To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）

November wrestling news

NSSU CROWNS 4 CHAMPIONS, WINS COLLEGIATE FS C’SHIPS


NIIGATA, Niigata (November 15-16) - Nippon Sports Science University crowned four individual champions to claim its first team title in five years at the All-Japan collegiate freestyle wrestling championships. NSSU wrestlers took a pair of titles on each of the two days of competition at Shirane Culture Center to win its 19th team championship with 63.5 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Takushoku (46.5 points), Yamanashi Gakuin (34.5) and national dual meet champion Waseda (33.5).

Meanwhile, YGU heavyweight Boris Mujikov won at 120 kg to become the eighth wrestler in Japanese collegiate wrestling history to win all four collegiate national titles -- two in freestyle and two in greco-roman -- in the same year.

On the opening day of competition, Sosuke Takatani of Takushoku won the 74-kg crown to become the 16th freshman to win at the season-ending collegiate event and the first since Nobuyoshi Arakida won for Senshu in 2006.
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55 kg
F1 - Yasuhiro Morita (NSSU) df. Yohei Fujimoto (Waseda), 2-0 (3-0, 2-0)
F3 - Keiji Shoho (Gunma) df. Ryota Ozeki (Aoyama Gakuin), 2-1 (0-1, 3-2, 1-1)
F3 - Manabu Sudo (Nihon) df. Masaharu Kaji (YGU), 2-0 (6-1, 7-1)

60 kg
F1 - Shogo Maeda (NSSU) df. Yuta Uchida (Takushoku), 2-0 (1-0, 4-1)
F3 - Teppei Monya (Nihon) df. Kenji Kasai (Senshu), 2-0 (5-3, 4-0)
F3 - Hiroyuki Oda (Kokushikan) df. Atsushi Irie (Doshisha) by fall, 1P=1:40

66 kg
F1 - Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (Taku) df. Kazuki Morikawa (YGU), 2-0 (3-0, 2-0)
F3 - Tomotsugu Ishida (Wa) df. Hiroki Batto (Kinki), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
F3 - Shota Shitochi (NSSU) df. Akihiro Fujinaga (Toku), 2-0 (3-0, 2-1)

74 kg
F1 - Sosuke Takatani (Taku) df. Yoshiaki Narabe (YGU), 2-0 (1-0, 5-0)
F3 - Kimihiro Eto (Sen) df. Kohei Wakita (Toyo), 2-0 (5-0, 1-0)
F3 - Aoi Otsuki (Wa) df. Takahiro Yamana (NSSU), 2-0 (5-3, 7-0)

84 kg
F1 - Atsushi Matsumoto (NSSU) df. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi (Wa), 2-0 (2-1, 8-0)
F3 - Kei Furuya (Ritsumeikan) df. Naoyasu Sawada (Toyo), 2-0 (1-0, 3-3)
F3 - Seiji Suzuki (Sen) df. Kyo Yamada (Gun) by fall, 2P=1:59)

96 kg
F1 - Naoki Monma (NSSU) df. Kenji Fujimoto (Taku) by injury default, 1P=2:00)
F3 - Kengo Kamei (Nihon Bunri) df. Shoichi Kitazono (Toku), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
F3 - Taishi Aoki (Meiji) df. Takashi Taketomi (Wa), 2-0 (1-0, 3-0)

120 kg
F1 - Boris Mujikov (YGU) df. Masato Aisawa (Nihon), 2-0 (6-0, 6-0)
F3 - Nobuyoshi Arakida (Sen) df. Antony Casanova (Taku), 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
F3 - Keiki Shimoyashiki (NSSU) df. Maki Chikada 近田真基 (Ritsu), 2-0 (1-0, 2-0)

SATO TO GUIDE MEN, SAKAE LEADS WOMEN AS NAT’L TEAM DIRECTORS


TOKYO (November 12) – Seoul Olympic champion Mitsuru Sato and the architect of the Chukyo Women’s University wrestling program Kazuhito Sakae were named as national team directors for the men’s and women’s teams, respectively.

The executive board of the Japan Wrestling Federation took the unprecedented step of naming tandem national team directors in an attempt to ease the burden on the directors who oversee national team training camps and the performance of Japanese teams at international competitions.

“In the past, it was very difficult for single national team directors to attend all the training camps and make all of the international tours,” JWF executive director Yuji Takada said. “We hope this division will allow directors to more properly execute their responsibilities.”

Sato and Sakae will serve as national team directors for four years through the 2012 London Olympic Games. Takada said he hoped the Japanese men will be able to win a gold medal in London, while the Japanese women will make a better showing than the previous two Games in Athens and Beijing. The same quartet of Japanese women won two gold medals, a silver and a bronze, at both the 2004 and 2008 Games.

