ALMATY (November 29-30) - Japan lost to China in the opening round of the Asia Cup of women’s wrestling and had to settle for second place in the inaugural version of the continental dual meet competition. In the meet with China, Japan got pins from world champions Seiko Yamamoto and Kaori Icho, but dropped 6-5 decisions on controversial calls against Misato Shimizu and Norie Saito.
But with Japan leading 14-10 heading into the final match, Miki Ninomiya lost by fall at 72 kg, giving the team victory to China with four wins to Japan’s three. Japan rebounded in the second round with a resounding 27-1 win over host Kazakhstan. Japan also defeated Mongolia in the final pairing of the round-robin competition. China won the championship with a 3-0 record.
Results of Japan’s meets:
China 14, Japan 14
48 kg - Deng Weichan, China df. Misato Shimizu, 6-5
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan df. Tan Dongmei, 4-3
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Qiu Hongmei by fall
59 kg - Su Lihui, China df. Rena Iwama, 8-2
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Huang Wenwen by fall
67 kg - Wang Jiao, China df. Norie Saito, 6-5
73 kg - Zhang Don, China df. Miki Ninomiya by fall
Japan 27, Kazakhstan 1
48 kg - Misato Shimizu, Japan df. Saniya Rakhimova by fall
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan df. Nataliya Ryzhkovskaya 6-1
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Elvira Kurbanova by fall
59 kg - Rena Iwama, Japan df. Saltanat Abdrakhmanova by fall
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Zhanna Kaikenova by fall
67 kg - Norie Saito, Japan df. Olga Zhanibekova by fall
72 kg - Miki Ninomiya, Japan df. Alena Krutogolova by fall
Japan 24, Mongolia 4
48 kg - Enkhjargal Tsogtbazar, Mongolia df. Misato Shimizu, 6-3
51 kg - Ninako Hattori, Japan won by default
55 kg - Seiko Yamamoto, Japan df. Otgonjargal Naidin, 7-0
59 kg - Rena Iwama, Japan df. Nazanburmaa Ochirbat, 10-0
63 kg - Kaori Icho, Japan df. Myagmarsuren Tumen-Ulzil by injury default
67 kg - Norie Saito, Japan won by default
72 kg - Miki Ninomiya, Japan df. Burmaa Ochirbat, 16-5
MATSUMOTO DEFEATS EX-WORLD TEAM MEMBER IN QUALIFIER
TOKYO (November 22) - Nihon University freshman Shinya Matsumoto defeated one-time national team member Hisashi Fujita at the qualifying tournament for the Japanese national championships in December. Matsumoto, wrestling at 84 kg, rolled to a 10-0 technical fall win at 2:08 over Fujita in the qualifying matches at the national training center in Tokyo. Fujita, formerly of Yamanashi Gakuin University, placed 17th at the 2001 world freestyle championships at 130 kg.
Meanwhile, in the greco-roman qualifying matches, former Olympic team member Kazuyuki Miyata lost 3-2 to Shinya Ayata at 66 kg and fell short of his bid for a second trip to the Olympics.
Miyata, 13th at 63 kg in freestyle at the Sydney Games, was attempting to switch styles after the Japan Wrestling Federation indicated that world bronze medalist Kazuhiko Ikematsu is their choice for freestyle at 66 kg.
In the women’s competition, former five-time world champion Shoko Yoshimura posted a pair of wins to advance to the national meet at 48 kg. Asia champion Mika Noguchi, slowed by a leg injury, lost in the first round and did not qualify for the national championships, December 21-22 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo.
Also, high school sensation Noriyuki Takatsuka earned a berth at 60 kg in freestyle, while former national champion Kiyofumi Kanabuchi lost.
Along with Yoshimura at 48 kg, Momoko Sera and junior world champion Sachiko Akasaka won berths in the national meet at 48 -- the lone Olympic weight category in which Japan does not have the reigning world champion.
SATO, MATSUMOTO, FROSH WINNERS AT COLLEGE FS C’SHIPS
NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. (November 7-8) - Waseda’s Satoshi Sato and Shinya Matsumoto of Nihon University became the 11th and 12th wrestlers to win titles as freshman at the national freestyle wrestling collegiate championships. Sato, out of Akita Shogyo high school, won the title at 66 kg while Matsumoto, formerly of Amino high school in Kyoto, took the 96-kg crown at Naruohama gymnasium near Kobe.
Meanwhile, Seshito Shimizu (55 kg, Nippon Sports Science University), Takafumi Kojima (60, NSSU), Kazuyuki Nagashima (84, Waseda) and Akihito Tanaka (120, Senshu) all added the student championship title to wins this summer at the collegiate open.
Nagashima was the lone repeat champion in this year’s collegiate championships. The team title went to NSSU with 52 points while dual meet champion Nihon University was second with 42 points. Takushoku University was third with 35 points.
The title was NSSU’s 18th overall in the freestyle championships and first in two years. Previous freshman winners in this meet were: Mitsuru Sato (NSSU, 1980); Takashi Kobayashi (NU, 1981); Tamon Honda (NU, 1981); Kosei Akaishi (NU, 1983); Hiroshi Yamashita (NSSU, 1984); Madoka Koizumi (Doshisha, 1987),
Tsuyoshi Ogita (Waseda, 1990); Seitaro Yoshida (Kokushikan, 1995); Kosuke Ibe (Toyo, 1996) and Kunihiko Obata (Yamanashi Gakuin, 1999).
Out of the 10 first-year champions, Honda, Akaishi and Obata went on to
win four championships in a row.
