JAPANESE GIRLS WIN 4 GOLD AT WORLD CADET C’SHIPS

    SZOMBATHELY, Hungary (August 25-26) – Japanese girls won four gold medals, a silver and a bronze at the cadet wrestling world championships but had to settle for second place overall in the girls' team competition since they did not have entries in the two lightest weight categories.

    Two wrestlers from the JOC Academy for elite Olympic prospects, Yu Miyahara (49kg) and Masako Furuichi (65kg) led the way and along with Risako Kawai (52kg) and Yui Sakano (56kg) won all of their matches by fall or 2-0 decision.

    Miyahara defeated European cadet champion Andjelka Vetoshkina (RUS) the semifinals and then edged Iulia Leorda (MDA) in the championship, a rematch of their final at last year's Youth Olympic Games.

    Kawai, meanwhile, rolled over European junior champ at 51kg Petra Olli (FIN) in the semifinals and then stopped Asia cadet winner Altantsetseg Battsetseg (MGL) for the title.

    Sakano edged Pooja Dhanda (IND) for the 56kg crown in a rematch of last year's Asia cadet final won by Sakano. Pooja won this year's Asia cadet title as well as a silver medal in the Asian junior championships.

    Furuichi rolled to 2-0 wins over five opponents, including European cadet runner-up Ragneta Gurbanzada (AZE) in the semifinals.

    In addition to the four gold medals, Japan also got a silver medal from Sachi Katagiri at 46kg and a bronze from Rina Okuno at 43kg.

    Japan's four golds surpassed the 1999 gold medal haul of three, but Russia won the team title 72-65 with two champions and six bronze medal winners. Ukraine was third with 64 points.

    Results of individual Japanese entries:

    Girls' freestyle

    38kg – no Japanese entry

    40kg – no Japanese entry

    43kg – OKUNO, Rina (Bronze, 16 entries)
R1 – df. Irina Borissova (KAZ), 2-1 (2-2, 3-0, 1-0)
R2 – df. Mamta Rani (IND), 3-1 (4-0, 0-2, 3-1)
SF – lost to Maria Kotsareva (RUS), 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
F3 – df. Serap Colgecen (TUR), 2-0 (3-0, 4-1)

    46kg – KATAGIRI, Sachi (Silver, 15 entries)
R1 – df. Anastasia Stepanova (RUS) by fall 3P (6-8, 6-1, F6-3)
R2 – df. Marianna Diaz Munoz (MEX), 2-0 (2-0,1-0)
SF – df. Selenay Dokgoz (TUR) by fall, 1P (F2-0)
F1 – lost to Haley Aguello (USA), 1-2 (6-2, 0-4, 0-1)

    49kg – MIYAHARA, Yu (Gold, 20 entries)
R1 – bye
R2 – df. Anna Claire McKee (CAN), 2-0 (7-0, 7-0)
R3 – df. Tugba Deper (TUR) by fall, 1P (F8-0)
SF – df. Andjelka Vetoshkina (RUS), 2-0 (2-1, 1-0)
F1 – df. Iulia Leorda (MDA), 2-0 (1-0, 1-1)

    52kg – KAWAI, Risako (Gold, 21 entries)
R1 – bye
R2 – df. Rachel McFarland (USA) by fall, 2P (7-0, F3-0)
R3 – df. Ozlem Gozdag (TUR) by fall, 1P (F6-0)
SF – df. Petra Olli (FIN), 2-0 (4-0, 8-0)
F1 – df. Altantsetseg Battsetseg (MGL), 2-0 (2-1, 6-2)

    56kg – SAKANO, Yui (Gold, 16 entries)
R1 – df. Ekaterina Myagkova (RUS), 2-0 (3-1, 4-0)
R2 – df. Gun Bediha (TUR) by fall, 1P (F5-0)
SF – df. Alejandra Pagquaga-Frankovich (CAN) by fall, 2P (1-0 F5-0)
F1 – df. Pooja Dhanda (IND), 2-0 (1-0, 1-1)

    60kg – SAKAMOTO, Kiwa (9th, 16 entries)
R1 – df. Braxton Stone (CAN), 2-1 (1-0, 1-1, 5-1)
R2 – lost to Ekaterina Larionova (KAZ) by fall, 3P (1-4, 2-0, F1-6)
c1 – lost to Krystina Fedarashka (BLR) by fall, 2P (3-0, F0-4)

    65kg – FURUICHI, Masako (Gold, 17 entries)
R1 – df. Aziza Sultamuratova (UZB), 2-0 (7-0, 7-0)
R2 – df. Zosima Castaneda (USA), 2-0 (6-0, 7-0)
R3 – df. Burneebaatar Nyamgerel (MGL), 2-0 (5-0, 1-1)
SF – df. Ragneta Gurbanzada (AZE), 2-0 (4-3, 1-0)
F1 – df. Nataliya Mazur (UKR), 2-0 (2-0, 2-1)

    70kg – ABE, Rino (5th, 17 entries)
R1 – bye
R2 – df. Dalma Caneva (ITA) by fall, 1P (F3-1)
R3 – df. Laura Robocinska (POL), 2-0 (6-0, 2-0)
SF – lost to Karyna Stankova (UKR), 1-2 (0-1, 4-2, 1-3)
F3 – lost to Anzhela Kataeva (RUS), 1-2 (2-2, 0-3, 0-2)