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By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public Information Committee：wmay52@hotmail.com）
JAPANESE ENTRIES BLANKED ON FINAL DAY OF WORLD C'SHIPS
MOSCOW (September 12) – Japanese entries on the final day of the wrestling world championships in Moscow all lost in their first matches of the day and did not have the chance to wrestle in the consolation brackets.
Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, a bronze medalist at last year's world meet, fell to 2007 world runner-up Geandry Garzon Caballero (CUB) and was eliminated when Caballero fell in the 66kg semifinals to junior world champion Alan Gogaev (RUS).
Kazuyuki Nagashima, meanwhile, could not get to the legs of Andriy Shyyka
(GER) at 74kg and was blanked by the wrestler who finished fifth a year
ago at the European championships. Shyyka lost in the quarterfinals to
former Olympic bronze medalist Ivan Fundora (CUB).
At 120kg, Takahiro Shimonaka was flattened by Olympic bronze medalist Marid Mutalimov (KAZ) and was eliminated in the next round when the former Asia champion lost to up-and-coming Georgian heavyweight Levan Berianidze.
With the completion of the championships, the Japanese men will go home with a pair of medals – a silver from Ryutaro Matsumoto (60kg) in greco-roman and a bronze from Yasuhiro Inaba (55kg) in freestyle.
Japan has won two medals in men's freestyle at the last two Olympic Games, but has to go back to 1995 to find the last time Japanese have brought home two medals from the world championships.
In 1995, Takahiro Wada (62kg) won a silver medal in men's freestyle in Atlanta and Hiroshi Kado (48kg) won a silver at the greco-roman world meet in Prague.
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Men's freestyle
66kg – YONEMITSU, Tatsuhiro (23rd, 35 entries)
R1 – bye
R2 – Geandry Garzon Caballero (CUB), 0-2 (0-1, 1-2)
In a match of low-attack wrestlers, Yonemitsu drops in a single-leg midway
through the first period but is backed out of bounds as the period goes
to Garzon Caballerro. Garzon Caballero scores with a single-leg at 0:55
of the second and Yonemitsu answers with a low double-leg to go behind,
making it 1-1 at 1:49. Garzon Caballero, the 2007 world silver medalist,
hits low single again and comes to his feet to drive Yonemitsu out of bounds
at 1:59.
Yonemitsu is eliminated from medal contention with Garzon Caballero loses in the semifinals.
74kg – NAGASHIMA, Katsuyuki (28th, 35 entries)
R1 – bye
R2 – lost to Andriy Shyyka (GER), 0-2 (0-2, 0-2)
Nagashima attacks right off the whistle but is toppled for the point and gives up a late go-behind in the first period. Shyyka uses an early force-out and double-leg takedown in the second and makes it stand for the win.
Nagashima is knocked out of medal contention when Shyyka, a fifth-place finisher at the 2009 Euro meet, loses in the quarterfinals.
120kg – SHIMONAKA, Takahiro (25th, 28 entries)
R1 – lost to Marid Mutalimov (KAZ) by fall, 2P=1:46 (0-1, F0-4)
Shimonaka gives up a single-leg takedown at 1:15 in the first period, then is taken down to his back at 1:20 of the second. The former Asia champion from Kazakhstan presses for the fall at 1:46.
Shimonaka is eliminated from medal contention when Mutalimov loses in the second round.
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