To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）
SAKAMOTO, SHODA WIN IN WOMEN'S WRESTLE-OFFS
TOKYO (June 23) - Former world champion Hitomi Sakamoto edged 2003
world champ Chiharu Icho 2-1 in a special national team wrestle-off at
51 kg to book her ticket for the world championships in Budapest this fall.
Sakamoto, world champion in 2000 and 2001, battled Icho even over the first
six minutes -- 1-0, 0-1, 0-0 -- and then took advantage of the overtime
clinch to force the Olympic silver medalist out of the circle for the win.
・Today's win made me happier than either of my world titles,・said
Sakamoto, who was FILA's female wrestler of the year in 2000. ・The match
developed as I thought it might. And, when I heard Chiharu breathing heavy
in the second half of the match, I thought then I could win.・Sakamoto
added. ・I practiced wrestling from the clinch a lot and that was the key
today.・
The women's wrestle-offs were held at the men's Meiji Nyugyo Cup invitational
meet and rounded out Japan's line-up for the September 26-October 2 world
championships. Also at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Eri Sakamoto defeated
veteran
national team member Norie Saito in the 67-kg wrestle-off to become the
third member of the Sakamoto family on the Japanese team.
Eri is a cousin of Hitomi and Maki Sakamoto (48 kg). In a third wrestle-off
that had been scheduled, 1999 world champion Ayako Shoda returned the national
team for the first time in six years by default over challenger Hatsumi
Nakanishi.
National team wrestle-off results:
51 kg
Hitomi Sakamoto df. Chiharu Icho, 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0=2:05)
59 kg
Ayako Shoda df. Hatsumi Nakanishi by default
67 kg
Eri Sakamoto df. Norie Saito, 2-0 (1-0, 3-1)