To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）
SUGA, MATSUMOTO TAKE BRONZE AT GR POLAND OPEN
WALBRZYCH, Poland (March 12) - Japanese national team veterans Taichi
Suga and Shingo Matsumoto each posted 4-1 records on the opening day of
the Poland Greco-Roman Open to earn bronze medals at the 74-kg and 84-kg
weight categories respectively. Suga pinned Dumitri Popov of Moldova in
his third-place match at Walbrzych's Osir Sport Hall, while Matsumoto wrestled
a controlled match against Nikolay Dikevich of Belarus for a 2-0 (2-0,
1-0) triumph.
The Japanese team, wrestling in its first international competition
since the introduction of FILA's new rules, posted an overall record of
15-8 with each of Japan's seven entries on the first day grabbing at least
one win.
Makoto Sasamoto, however, lost on both sides of the clinch -- first,
gripping, and then, giving up the grip -- and fell to Bae Myung-Hwan of
Korea in the third round of matches at 60 kg. Sasamoto was then eliminated
when Bae lost in the quarterfinals.
The final day of competition will see matches at 55, 96 and 120 kg.
Results of matches involving Japanese wrestlers and medal finals:
60 kg - SASAMOTO, Makoto (12th tie, 35 entries)
1R - bye
2R - df. Marcin Zdun (POL) by fall, 1:00
3R - lost to Bae Myung-Hwan (KOR), 0-2 (0-1=2:30, 0-2=2:05)
----
60 kg - KITAOKA, Hideo (15th, 35 entries)
1R - bye
2R - df. Peter Szikzsay (NOR), 2-0 (3-0, 6-0t=0:43)
3R - lost to Suren Hevorkyan (UKR), 0-2 (0-1, 3-3)
----
60-kg medal finals
F1 - Joe Warren (USA) df. Kim Soo-Min (KOR) by fall, 2:00
F3 - Bae Myung-Hwan (KOR) df. Petr Svehla (CZE)
F3 - Kim Geon-Hwoi (KOR) df. Lucjan Kwit (POL)
----
66 kg - IMURO, Masaki (9th, 33 entries)
1R - bye
2R - df. Kurainivn Hovhannes (NED), 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
3R - df. Tudor Gaivan (MDA), 2-1 (0-1, 1-0=2:30, 1-0=2:03)
QF - lost to Jimmy Samuelsson (SWE), 0-2 (0-3, 0-3=2:21)
----
66 kg - IZENA, Masaaki (12th, 33 entries)
1R - bye
2R - df. Jerry Kvamstrom (FIN), 2-1 (3-0, 0-1, 4-0)
3R - lost to Michal Blaha (CZE), 0-2 (0-2=2:05, 1-2)
----
66 kg medal finals
F1 - Seref Eroglu (TUR) df. Jung Tae-Kyun (KOR) by fall, 3:24
F3 - Ebrahem Elsaud Gabr (EGY) df. Song Duk-Ja (KOR)
F3 - Jimmy Samuelsson (SWE) df. Sylwester Charzewski (POL)
----
74 kg - TSURUMAKI, Tsukasa (7th, 29 entries)
1R - df. Tufenk Seref (TUR), 2-0 (1-0, 3-0)
2R - lost to Max Schwindt (GER), 0-2 (1-4, 0-1=2:30)
c1 - df. Darryl Christian (USA), 2-1 (1-0=2:30, 0-1=2:30, 1-0=2:26)
c2 - lost to Bolat Abdulayev (UKR) 1-2 (0-1, 3-0, 0-2)
----
74 kg - SUGA, Taichi (3rd, 29 entries)
1R - df. Andrei Afanasiev (LAT), 2-0 (3-0=
2:18, 3-0=2:09)
2R - df. Marcin Panasiuk (POL), 2-1 (2-0, 0-3, 3-0=2:07)
QF - df. T.C. Dantzler (USA), 2-1 (0-1, 1-1, 1-0=2:07)
SF - lost to Max Schwindt (GER), 1-2 (1-0=2:06, 0-1=2:30, 0-1=2:08)
F3 - df. Bolat Abdulayev (UKR) by fall, 2:16
----
74 kg medal finals
F1 - Max Schwindt (GER) df. Choi Duk-Hoon (KOR), 2-1 (0-3, 1-0, 1-0)
F3 - Oleg Mihalovich (BLR) df. Park Jin-Sung (KOR)
F3 - Taichi Suga (JPN) df. Bolat Abdulayev (UKR)
----
84 kg - MATSUMOTO, Shingo (3rd, 32 entries)
1R - df. Artur Michalkiewicz (POL), 2-0 (1-0=2:07, 3-0)
2R - df. Andrzei Jaworski (POL), 2-0 (4-0, 7-0=1:11)
QF - lost to Marcin Letki (POL), 1-2 (2-0=2:14, 0-1, 0-3)
c2 - df. Barthomiei Pryczkowski (POL), 2-0 (1-0, 1-1)
F3 - df. Nikolay Dikevich (BLR), 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
----
84 kg medal finals
F1 - Kim Jung-Sub (KOR) df. Marcin Letki (POL), 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0)
F3 - Shingo Matsumoto (JPN) df. Nikolay Dikevich (BLR)
F3 - Bae Man-Ku (KOR) df. Brad Vering (USA)