Tokyo Teen Wins 55kg Crown to Kick Off All-Japan C’ships

TOKYO (December 21) – Asian cadet champion Sae NANJO of the JOC Elite Academy in Tokyo defeated recently crown Golden Grand Prix Final winner Momoka KADOYA for the women’s 55kg crown Wednesday to kick off the All-Japan Wrestling Championships.

Wrestling at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No.2, high school champion Nanjo took down national invitational runner-up Kadoya for a 5-2 win in the 55kg finl, becoming the first 17-year-old champion at the national championships since 2011.

Nanjo, originally from Hyogo Prefecture, is a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee’s elite athlete development program who trains in Tokyo with coach Shoko YOSHIMURA. During the day, Nanjo attends nearby Abe Gakuin High School.

The most recent 17-year-old national champions were Yu MIYAHARA (51kg) and Sara DOSHO (67kg), who were crowned in 2011. Dosho won medals at the senior world championships, 2013-2015, and won the gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Other winners in women’s wrestling on the first day of the championhis were defending champion at 63kg Ayaka ITO, who won her third overall all-Japan crown, and at 60kg Katsuki SAKAGAMI, a runner-up at the Golden Grand Prix Final in 2014.

In greco-roman, Arata SONODA of Takushoku University won the 130kg title for a third year in a row while Yuya MAEDA of the Tottori Budokan repeated as champion at 80kg. Meanwhile, Shogo TAKAHASHI of Nippon Sports Sciences University, a winner of the national invitational tourney earlier this year, won his first All-Japan at 66kg.

In freestyle, three wrestlers all celebrated their first national championship titles – NSSU coach Momojiro NAKAMURA at 70kg, Masao MATSUSAKA (NSSU) and Naoya AKAGUMA of the Japan Self-Defense Forces team. Matsusaka, who hails from Nagasaki, was the first wrestler from that prefecture in 47 years to win an All-Japan title.

Results

Freestyle 70kg (14 entries)

F1 – Momojiro NAKAMURA (NSSU coach) df. Shun ITO (Waseda) by TF, 16-6, 6:55

(Nakamura wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Nakamura df. Yuto MIWA (Wakayama Kita HS), 4-2

SF – Ito df. Shohei TAKAHASHI (SDF), 9-5

86kg (13 entries)

F1 – Masao MATSUSAKA (NSSU) df. Shota SHIRAI (NU), 4-2

(Matsusaka wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Matsusaka df. Taisei MATSUYUKI (Senshu), 6-0

SF – Shirai df. Takahiro MURAYAMA (SDF), 8-0

97kg (16 entries)

F1 – Naoya AKAGUMA (SDF) df. Taira SONODA (Taku), 2-0

(Akaguma wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Akaguma df. Takashi ISHIGURO (NU), 8-0

SF – Sonoda df. Koki YAMAMOTO (GEN), 2-0

Greco-Roman

66kg (18 entries)

F1 – Shogo TAKAHASHI (NSSU) df. Katsuya KAWASE (Iwate), 2-1

(Takahashi wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Takahashi df. Ryo NAKABASHI (NSSU), 2-0

SF – Kawase df. Mouto TSUDA (NSSU), 2-1

80kg (15 entries)

F1 – Yuya MAEDA (Tottori) df. Takahiro TSURUDA (SDF), 2-1

(Maeda wins 2nd straight, 2nd overall All-Japan title)

SF – Maeda df. Yoichiro KAGAYA (Wakayama), 9-4

SF – Tsuruda df. Katsuhide MORIBE (AGU) by Fall, 2:06 (3-0)

130kg (12 entries)

F1 – Arata SONODA (Taku) df. Masahiro TANIDA (Wakayama) by TF, 9-0, 3:29

(Sonoda wins 3rd straight, 3rd overall All-Japan title)

SF – Sonoda df. Satoshi KAIZUKA (YGU) by TF, 9-0, 3:52

SF – Tanida df. Ryuta KAWANO (Kanazawa-ya), 3-2

Women’s wrestling

55kg (6 entries)

F1 – Sae NANJO (JOC Academy) df. Momoka KADOYA (Shigakkan), 5-2

(Nanjo wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Kadoya df. Nao TANIYAMA (Hosei), 8-2

SF – Nanjo df. Hanako SAWA (Shigakkan HS) by TF, 11-0, 5:43

60kg (11 entries)

F1 – Katsuki SAKAGAMI (ALSOK) df. Yoshimi KAYAMA (Waseda), 12-3

(Sakagami wins 1st All-Japan title)

SF – Sakagami df. Yui SAKANO (NU), 8-4

SF – Kayama df. Yukako KAWAI (Shi), 8-2

63kg (7 entries)

F1 – Ayaka ITO (Toshin Juken) df. Ayana GEMPEI (Shi), 5-5=last point

(Ito wins 2nd straight, 3rd overall All-Japan titles)

SF – Gempei df. Kanaho MIWA (Abe Gakuin HS), 6-0

SF – Ito df. Yurika ITO (SDF), 11-6

==End Item