To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee
Kyodo World Services, senior sports writer：wmay52@hotmail.com）

JAPAN WINS 2, AZERBAIJAN CHALLENGING WITH 2ND CROWN AT WORLD C’SHIPS



HERNING, Denmark (September 24) ? Saori Yoshida and Mio Nishimaki won Japan’s first gold medals of the wrestling world championships in Herning, but Azerbaijan bagged its second gold along with a silver to take the lead in the race for the women’s team title.

Yoshida won an unprecedented seventh straight world title at 55kg to go with her two Olympic gold medals while Nishimaki repeated as world champion at 63kg, as the week-long world championships turned the corner and headed into the home stretch.

Yoshida scored with seven separate leg attacks against Sona Ahmedli (AZE), taking the young challenger to her back with the final single-leg to end the match.

Nishimaki concluded the day’s action at Messecenter Herning with her third straight win over Lyubov Volossova (RUS), starting out cautiously but opening up with the second period with a pair of nearfall situations.

At 59kg, Yuliya Ratkevich (AZE) won her first championship in a major wrestling event for Azerbaijan’s second gold medal of the tournament.

The win put Azerbaijan in position to unseat Japan as world team champion in women’s wrestling. Japan has won the last six world team titles and 15 out of the 20 world meets overall.

Women’s freestyle

55kg (27 entries)
F1 ? Saori Yoshida (JPN) df. Sona Ahmedli (AZE), 2-0 (3-0, 6-0=1:00)
F3 ? Alena Filipava (BLR) df. Tatiana Padilla (USA), 2-0 (5-2, 3-0)
F3 ? Tonya Verbeek (CAN) df. Anna Gomis (FRA), 2-0 (1-0, 6-2)
SF ? Ahmedli (AZE) df. Padilla (USA), 2-0 (1-0, 2-1)
SF ? Yoshida (JPN) df. Verbeek (CAN), 2-0 (3-0, 3-2)


59kg (26 entries)
F1 ? Yuliya Ratkevich (AZE) df. Agata Pietrzyk (POL) by fall, 3P=1:50 (1-1x=last, 4-1, F5-2)
F3 ? Marianna Sastin (HUN) df. Deanna Rix (USA), 2-1 (0-1=2:30, 1-0=2:02, 1-0=2:20)
F3 ? Ganna Vasylenko (UKR) df. Katherine Patroch (CAN) by fall, 2P=0:40 (1-0, F4-0)
SF ? Ratkevich (AZE) df. Sastin (HUN), 2-1 (0-1, 3-0, 2-0)
SF ? Pietrzyk (POL) df. Vasylenko (UKR), 2-0 (6-0, 2-1)


63kg (25 entries)
F1 ? Mio Nishimaki (JPN) df. Lyubov Volossova (RUS), 2-0 (1-0, 8-1)
F3 ? Elena Shalygina (KAZ) df. Olesja Zamula (AZE) by fall, 1P=1:05 (F4-0)
F3 ? Justine Bouchard (CAN) df. Monika Michalik (POL), 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
SF ? Nishimaki (JPN) df. Shalygina (KAZ), 2-0 (3-0, 5-0)
SF ? Volossova (RUS) df. Michalik (POL), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0=2:03)

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