Sato, 46, the 1988 Olympic champion at 52kg, is currently head coach at Senshu University in Tokyo and has been guiding the junior national team the past eight years.

Sakae, 48, won a bronze medal at the 1987 world championships and represented Japan at 62kg at the Seoul Olympics. He was instrumental in the early development of women’s wrestling in Japan as the coach of the now defunct Kyotaru women’s team and then later as head coach at Chukyo Women’s University near Nagoya.

SAKAE PROMOTED TO PROFESSOR BY CWU


OBU, Aichi (November 1) – Beijing Olympic women’s national team head coach Kazuhito Sakae has been promoted by Chukyo Women’s University to the position of professor in the school’s health sciences department, effective November 1.

Sakae has been with CWU since arriving in 1996 as a teacher at the school’s affiliate high school and a coach for the university’s wrestling club. He has coached a number of world and national champions including Hitomi Sakamoto, Saori Yoshida and the Icho sisters, Chiharu and Kaori.

In order to focus more on his coaching activities, Sakae was transferred from the high school to the university in 2003. Since then, Sakae has guided Yoshida and Kaori Icho to back-to-back gold medals at the Athens and Beijing Olympics while Chiharu Icho has snared a pair of silver medals.

3 WRESTLERS ON ASIA SELECT SQUAD FOR CSKA CUP


MOSCOW (November 7-8) – Three Japanese wrestlers and national team coach Takahiro Wada took part in the Intercontinental CSKA Cup freestyle wrestling tourney in Moscow as part of an Asia select squad.

Among the three Japanese entries, former world bronze medalist Noriyuki Takatsuka posted a pair of wins at 60 kg. His lone loss came at the hands of CSKA’s Adam Batirov, despite holding the lead up to the final 40 seconds of the third period.

On the final day of the competition, the FILA Absolute Championship in memory of Ivan Yarygin was held with 2004 Athens Olympic champion at 96 kg Khadzhimurad Gatsalov (RUS) winning the title with a 1-0, 1-1 triumph over Bilyal Makhov (RUS), the 2007 world champion at 120 kg.
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55 kg – YUMOTO, Shinichi
R1 – df. Dabbaghi Souraki Abbas (IRI), 2-0 (3-1, 4-1)
R2 – bye
R3 – lost to Dshamal Otarsultanov (CSKA-Russia), 0-2 (0-2, 0-4)
F3 – lost to Radoslav Velikov (BUL=Euro select), 1-2 (0-1, 1-0, 1-3)

60 kg – TAKATSUKA, Noriyuki
R1 – df. Ghorbaniperchi Koraei Morteza (IRI), 2-0 (1-0, 3-0)
R2 – bye
R3 – lost to Adam Batirov (CSKA-Russia), 1-2 (0-1, 1-0, 1-7)
F3 – df. Murad Ramazanov (MKD=Euro select), 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)

66 kg – KOJIMA, Takafumi
R1 – lost to Vahedi Masoud (IRI), 0-2 (0-1, 1-2)
R2 – bye
R3 – lost to Zaur Botaev (CSKA-Russia), 0-2 (0-1, 0-3)
F3 – lost to Darsan Dzhaparov (RUS=Euro select), 0-2 (0-2, 1-1)

Team results
Group A
Asia df. Iran, 5-2 (classificiation points 17-9)
CSKA-Russia df. Iran, 7-0 (20-3)
CSKA-Russia df. Asia, 5-2 (17-7)

Third-place final
Asia df. Europe, 5-2 (17-9)

Championship final
CSKA-Russia df. CIS (former Soviet republics), 5-2 (15-11)

OHARA TAKES 3RD IN MONGOLIA PRESIDENT’S CUP MEET


TOKYO (November 21) – Koji Ohara of the Japan Self Defense forces club won three matches and took third place at 74kg in the President’s Cup freestyle wrestling tournament in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, November 14-16.

The Japanese squad included a number of all-Japan shakaijin (non-student seniors) championship winners. Wrestlers from seven countries – China, Korea, DPR Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia – took part in the competition.

Results of Japanese entries:
55 kg – TOMITA, Kazuhide (11th, 26 entries; 1 win, 1 loss)
60 kg – SAITO, Masashi (11th, 23 entries; 1-1)
66 kg – SAKAMOTO, Masanori (10th, 14 entries; 0-1)
74 kg – OHARA, Koji (3rd, 20 entries; 3-1)
84 kg – ITO, Takuya (7th, 10 entries; 0-1)
96kg – SAKAMOTO, Kensei (8th, 14 entries; 1-1)

282 ENTRIES SET FOR ’08 NAT’L C’SHIPS


TOKYO (November 20) – A total of 282 entries are set to compete at this year’s national championships meet, December 21-23 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2 in Tokyo.

