leg attack, and a missed attempt at a front headlock resulted in three points for the former 74-kg world champion.
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74 kg - KAYAMORI, Hiroki (dnp, 17 entries)
R1 - lost to Ivan Deliverski (BUL), 1-2 (1-0=2:15, 0-3, 0-2)
Kayamori was deep on single-leg in third period but could not finish. Deliverski came back with outside single for two points and the win.
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84 kg - SUZUKI, Yutaka (xx, 16 entries)
R1 - df. Ganzorig Ghagnaadorj (MGL), 2-0 (5-4, 2-1)
Suzuki scores with a back-arching throw in the closing seconds of the first period on his way to a win over 2006 Asia champion.
R2 - lost to Gennadiy Laliyev (KAZ), 0-2 (1-7=1:10, 0-8=1:17)
Laliyev scores an arm throw and leg trip in the first period, then moves to leg attacks in the second for the technical fall.
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96 kg - KODAIRA, Kiyotaka (dnp, 19 entries)
R1 - bye
R2 - lost to Nurzhan Katayev (KAZ), 0-2 (0-3, 2-3)
Katayev scores big with a bearhug in the first period. Kodaira battles back in the second with a go-behind and force-out for a 2-0 lead, but the Asian bronze medalist scores with a late snap down and gut wrench for the
win.
r1 - lost to Emara Saleh Moustafa (EGY) 0-2 (0-2, 1-2)
Kodaira could not stop his opponent's low-level attacks. Holding the last-point advantage in the second period, Kodaira gave up a low sweep single and did not have time to answer back.
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120 kg - TANAKA, Akihito (5th, 11 entries)
R1 - bye
R2 - df. Jose Cuba (ESP), 2-1 (0-1=2:18, 6-0=0:32, 5-3)
Tanaka gave up the first period off the clinch, then answered back with a fireman's carry and two chest high gut wrenches in the second. In the third, Cuba went up 0-3, but Tanaka came back with a counter and two chest-high tilts.
SF - lost to Bojidar Boyadjiev (BUL), 0-2 (0-3, 1-2)
Tanaka missed a fireman's carry and gave up a gut wrench in the first, but took the lead in the second with a double-leg. Boyadjiev, however, snapped down and tilted from a front headlock at the end.
F3 - lost to Andrei Svatkovskiy (KAZ), 0-2 (0-5, 0-2)
Tanaka gave up a pair of force-out points in the first period and two double-leg takedowns in the second.
