INDIA TO ROUND OUT FIELD FOR WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
TOKYO (September 20) - India will round out the six-nation field for the World Cup of women’s wrestling meet to be held at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo on October 8-9. Other countries scheduled to compete in the meet are host Japan, China, Canada, Russia and the defending champion United States.
TANAKA WINS 3RD COLLEGIATE OPEN CROWN
FUKUOKA (September 20) - Senshu University’s Akihito Tanaka posted four wins by fall or technical fall to claim his third straight collegiate open freestyle title at 120 kg. Tanaka, who is also the reigning senior national champion, was named the most outstanding wrestler of both the freestyle and greco-roman meets and was awarded the Education Minister’s Cup.
Meanwhile, Takafumi Kojima of Nippon Sports Science University repeated as champion at 60 kg and was awarded the trophy as outstanding freestyle wrestler. Takao Isokawa, a freshman winner last year for Takushoku University, however, lost to sophomore rival Shinya Matsumoto of Nihon University in the final at 84 kg.
Other champions included: 55 kg - Masashi Saito (Nihon); 66 kg - Tsukasa Sato (Waseda); 74 kg - Yosuke Kato (NSSU); 96 kg - Kenzo Sakamoto (Nihon Bunri)
SAIKAWA 1ST FROSH TO WIN COLLEGE GR TITLE IN 8 YEARS
FUKUOKA (September 18) - Tetsuya Saikawa became the first freshman in eight years to win a greco-roman title at the collegiate open wrestling championships when he took the 84-kg crown for Nippon Sports Science University.
Saikawa, from Tochigi’s Ashikaga Kogyo high school, became only the third freshman greco-roman champion in the history of the meet after Katsuhiko Uno (NSSU, 52 kg) in 1971 and Tomoya Murata (NSSU, 1996) at 48 kg.
In the women’s competition, Athens Olympic gold medalist Saori Yoshida breezed to the 55-kg title for Chukyo Women’s University. Makiko Sakamoto, fifth in last year’s world championships, also rolled to victory at 48 kg for CWU.
Other greco-roman winners included: 55 kg - Munehiro Wada (NSSU); 60 kg - Michimoto Fukuma (NSSU); 66 kg - Noritomo Eto (Takushoku); 74 kg - Tsukasa Tsurumaki (Kokushikan); 96 kg - Akihito Tanaka (Senshu); 120 kg - Issei Sugiura (Yamanashi Gakuin).
Winners in the women’s competition included: 51 kg - Yuri Kai (CWU); 59 kg - Takako Oshima (Fukuoka); 63 kg - Kayoko Shimada (Nihon); 67 kg - Mami Shinkai (CWU); 72 kg - Ayako Murashima (CWU).
CURRENT LIST OF FRESHMAN CHAMPIONS AT COLLEGE OPEN
TOKYO (September 28) - The current list of freshman winners in the collegiate open wrestling championships:
1. Akira Miyahara (Meiji, 1971, FS62)
2. Katsuhiko Uno (NSSU, 1971, GR52)
3. Toshiaki Ishikawa (Nihon, 1977, FS48)
4. Satoru Goizuka (Daito Bunka, 1979, FS62)
5. Tamon Honda (Nihon, 1982, FS100)
6. Takashi Kobayashi (Nihon 19982, FS48)
7. Kosei Akaishi (Nihon, 1983, FS62)
8. Isao Okiyama (NSSU, 1985, FS48)
9. Minoru Yamashita (NSSU, 1987, FS48)
10. Kazuyuki Fujita (Nihon, 1989, FS90)
11. Tomoya Murata (NSSU, 1996, GR48)
12. Hisashi Fujita (Yamanashi Gakuin, 1998, FS76)
13. Kunihiko Obata (YGU, 1999, FS76)
14. Takao Isokawa (Takushoku, 2003, FS84)
15. Tetsuya Saikawa (NSSU, 2004, GR84)
