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)
WORLD FS C’SHIPS - PRELIMINARY POOL GROUPINGS,
WOMEN
NEW YORK (September 11) - Preliminary
pool groupings for the Japanese women at
the freestyle wrestling world championships
at Madison Square Garden (Top five place-winners
at 48 kg, 55 kg, 63 kg and 72 kg earn berths
in 2004 Olympic Games in Athens):
48 kg - SAKAMOTO, Makiko (29 entries, Pool
8)
1R - Mayeril Karipa, Venezuela
2R - Nicoleta Badea, Romania (2002 world
c’ships, 4th)
3R - Lidiya Karamchakova, Tajikistan (2002
Asian Games silver medalist)
(Note: Advancing out of Pool 8, Sakamoto
may have to face two-time world champion
Irina Melnik of Ukraine in the quarterfinals
for a berth in the 2004 Athens Olympics.)
----
51 kg - ICHO, Chiharu (18 entries, Pool 5)
1R - bye
2R - Emese Szabo, Hungary
3R - Alexandra Demmel, Germany (2003 European
c’ships, 3rd)
(Note: Advancing out of Pool 5, Icho will
be in semifinals. European champion Natalia
Karamchakova of Russia is in the opposite
block.)
----
55 kg - YOSHIDA, Saori (29 entries, Pool
2)
1R - bye
2R - Olga Serbina, Belarus
3R - Kitti Godo, Hungary
(Note: Advancing out of Pool 2, Yoshida could
face last year’s 51-kg world champion Sofia
Poumpouridou of Greece or 2002 bronze medalist
Ida-Theres Karlsson of Sweden in championship
bracket qualifier. Four-time former world
champion Anna Gomis of France and American
rival Tina George are in the opposite block.)
----
59 kg - YAMAMOTO, Seiko (14 entries, Pool
2)
1R - Huang Yu-ning, Chinese Taipei
2R - bye
3R - Emily Richardson, Canada
(Note: With only 14 wrestlers, Yamamoto can
advance to the semifinals out of Pool 2.
Defending champion Alena Cartashova of Russia
is entered at 63 kg.)
----
63 kg - ICHO, Kaori (27 entries, Pool 4)
1R - bye
2R - Agoro Papavasileiou, Greece
3R - Christiana Renee LeGrand, France
(Note: Icho will face two-time former world
champion at 67 kg Legrand in her second match.
Advancing out of the pool, Icho will likely
face five-time world champion Nikola Hartmann
of Austria in the quarterfinals with an Olympic
berth at stake.)
----
67 kg - SAITO, Norie (13 entries, Pool 4)
1R - Martina Zyklova, Czech Republic
2R - Jodeen Marie MacGregor, New Zealand
3R - Kristie Marano, United States
(Note: Saito will meet 2000 world champion
Marano in the third round, most likely to
decide who advances to the semifinals. Defending
champion Katerina Burmistrova of Ukraine
is in the opposite block.)
----
72 kg - HAMAGUCHI, Kyoko (23 entries, Pool
5)
1R - Svetlana Sayenko, Ukraine (2002 world
c’ships, 7th)
2R - Sonika Kalirman, India
3R - bye
(Note: Advancing out of Pool 5, Hamaguchi
could meet Polish rival and 2001 world champion
Edyta Witkowska in the quarterfinals. Last
year’s world runner-up Wang Xu of China
and U.S. favorite Toccara Montgomery are
in the opposite block.)
WORLD FS C’SHIPS - PRELIMINARY POOL GROUPINGS,
MEN
NEW YORK (September 11) - Preliminary pool
groupings for the Japanese men at the freestyle
wrestling world championships at Madison
Square Garden (Top 10 place-winners qualify
for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens):
55 kg - TANABE, Chikara (31 entries, Pool
8)
1R - German Kontoev, Belarus (2001 world
champion)
2R - bye
3R - Mikheil Japaridze, Canada (2003 Pan
Am Games, bronze medalist)
(Note: Advancing out of Pool 8, Tanabe could
face 2002 Asian Games champion Dilshod Mansurov
of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals. Pool
6 is so-called “Group of Death,” with Olympic
champion Namik Abdullaev of Azerbaijan, U.S.
hopeful Stephen Abas and young Russian star
Mavlet Batirov grouped together.)
----
60 kg - OTA, Ryosuke (36 entries, Pool 9)
1R - bye
2R - Lin Chien-liang, Chinese Taipei
3R - Oyunbileg Purevbaatar, Mongolia
(Note: Ota will have to defeat Oyunbileg,
twice a world silver medalist, to advance
to the quarterfinals and be assured a berth
in the 2004 Olympics)
----
66 kg - IKEMATSU, Kazuhiko (40 entries, Pool
12)
1R - bye
2R - Cory O’Brien, Australia
3R - Bayanjav Batzorig, Mongolia
(Note: Mongolian entry is not the 2002 Asian
Games bronze medalist who Ikematsu had defeated
in the Asian championships in June. Advancing
out of Pool 12, Ikematsu will be in the quarterfinals
and will be assured an
Olympic berth.)
----
74 kg - OBATA, Kunihiko (34 entries, Pool
6)
1R - Hakki Ceylan, Turkey
2R - bye
3R - Eugen Preda, Romania
(Advancing out of Pool 6, Obata would need
a win in the championship bracket qualifying
round to reach the quarterfinals. Even with
a loss, Obata could still earn an Olympic
berth with a top 10 finish.)
----
84 kg - YOKOYAMA, Hidekazu (36 entries, Pool
1)
1R - Sergey Kolesnikov, Israel
2R - Magomed Kurugliyev, Kazakhstan (2002
Asian Games silver medalist)
3R - bye
(Note: Kurugliyev was also third at 2003
Asian championships in June. Winning Pool
1 would still leave Yokoyama needing another
win to reach the quarterfinals.)
----
96 kg - NAKAO, Yoshihiro (36 entries, Pool
11)
1R- bye
2R - Yan Virin, Israel
3R - Tuvshintur Enkhtuya, Mongolia
(Note: Nakao lost to Enkhtuya 4-1 at last
year’s world championships. Winning the
preliminaries this year would put Nakao in
the quarterfinals and assure him an Olympic
berth.)
----
120 kg - SUWAMA, Kohei (29 entries, Pool
2)
1R - Otto Aubeli, Hungary (2003 world c’ships,
5th)
2R - Adrian Gilmore, Ireland
3R - bye
(With nine groups, a win in Pool 2 would
assure Suwama a berth in the Olympics.)