Japan Wrestling Federation News ― May 2024 (Meiji Cup/Final World Olympic Qualifier)
※本記事は日本レスリング協会に掲載されていたものです。
The second of Japan’s major national tournaments of the season, the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships, was held May 23-26 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym. The tournament also served as a qualifier for the Non-Olympic Weight Class World Championships scheduled for Tirana, Albania, in October, along with the Emperor’s Cup All-Japan Championships held last December.
Of the 13 wrestlers who will be appearing at the Paris Olympics this summer, only Yuka KAGAMI at women’s 76kg was entered in the Meiji Cup, but she was forced to withdraw due to an injury. The tournament could be regarded as the first step toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the Olympic weight classes.
In the 12 non-Olympic classes, winners of the Emperor’s Cup who also won the Meiji Cup automatically filled the spot on the team to Tirana. In cases in which the champions were different, and the Emperor’s Cup winner was on hand, a playoff was held between the two.
2-time Olympic champion Kinjo qualifies for worlds at 59kg
Risako KINJO, who won her second straight Olympic gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games but failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics at women’s 57kg, earned a ticket to Tirana at 59kg with a dramatic, come-from-behind playoff victory over teenager Sakura ONISHI.
Risako KINJO, right, prevailed in a nail-biting playoff against high schooler Sakura ONISHI at 59kg.=photo by Takeo YABUKI
Kinjo, the Emperor’s Cup champ, was dealt an 8-4 loss in the semifinals by world U17 champion Onishi, who went on to win the title. Following the medal ceremony, Onishi quickly returned to the mat for the world team playoff against Kinjo.
Onishi led 5-0 after the first period and added a stepout early in the second for a 6-point lead. But Kinjo fought back to cut the lead to 6-4, then scored a 2-point exposure off a single-leg takedown with 8 seconds left. Onishi scrambled back to her feet and in the final second, forced Kinjo out for a stepout. But a challenge review showed the clock had run out with Kinjo’s foot still inside the edge, giving her a 6-6 win on last-point criteria.
In Tirana, Kinjo will be aiming for a fourth career title and first since winning the last of three straight in 2019.
Ami ISHII, who also missed out on the Paris Olympics despite earning the quota at women’s 68kg for Japan by placing fifth at the 2023 World Championships, will also be on the plane after prevailing at 72kg.
Ishii won the Meiji Cup title, which gave her the ticket to Tirana without a playoff as Emperor’s Cup champion Ayano MORO did not enter due to injury. Ishii was the world silver medalist at 68kg in 2022.
Ami ISHII, right, who moved up to 72kg, battles 2021 world champion Maako FURUICHI in the final of the Meiji Cup.=photo by Takeo YABUKI
Earning spots in the two other women’s weight classes were Moe KIYOOKA at 55kg and Miwa MORIKAWA at 65kg, both via the playoff route.
Kiyooka, who followed up her victory at the Emperor’s Cup by winning the gold at the Asian Championships in April, suffered a surprising quarterfinal loss at the hands of high schooler Sowaka UCHIDA.
Reigning world champion Haruna MURAYAMA (nee OKUNO) won the title, but Kiyooka defeated her 3-2 in the playoff, clinching the victory with a second-period takedown.
Morikawa will get the chance to regain the 65kg world title she won in 2022 after winning the Meiji Cup, then defeating Emperor’s Cup champion Mahiro YOSHITAKE 8-0 in the playoff.
High school phenom Yoshida earns trip to senior worlds
In Greco-Roman, high schooler Taizo YOSHIDA added to his growing list of laurels by winning the Meiji Cup title at 82kg, then earned a ticket to the non-Olympic worlds when his opponent in the playoff defaulted.
Yoshida turned heads in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, last April when he became, at age 18, Japan’s youngest-ever male Asian gold medalist. Just one year after winning a world U17 title, he will be going for gold at the senior worlds.
High schooler Taizo YOSHIDA won all three of his matches at Greco 82kg by 8-0 technical superiority to earn his first ticket to the senior World Championships.=photo by Takeo YABUKI
In other weight classes, Kensuke SHIMIZU, a 2021 world bronze medalist at 63kg, will be going back to the worlds at 72kg after storming to the Meiji Cup title, then defeating recently crowned Asian champion Shingo HARADA 5-1 in the playoff.
At 63kg, Asian silver medalist Ayata SUZUKI completed the Emperor’s Cup-Meiji Cup double to earn his ticket to Tirana outright, while Emperor’s Cup champion Kagetora OKAMOTO bounced back from an opening loss to defeat Meiji Cup winner Kenta OKUSU 7-0 in the 55kg playoff.
Asian silver medalist Aoyagi secures return trip to worlds
In freestyle, Asian silver medalist Yoshinosuke AOYAGI maintained his dominance at 70kg by adding the Meiji Cup title to the Emperor’s Cup crown he won in December, earning him a return trip to the World Championships.
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI, top, will get a chance to improve on his eighth-place finish at last year’s World Championships following his victory at freestyle 70kg.=photo by Takeo YABUKI
Masanosuke ONO, an Asian bronze medalist at 65kg, secured a trip to his first senior worlds with a victory in the Meiji Cup at 61kg. The Emperor’s Cup champion was not entered, giving Ono the spot without a playoff.
