TOKYO (December 22) --Seiko Yamamoto defeated reigning world champion
Ayako Shoda 2-0 to claim the women's 59-kg crown on the second day of the
Japanese national wrestling championships.Yamamoto(blue in the photo) took the first period of the 59-kg final at Yoyogi No. 2 Gymnasium in a Tokyo with a fireman's carry, but needed a late go-behind takedown in the second period to secure the victory, 1-1, on criteria. It was Yamamoto's third national title overall and her first in four years. The injury-plagued Yamamoto is also a four-time world champion, who last won at the 2003 championships in New York.
Meanwhile, defending national champion Hitomi Sakamoto stormed to the 51-kg title, even though Sachiko Akasaka flipped the reigning world champ to her back off a takedown attempt for a brief 2-0 lead in the first period.Sakamoto, nailing down her fourth all-Japan crown, bounced back against the former junior world champ with seven unanswered points to win going away 4-2, 3-0.
In men's freestyle, Kunihiko Obata won his seventh straight championship at 74 kg, while collegiate kingpin Tsukasa Sato over a tough field at 66 kg for his first senior title. Sato, who won with a third-period fall over Kohei Fujimoto, became the first Waseda University student in 25 years to win an all-Japan crown.
In the 66-kg quarterfinals, Takaomi Kojima defeated 2003 world bronze medalist Kazuhiko Ikematsu 2-1 before falling to Sato by fall in the semis. In greco-roman, Athens Olympian Masatoshi Toyoda stopped defending champion Shingo Hirai 2-1 for the 55-kg crown.
Masaki Imuro won a sixth straight championship at 66 kg, while Yuki Iwasaki showed his national invitational triumph at 74 kg last spring was no fluke by winning his first all-Japan championship.