Men’s freestyle will have 106 entries including Olympic bronze medalist Kenichi Yumoto at 60 kg and former world bronze medal winner Kazuhiko Ikematsu at 66 kg. At 96 kg, Shingo Matsumoto, formerly a mainstay on the greco-roman national team, will try his hand at freestyle.

One hundred wrestlers are entered in greco-roman, including world silver medalist Makoto Sasamoto who is moving up from 60 kg to 66 kg.

A total of 76 wrestlers make up the women’s field, with two-time Olympic gold medalist Saori Yoshida seeking her seventh straight all-Japan title at 55 kg. But, fellow Olympic team members Chiharu and Kaori Icho as well as Kyoko Hamaguchi will be sitting out this year’s meet.

SASAMOTO WINS SHAKAIJIN TITLE AT 66KG


TOKYO (November 22-23) – World silver medal winner at 60 kg Makoto Sasamoto moved up to 66 kg for the national shakaijin greco-roman title at Shinjuku Sports Kaikan to qualify for the All-Japan meet in December.

Kenta Fujimoto, winner at 66 kg in freestyle, was named the outstanding wrestler for all three styles in the competition for Japan’s non-student senior category wrestlers.

Individual champions
Men’s greco-roman
55 kg – Soshin Shimizu, Japan Self-Defense Forces
60 kg – Takuya Tei, Japan SDF
66 kg – Makoto Sasamoto, ALSOK Sogo Security
74 kg – Yusaku Inoue, Nihon Wellness Sports School
84 kg – Norikatsu Saikawa, Ryomo Yakult
96 kg – Tamohiro Mori, Asamei high school teacher
120 kg – Hirokazu Shinjo, Japan SDF

Men’s freestyle
55 kg – Seshito Shimizu, Clean-up
60 kg – Ken Kikuchi, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Dept.
66 kg – Kenta Fujimoto, Japan Beverages
74 kg – Taku Setsuraku, Yamagata club
84 kg – Yosuke Kato, Akita Shogyo high school teacher
96 kg – Takayuki Miyaji, Daiichi Kensetsu Kogyo
120 kg – Norihiro Sakurai, Honma-Gumi

Women’s freestyle (No entries at 51, 63, 67 kg. University students permitted)
48 kg – Kaori Yoshisawa, Daito Club
55 kg – Sachiko Hirata, Hosei University
59 kg – Akiko Maruyama, Aoyama Gakuin University
72 kg – Chiaki Machida, Keio University

SHINKAI WINS AT NYAC INT’L, HIRAO 2ND


TOKYO (November 21-22) – World silver medal winner Mami Shinkai won the women’s 67-kg event and Kiyoharu Hirao took second at 55 kg in greco-roman the New York Athletic Club’s international open.

Also for the Japanese shakaijin select squad, Hiroyuki Shimizu (66) and Yuri Kai (51) also earned bronze medals for the select squad of Japanese shakaijin (non-student senior) wrestlers.

Results of Japanese entries:
Men’s greco-roman
55 kg – HIRAO, Kiyoharu (2nd, 7 entries; 2 wins, 1 loss)
60 kg – HORI, Kosuke (5th, 5 entries; 0-4)
66 kg – SHIMIZU, Hiroyuki (3 rd, 14 entries; 4-1)
74 kg – SUMI, Kosuke (??, 19 entries; 2-2)
84 kg – OTA, Mitsuhiro (??, 10 entries; 0-2)

Women’s freestyle
51 kg – KAI, Yuri (3rd, 7 entries; 2-1)
59 kg – SAITO, Takako (4th, 7 entries; 2-2)
67 kg – SHINKAI, Mami (1st, 3 entries; 2-0)
72 kg – SANO, Asuka (??, 7 entries; 1-2)

RITSUMEIKAN WINS 4 TH STRAIGHT WEST JAPAN COLLEGE TITLE


OSAKA (November 22-23) – Ritsumeikan University of Kyoto defeated arch-rival Tokuyama University 4-3 for its fourth straight title in the semi-annual West Japan Collegiate dual meet championship.

The title was Ritsumeikan’s 15th championship overall, while Tokuyama finished as runner-up for a fourth straight time.

Meanwhile, Momoyama Gakuin University won all six of its dual meets in the second division and was promoted to the first division for the spring tournament.