While Ono moved down a weight class, Asian 74kg champion Kota TAKAHASHI bumped up to 79kg and came away with his first ticket to the senior worlds. He defeated Emperor’s Cup champion Ryunosuke KAMIYA 5-0 in the playoff.
At 92kg, Takashi ISHIGURO moved down from his usual weight of 97kg and defeated Emperor’s Cup champion Satoshi MIURA 6-0 in the Meiji Cup final, then again 10-0 in the playoff.
Here is the list of Meiji Cup champions and, if held, the non-Olympic world team playoff winners:
Freestyle
57kg: Rikuto ARAI (Self-Defense Force PTS)
61kg: Masanosuke ONO (Yamanashi Gakuin Univ.)
65kg: Takumi AKIYAMA (Self-Defense Force PTS)
70kg: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (Clean-up)
74kg: Ryoya YAMASHITA (Nippon Sports Science Univ.)
79kg: Kota TAKAHASHI (Nippon Sports Science Univ.)
Playoff winner: Kota TAKAHASHI (Nippon Sports Science Univ.)
86kg: Tatsuya SHIRAI (Shiga Prefecture Sports Assn.)
92kg: Takashi ISHIGURO (MTX Gold Kids)
Playoff winner: Takashi ISHIGURO (MTX Gold Kids)
97kg: Keivan YOSHIDA (San-E Maritime Corp.)
125kg: Taira SONODA (Self-Defense Force PTS)
Greco-Roman
55kg: Kenta OKUSU (Nippon Sports Science Univ.)
Playoff winner: Kagetora OKAMOTO (Senshu Univ. Club)
60kg: Kaito INABA (Shiga Prefecture Sports Assn.)
63kg: Ayata SUZUKI (Restar Corp.)
67kg: Haruto YABE (Self-Defense Force PTS)
72kg: Kensuke SHIMIZU (Self-Defense Force PTS)
Playoff winner: Kensuke SHIMIZU (SDF PTS)
77kg: Keisei SHIMABUKURO (Niigata Prefecture Assn.)
82kg: Taizo YOSHIDA (Takamatsu Kita H.S., Kagawa)
87kg: Takahiro TSURUTA (Self-Defense Force PTS)
97kg: Masayuki AMANO (Chuo Univ. Staff)
130kg: Yuta NARA (Metropolitan Police Dept.)
Women
50kg: Remina YOSHIMOTO (KeePer Giken)
53kg: Ami OKADA (Toyo Univ.)
55kg: Haruna MURAYAMA (Self-Defense Force PTS)
Playoff winner: Moe KIYOOKA (Ikuei Univ.)
57kg: Ruka NATAMI (Shigakkan Univ.)
59kg: Sakura ONISHI (Nippon Sports Science Univ.)
Playoff winner: Risako KINJO (Suntory)
62kg: Yuzuka INAGAKI (Self-Defense Force PTS)
65kg: Miwa MORIKAWA (ALSOK)
Playoff winner: Miwa MORIKAWA (ALSOK)
68kg: Ray HOSHINO (Kanagawa Univ.)
72kg: Ami ISHII (Ikuei Univ.)
76kg: Nodoka YAMAMOTO (Shigakkan Univ.)
A general view of the action at Tokyo Metropolitan Gym, which was the venue for the freestyle World Championships in 1990.=photo by Takeo YABUKI
Japan adds no more Paris spots at final qualifier
The final World Olympic Qualifier for the Paris Games was held May 9-12 in Istanbul, Turkey. Japan had three entries in Greco-Roman and two in freestyle, but none were able to come away with one of the three quotas available in each weight class.
In Greco, Yuri NAKAZATO put on an impressive performance at 97kg by notching three wins, including a victory over European U23 champion Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), to make the semifinals and move one win away from earning a ticket to Paris.
But he lost 4-2 to Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), then missed a possible second chance when he fell 9-0 to Uzur DZHUZHUPBEKOV (KGZ) in a third-place match.
At 125kg, Sota OKUMURA made it through the repechage to a third-place match, but his hopes ended with a 10-0 loss to veteran Heiki NABI (FIN), a 2013 world champion. So SAKABE lost his opening match at 87kg and did not make the repechage.
In freestyle, Arash YOSHIDA, the 2023 Asian champion at 92kg, saw his bid to make it to Paris at 97kg end with a 4-3 second-round loss to Russian-born Akhmed BATAEV (BUL), while Taiki YAMAMOTO lost 7-1 to Khasanboy RAKHIMOV (UZB) in the first round at 125kg. Neither was pulled back into the repechage.
Arash YOSHIDA, left, Japan’s newest hope in the upper weight classes, came up short in his bid to make the Paris Olympics at freestyle 97kg. =photo by Koji FUSE
Meanwhile, native Japanese Nachi MASUDA, who changed nationality to Australia, came up short in her bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics for her new country at women’s 62kg.
Masuda, a product of International Pacific University, lost her opening match to Kriszta INCZE (ROM), but got a chance at the third qualifying spot when she was pulled into the repechage.
However, she lost 9-1 to world 65kg silver medalist Jia LONG (CHN), ending her quest for Paris.
