To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world

                    

By William May
(Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee
Kyodo World Services, senior sports writer:wmay52@hotmail.com


TWO OLYMPIC MEDALISTS FALL ON 2ND DAY OF ALL-JAPAN MEET



TOKYO (December 22) ? Hiroyuki Oda stopped Beijing Games bronze medalist Kenichi Yumoto and Yuri Kai edged two-time Olympic silver medal winner Chiharu Icho on the second day of the All-Japan wrestling national championships.

Oda used sweeps and trips to reverse the momentum against Yumoto in the men's freestyle semifinals at 60kg and come from behind for 0-3, 6-0, 1-1 triumph at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2.

The third-year student at Kokushikan University then went on to claim his first All-Japan crown with a 2-1 triumph over 2006 world bronze medalist Noriyuki Takatsuka in the championship final.

Meanwhile, 2009 world bronze medalist Kai scored a single-leg takedown and go-behind takedown to notch her biggest victory to date with a 1-0, 1-0 win over Icho, the silver medalist at 48kg in the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games. The triumph gave Kai her first All-Japan crown.

Also in men's freestyle, Kazuyuki Nagashima won his fourth straight title at 74kg with steady display of textbook wrestling against Ryuta Takahashi, a former understudy and sparring partner at Waseda University.

In the women's events, two-time world bronze medalist Makiko Sakamoto claimed her fourth title, and first in two years at 48kg with a one-sided win of former junior world champion Fuyuko Mimura.

In greco-roman, Tsukasa Tsurumaki won his third title at 74kg and Norikatsu Saikawa defended his crown at 84kg, but Hiroyuki Shimizu turned the tables on world No. 8 Tsutomu Fujimura for his first championship at 66kg.


Greco-roman

66kg ? 13 entries

F1 ? Hiroyuki Shimizu df. Tsutomu Fujimura, 2-0 (1-0, 2-0)
SF ? Fujimura df. Kazuya Kato, 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
SF ? Shimizu df. Yuji Okamoto, 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
(Shimizu wins 1st All-Japan title)


74kg ? 14 entries
F1 ? Tsukasa Tsurumaki df. Kosuke Kaku, 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
SF ? Tsurumaki df. Naoto Kasai, 2-0 (3-0, 2-0)
SF ? Kaku df. Takashi Taketomi, 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 4-0)
(Tsurumaki wins 2nd straight, 3rd overall title)

84kg ? 14 entries
F1 ? Norikatsu Saikawa df. Ryo Ito, 2-0 (3-0, 1-0)
SF ? Saikawa df. Masayuki Amano, 2-0 (1-0, 2-1)
SF ? Ito df. Shinnosuke Omagari, 2-0 (1-0, 1x-1=caution)
(Saikawa wins 2nd straight, 2nd overall title)


Men's freestyle
60kg ? 16 entries
F1 ? Hiroyuki Oda df. Noriyuki Takatsuka, 2-1 (0-3=2:02, 1-0, 3-0=2:04)
SF ? Oda df. Kenichi Yumoto, 2-1 (0-3, 6-0=0:48, 1x-1=last)
SF ? Takatsuka df. Ken Kikuchi, 2-0 (1-0, 4-0)
(Oda wins 1st title)


74kg ? 17 entries
F1 ? Kazuyuki Nagashima df. Ryuta Takahashi, 2-0 (2-0, 1-0)
SF ? Nagashima df. Hiroki Kayamori, 2-0 (1-0=2:03, 1-0=2:04)
SF ? Takahashi df. Takayuki Suzuki, 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
(Nagashima wins 4th straight, 4th overall title)


Women's freestyle
48kg ? 19 entries
F1 ? Makiko Sakamoto df. Fuyuko Mimura, 2-0 (4-0, 1-0)
SF ? Sakamoto df. Chinami Abe by fall, 3P=0:56 (1-2, 1x-1=last, F4-0)
SF ? Mimura df. Miori Suzuki by fall, 1P=1:04 (F7-0)
(Sakamoto wins 2nd straight, 4th overall title)


51kg ? 13 entries
F1 ? Yuri Kai df. Chiharu Icho, 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
SF ? Kai df. Reika Oyama, 2-0 (4-0, 3-2)
SF ? Icho df. Hiromi Sakurai, 2-1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0=2:07)
(Kai wins 1st title)