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Japanese women thrive on world stage, men falter

Japanese female wrestlers thrived on the international stage this summer, collecting gold and silver at all of the different age group world championships, while the Japanese men could only manage a lone bronze medal at the junior world freestyle meet.

The summer got rolling for the Japanese women on August 5-7 at the cadet world championships in Lodz, Poland, where Nana Takenaka (40 kg), Mika Noguchi (46 kg) and Saori Yoshida (56 kg) won gold medals.

Yoshida of Hisai high school in Mie Prefecture and Noguchi of Kanoya Chuo high school in Kagoshima Prefecture won their second straight world cadet crowns.

Momoko Sera added a bronze medal for the Japanese cadet team at 49 kg, but it was not enough to win the team title as Russian wrestlers won four weight categories and took silver in another.

In the junior world championships the following week, senior world champion at 51 kg Atsuko Shinomura won her second straight junior title at 50 kg, leading a Japanese gold rush in Bucharest.

Shinomura of Fukuoka University was joined by Seiko Yamamoto (54 kg, Nihon University), Rena Iwama (58 kg, Chukyo Women's College) and Ayako Shoda (63 kg, Amino high school) by winning their first gold medals.

Taeko Tomioka (75 kg) and Kanako Miki (46 kg) added a silver and bronze medal respectively to the Japanese haul as Japan easily outdistanced Russia for the team title.

At the senior world championships September 10-12 in Boden, Sweden, Kyoko Hamaguchi edged four-time world champion Christine Nordhagen of Canada 5-3 in the semifinals to win her third straight world title at 75 kg.

For a third straight year also, Hamaguchi defeated American Kristie Stenglein-Marano for the championship. Hamagushi was awarded the Beautiful and Technical Award" as the "female wrestler most like a female wrestler."

Seiko Yamamoto (51 kg) and Ayako Shoda (62 kg), fresh from their triumphs at the junior worlds, also won senior titles. Shoda upended four-time world and European champion Nicola Hartman of Austria 4-3 in the quarterfinals on her way to the championship.

Despite the three champions, however, Japan missed out on its ninth team title, being edged out 47-46 by the United States which one its first championship as a team.

Japanese males continue to struggle

And, while the Japanese women were bringing home the hardware, the Japanese men were struggling.

Japan managed to get only two wrestlers through the preliminary rounds of the freestyle and greco-roman cadet world championships. Both wrestlers, however, failed to advance beyond the first round of the championship bracket.

At the greco-roman junior world championships. Nobuhiko Konosu of Nihon University secured a fifth place at 50 kg, but Japanese wrestlers in the other seven weight categories failed to reach the championship bracket.

In Sydney, Kunihiko Obata, a first-year student at Yamanashi Gakuin University out of Kasumigaura high school and a former protege of Olympic bronze medalist Takuya Ota, won a bronze medal himself at the freestyle junior world championships.

Japan's woes continued at the greco-roman senior world championships in Athens, September 23-26, as Yasutoshi Motoki (63 kg) earned Japan's highest finish with a 17th and all eight entries failed to advance to the championships bracket.

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Iran wrestles, despite presence of women

Sept 23 , 1999

@Iran, which has refused to allow its male wrestlers to compete on the same day as female wrestlers in the past for religious reasons, took to the mats on final two days of the Asian greco-roman competition while the Asian women's championships was also being held.

@At the 1989 world championships, Iran pulled out of the greco-roman competition since the women's tournament was scheduled for the same days and again in last year's cadet world championships, when the freestyle and girls' tournaments were held concurrently.

@In Tashkent, there was some speculation over what the Iranian delegation might do when the women's tourney got underway on May 29, but there was no withdrawal.

@Even in the lead-up to the tourney, journalists noticed that the Iranian wrestlers were practicing even as the female wrestlers were also training nearby.

@In the past, Iran has also refused to march behind female placard carriers at the opening or closing ceremonies at some events such as the Olympics, Asian Games and world championships, but in Tashkent, appeared to relent as they entered the arena for the opening ceremony behind a placard carried by a woman, believed to be of the Islamic faith.

 

Women's wrestling in 2002 Asian Games

@Officials of the Asian Wrestling Federation suggested that women's wrestling may be included in the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea. The officials are confident now that Iran would eventually agree to the addition, saying that the inclusion of women's wrestling on the Asian Games program would be a bigstep forward for the sport.

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Results from All Japan Female Champioships(Dec 23 , 1999)


@Tokyo, Dec. 23 - All Japan Female Champioships was held at Yoyogi Daini Gymnasium in Tokyo, December 22-23. Three times world champion Kyoko Hamaguchi, 21, 75 kg, won four successive champioships beating three opponents easily and got MVP three times. She is winning 31 straight victories including foregn wrestlers from about three years ago.

@However two current world champion couldn not reach the All Japan champions. Ayako Shoda, 18, a 62 kg world champion, was beaten by Rena Iwama ,20, by fall 5:16 at the final. Rena Iwama is 58 kg junior world champion. And Seiko Yamamoto, 19, who is a 51 kg world champion and entried at 56 kg, was defeated by Mariko Shimizu, 25, a 56 kg silver medalist, by fall 0:58.

@Atsuko Shinomura, 20, a 51 kg world champion in 1998, could not progress even the final. Hitomi Sakamoto, 18, who is non-career in the International stage, beat Shinomura , 3-0, at the semi-final. Sakamoto beat Chiharu Icho,18,at the final. Since Shinomura gave up 3rd-4th match because of injury, she finishied 4th.

@The 46 kg winner was Miyu Yamamoto, 25, three times world champion. This victory is her first winning the championships after 1998 and total is eighth winning. That is tie with Yayoi Urano and Ryoko Sakae(Sakamoto).

@Chuko Women's University gave birth to three champions, Rena Iwama, Hitomi Sakamoto and Tomoe Miyamoto, 21,68kg, adding one silver and one bronze.

@That university have the strongest staffs in Japan. The cheif director, Saburo Sugiyama, is a silver medalist at greco-roman 57 kg in 1970 world championships. The head coach, Kazuhito Sakae, is the member of Souel Olympics and a bronze medalist at freestyle 62 kg in 1987 world championships. The coach, Ryoko Sakae (Sakamoto) , Kazuhoto's wife, is a 57 kg world champion in 1992. Sugiyama has many lines of foregn personal contacts, for example Norway, Sweden, France, Austria, Chine, Cheinese-Taipe, New Zeland and Greece. They can perform international exchange frequently and always study International wrestling. That endeavor bear fruit.

1999 All Japan Female Champions Profiles and Pictures.

More 1999 All Japan Champions Pictures

Japan Female Wrestling Federation Link