To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）

JAPAN SENDS 3 TO CSKA OPEN CUP


TOKYO (October 21) - Japan is sending three wrestlers to compete for the Asia select squad competing at the CSKA Cup meet in Moscow, November 7-8.

Noriyuki Takatsuka, world bronze medalist at 60kg in 2006, will be joined by Shinichi Yumoto (55kg) and Tadafumi Kojima (66kg). The Japanese trio, who will fill the three lightest categories for the Asia squad, will be coached by national team coach Takahiro Wada.

The competition will commemorate the 60th birthday of the late Ivan Yarygin, the former president of the Russian wrestling federation who died in a car accident in 1998. The dual meet event will feature teams from Russia, North America, South America and the Caribbean, as well as select squads from the former Soviet republics, Europe and Asia.

The winning team will face the Russian national team for the CSKA Cup. Also scheduled is the Yarygin Cup, an open competition for wrestlers in the 96kg and 120kg categories.

YAMANASHI GAKUIN TAKES 1ST COLLEGIATE GR CROWN

TOKYO (October 23-24) - Wrestlers from Yamanashi Gakuin University won three individual titles and came from behind to win their first-ever collegiate greco-roman championships team crown, edging perennial powerhouse Nippon Sports Science University by 2.5 points.

The greco-roman title for YGU follows their triumph in the East Japan collegiate championship freestyle meet in May.


The YGU charge for the team title was fueled by individual crowns from collegiate open champions Yuji Yamamoto at 96kg and Boris Mujikov at 120kg on the final day of competition at Komazawa Gymnasium.

The heavyweight title was the third of the season for Mujikov, who won the freestyle and greco-roman crowns at the collegiate open. YGU also received an individual title at 60kg from defending champion Kazuma Kuramoto on the first day of competition. Kuramoto was named the meet’s outstanding wrestler.

Also on the final day of competition, Shinnosuke Omagari of Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo reprised his 84kg title run at the collegiate open for his second title of the year.

In the race for the team title, NSSU won two titles on the first day, but could only manage a pair of bronze medals on the second day to slip into second place.

Wrestlers from Tokuyama University snared a silver medal and a pair of bronze medals to sneak into third place overall, making the school from Yamaguchi the first school from western Japan to reach the top three in the collegiate greco-roman meet.

Meanwhile, Takushoku University and Senshu University had to settle for fourth and fifth place respectively.

55kg
F1 - Tsubasa Ogata (NSSU) df. Kota Otani (Senshu), 2-0
F3 - Kyojin Kitano (Kanagawa) df. Yoshiaki Inoue (Kokushikan), 2-0
F3 - Masaharu Kaji (YGU) df. Ryota Ozeki (AGU), 2-1

60kg
F1 - Kazuma Kuramoto (YGU) df. Masashi Kimura (Tokuyama), 2-0
F3 - Ryo Sasaki (Takushoku) df. Yasutsugu Taian (Koku), 2-1
F3 - Shigeru Matsumoto (Nihon Bunri) df. Atsushi Ozaki (Daito Bunka), 2-1

66kg
F1 - Yuji Okamoto (Taku) df. Tsuyoshi Shiozaki (Meiji), 2-0
F3 - Kazuhiko Naruse (NSSU) df. Akihiro Fujinaga (Toku), 2-0
F3 - Yuichi Umehara (Hosei) df. Koken Yahanda (Chuo), 2-1

74kg
F1 - Shuhei Kuraya (NSSU) df. Shinichi Nakai (Chuo), 2-1
F3 - Kengo Kishimoto (YGU) df. Kazuo Tamura (Waseda), 2-0
F3 - Shingo Fujinaga (Toku) df. Yuyu Tamura (Kansai), 2-0

84kg
F1 - Shinnosuke Omagari (AGU) df. Kazuo Okumura (Taku) by injury default, 2P=1:31
F3 - Daisuke Sugihira (Koku) df. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (Waseda), 2-1
F3 - Atsushi Matsumoto (NSSU) df. Naoki Funayama (Gunma), 2-0)

96kg
F1 - Yuji Yamamoto (YGU) df. Kyo Yamada (Gunma), 2-0
F3 - Takashi Matsunaga (NSSU) df. Hiroshi Ogasawara (AGU), 2-0
F3 - Tsukiaki Nakatani (Senshu) df. Hiroshi Honda (Chuo), 2-0