In the medal matches:
55 kg
Championship
Seshito Shimizu (NSSU) df. Tsunehira Hasegawa (Aoyama Gakuin), 12-7
Third-place
Masashi Saito (NU) df. Shinpei Fujimoto (W) by TF 10-0, 4:10
60 kg
Championship
Takafumi Kojima (NSSU) df. Kenta Fujimoto (NU), 5-3, 7:22
Third-place
Junpei Hashiji (Daito Bunka) df. Kosuke Hashii (Ritsumeikan), 8-3
66 kg
Championship
Satoshi Sato (W) df. Toru Baba (Gunma) by TF, 10-0, 3:59
Third-place
Akihiko Yamanami (NSSU) df. Hiroshi Goto (Meiji) 7-1
74 kg
Championship
Ryuta Takahashi (Takushoku) df. Yosuke Kato (NSSU) 5-0
Third-place
Yuta Nakasuji (NU) df. Hidenori Ozaki (G) by fall, 1:18 (7-0)
84 kg
Championship
Kazuyuki Nagashima (W) df. Takao Isokawa (T) on criteria 1-1, 9:00
Third-place
Satoru Yamamoto (NSSU) df. Mitsuhide Hirasawa (Senshu) by TF, 11-0, 1:40
96 kg
Championship
Shinya Matsumoto (NU) df. Jun Aisawa (Chuo), 4-0
Third-place
Ken Sogabe (Kokushikan) df. Masahide Moriyama (NSSU), 4-2
120 kg
Championship
Akihito Tanaka (S) df. Naoki Sawada (T) by fall, 1:50 (5-0)
Third-place
Koichiro Nishida (NU) df. Issei Sugiura (Yamanashi Gakuin), 4-0
YOSHIDA, K. ICHO NAMED WORLD CUP WINNERS
TOKYO (November 26) - Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho were named individual winners at last month’s World Cup of women’s wrestling held in Tokyo, according to a recent posting on the FILA Database website. Yoshida, who won at 55 kg, extended her streak of championships in international competition to 15. Icho (63 kg) added a second World Cup crown to her two world championship titles.
Seiko Yamamoto was listed in second place at 59 kg behind American Sally Roberts, while Norie Saito (67 kg) and Kyoko Hamaguchi (72) were third.
Final individual rankings from the World Cup.
48 kg
1. Patricia Miranda, U.S.
2. Yang Zuying, China
3. Carol Huynh, Canada
51 kg
1. Lyndsey Belisle, Canada
2. Jenny Wong, U.S.
3. Ren Xueceng, China
55 kg
1. Saori Yoshida, Japan
2. Tonya Verbeek, Canada
3. Natalia Golts, Russia
59 kg
1. Sally Roberts, U.S.
2. Seiko Yamamoto, Japan
3. Breanne Graham, Canada
63 kg
1. Kaori Icho, Japan
2. Sara McMann. U.S.
3. Su Huihua, China
67 kg
1. Kristie Marano, U.S.
2. Svetlana Martynenko, Russia
3. Norie Saito, Japan
72 kg
1. Toccara Montgomery, U.S.
2. Christina Nordhagen, Canada
3. Kyoko Hamaguchi, Japan
RITSUMEIKAN WINS 5TH STRAIGHT WEST JAPAN COLLEGE CROWN
OSAKA (November 22-23) - Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto rolled over Tokuyama University 5-2 to claim the fall version of the west Japan collegiate dual meet championships. Ritsumeikan, powered mostly by local talent, won its fifth straight team title in the west Japan championships, which are held every spring and fall. Chukyo Gakuin University of Nagoya won the second division crown.
NAKAO PULLS OUT OF NATIONAL C’SHIPS
TOKYO (November 19) - Yoshihiro Nakao, a member of the Japanese national team the last two years, has pulled out of the national championship meet in December. Nakao did not attend the national team training camp in Tokyo in November and Nakao’s coach said the defending national champion at 96 kg would not wrestle in the upcoming all-Japan meet.
JAPAN GARNERS 3 GOLD AT ASIA CADET MEET
TAIPEI (November 13-14) - Fumika Masaya and Kie Tanaka each won four matches in the girls’ competition to claim titles at 65 kg and 70 kg respectively at the Asian cadet wrestling championships. Masaya is a student at Miyako Shogyo high school in Iwate Prefecture while Tanaka wrestles at the high school affiliate of Chukyo Women’s University in Aichi.
Mizuho Shibata, also of CWU high school, was second at 52 kg as was Eriko Nakata of Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan-Uji high school at 60 kg. In the boys’ event, Tetsuya Saikawa of Ashikaga Kogyo high school in Tochigi won the 76-kg crown in greco-roman.Tomohiro Inoue of Ikuei high school in Hyogo was second at 69 kg in greco-roman and Masaharu Kaji, also from Ikuei, was third at 42 kg.
In freestyle, Shota Nagae of Hisai high school in Mie finished in third place
at 46 kg.
USHIJIMA, TOIDA COLLECT SILVER AT CLANSMAN INT’L
VANCOUVER, Canada (November 7-8) - Hiroki Ushijima and Yukihiro Toida collected silver medals in the Clansman International men’s freestyle wrestling meet. Ushijima lost to former world bronze medalist Alexander Kontoev of Russia by technical fall in the 55-kg final while Toida fell to former world champion Zaur Botaev, also of Russia, 5-0 at 66 kg. Takenori Yokoyama finished sixth at 84 kg.
WRESTLING OUT OF 2005 E. ASIAN GAMES
TOKYO (November 6) - Wrestling will not be one of the 17 sports to be held at the 2005 East Asian Games in Macao, informed sources have revealed. Judo and volleyball are also among the Olympic sports that will not be contested at the regional multi-sport event, while six non-Olympic sports -- including dance sport and dragonboat -- are on the program.
