BISHKEK (MAY 8) - Shinya Odate gave Japan a silver medal on the opening
day of the Asian wrestling championships as three weight categories in
men's freestyle were contested.Odate edged junior world champion Mehdi Taghavi Kermani of Iran in three periods in the semifinals at 60 kg but then gave up a pair of cross-ankle turns in a loss in the finals to hometown favorite Bazar Bazarguruev. Japanese coaches had marked Taghavi Kermani as the wrestler to beat at 60 kg before coming to Bishkek, so Odate was understandably elated with his semifinals triumph.
・After winning against Iran, I really thought I could win,・Odate said, admitting dejectedly that he was 田areless・in the final and that he was not prepared mentally for the match with Bazaguruev.
At 74 kg, newly crowned national champion Kazuyuki Nagashima had to settle for fifth place after hard one-point losses in his semifinal match and the final for third place.
At 96 kg, 2005 Universiade entry Yoshitsugu Yoneyama did not place after losses to Amir Abbas Moradi of Iran in the second round and Koo Tae-Hyun of Korea in the consolations.
Results of individual bouts:
60 kg - ODATE, Shinya (2nd, 13 entries)
1R - df. Laikhani Chazwan (SYR), 2-0 (3-0, 7-0=1:30)
Odate scores with a front headlock and spin under in the first period and a pair of gut wrenches in the second.
2R - df. Vitalyi Korjakin (TJK), 2-0 (1-0=2:04, 3-0)
Odate loses the coin toss after the first period, but scores a counter point. An early takedown and a late counter-attack to nearfall in the second give him the win.
SF - df. Mehdi Taghavi Kermani (IRI), 2-1 (1-0=2:13, 1-2, 12-5)
Odate breaks open a close match with a pair of 3-point arm throws in the third period for the technical fall.
F1 - lost to Bazar Bazarguruev (KGZ), 0-2 (0-1=2:19, 0-5)
Odate wins the coin toss after a scoreless first period, but losses the point after being forced out of bounds. Bazarguruev, formerly of Russia, scores with two cross-ankle turns late in the second to secure the win.
74 kg - NAGASHIMA, Kazuyuki (5th, 10 entries)
1R - bye
2R - df. Wanna Sitthichai (THA) by fall, 1P=0:46 (5-0)
Nagashima wraps his opponent up with a cradle for a quick win in the quarterfinals.
SF - lost to Wu Zijan (CHN), 0-2 (2-3, 0-1=2:03)
Nagashima was thrown for three points in the last six seconds of the first period. And then, lost the coin toss and the point after the second period to Wu, a bronze medal winner at the 2006 world military championships.
F3 - lost to Lee Sang-Kyu (KOR), 0-2 (0-1=2:04, 1-2)
Nagashima loses coin toss and clinch after the first period. And, cannot protect an early lead in the second against the Asian junior bronze medalist.
96 kg - YONEYAMA, Yoshitsugu (dnp, 11 entries)
1R - df. Vadim Pyagay (UZB), 2-0 (2-0=2:09, 2-0)
Yoneyama counters for two points out of the clinch after the first period. And then, drives his opponent out of the ring in the second, followed with a go-behind for the win.
2R - lost to Amir Abbas Moradi (IRI), 0-2 (0-1, 0-6=1:13)
Moradi, 2005 junior world champion, scored a takedown to nearfall and a 3-point takedown in the second period for the win.
r1 - lost to Koo Tae-Hyun (KOR), 0-2 (0-2, 1-3)
Yoneyama gives up a takedown and gut wrench in the second period and cannot make up the difference against Koo, a fifth-place finisher at last December's Asian Games.