120kg
F1 - Boris Mujikov (YGU) df. Hiroaki Takayama (NBU) by fall, 1P=1:20
F3 - Shinichi Hirakawa (Senshu) df. Wataru Kurokawa (NSSU) by fall, 1P=1:46
F3 - Toru Nishiki (Toku) df. Shuichi Ishibashi (Chuo), 2-0

Team scores
1. Yamanashi Gakuin, 48 points; 2. NSSU, 45.5; 3. Tokuyama, 27.5; 4. Takushoku, 27; 5. Senshu, 24; 6. Chuo, 19.5; 7. Aoyama Gakuin, 19; 8. Nihon Bunri, 16

OW - Kazuma Kuramoto, YGU

S. MATSUMOTO TO ASSUME POST AT ALMA MATER NSSU


YOKOHAMA (October 23) - Two-time Olympian Shingo Matsumoto will assume a post as a physical education instructor at his alma mater Nippon Sports Science University next April, according to the director of the NSSU wrestling club Hideo Fujimoto.

Matsumoto, 30, will be the first graduate of the NSSU wrestling club in 42 years to be employed by the school as an instructor. Fujimoto was employed by the school in 1967.

Matsumoto, who wrestled in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, was one of Japan’s more successful “big” wrestlers in greco-roman, winning the gold medal at the 2002 Asian Games and at this year’s Asian championships in March.

Wrestling at the very competitive 84kg category, Matsumoto finished in seventh place in Athens and also posted eighth and ninth place finishes at the 2005 and 2006 world championships.

Matsumoto, speaking at the recent collegiate greco-roman championships, said that while he continues as coach for the NSSU students, he would also like to coach the Japanese national team, if asked.

SUITA WINS OSHIDATE CUP KANSAI KIDS WRESTLING MEET


SUITA, Osaka (October 26) - The Suite community wrestling school of Osaka won six individual titles and added a handful of seconds and thirds to edge Tokyo’s Gold Kids 115-107 for its 22nd team title in the Oshidate Cup Kansai Kids wrestling competition. The Enjoy club of Osaka was third with 90 points.

A total of 551 wrestlers representing 51 clubs took part in the meet at Kitasenri civic gymnasium in Suita. Gold Kids and Enjoy each crowned eight champions.

OBIT: FORMER JWF VP, KIDS WRESTLING LEADER YOSHIO OSHIDATE


OSAKA (October 31) - Former vice president of the Japan Wrestling Federation and the founder of Japan’s largest kids wrestling school Yoshio Oshidate died at a local hospital of respiratory failure. He was 78.

Oshidate, who graduated from Kansai University, was a leader in wrestling in western Japan and also served as JWF vice president from 1993 to 2002. Over the years, he also served as president of the national collegiate wrestling association and the national kids wrestling association.

He will be best remembered for his founding in 1980 of the Suita community wrestling school which became Japan’s largest kids wrestling club. Oshidate coached more than 2000 wrestlers over the years, including world champions Ryoko Sakamoto, Ayako Shoda and Mio Nishimaki as well as men’s world bronze medalist Noriyuki Takatsuka.

Oshidate had been in and out of hospital since June this year. His condition took a turn for the worse on October 27, a day after the competition that bears his name.

RESULTS FROM WEST JAPAN COLLEGIATE C’SHIPS


OSAKA (October 27) - Individual champions at the West Japan collegiate wrestling championships:

Greco-roman
55kg - Takahiro Kato, Chukyo Gakuin University
60kg - Shigeru Matsumoto, Nihon Bunri University
66kg - Takahiro Umeno, Tokuyama University
74kg - Kokoro Kikuchi, Doshisha University
84kg - Kengo Kamei, Nihon Bunri University
96kg - Shota Nagahama, Tokuyama University
120kg - Tsutomu Takabayashi, Nihon Bunri University

Freestyle
55kg - Toshio Taguchi, Kwansei Gakuin University
60kg - Yoshio Yano, Ritsumeikan University
66kg - Yuhi Takemoto, Ritsumeikan University
74kg - Taiki Hasegawa, Ritsumeikan University
84kg - Kei Furuya, Ritsumeikan University
96kg - Yoshimasa Yokose, Fukuoka University
120kg - Tsutomu Takabayashi, Nihon Bunri University