OTA WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN JR WORLD GRECO-ROMAN

PATTAYA, Thailand (September 4-5) – Minoru Ota won three straight bouts in the consolation bracket after an opening loss to claim a bronze medal at 55kg in the greco-roman competition at the junior world wrestling championships.

Ota, a first-year student at the Nippon Sports Sciences University, lost to eventual gold medalist Eldaniz Azizli (AZE) in the first round, but rebounded with three straight wins including a fall over former European cadet bronze medalist Serif Kilic (TUR).

Ota's medal was Japan's third bronze medal in greco-roman at the junior world meet and first since Seiki Goya won a bronze medal in 2010.

Yoichiro Kagaya of Kokushikan University was Japan's only other entry in the greco-roman competition to post a win and finished 11th overall at 84kg.

Greco-roman

50kg – KAGAWA, Tomohiko (14th, 19 entries)

R1 – bye

R2 – lost to Artur Labazanov (RUS), 0-2 (0-8, 0-4)

c1 – lost to Ali Soto Macias (MEX), 1-2 (2-0, 0-4, 0-10)

55kg – OTA, Shinobu (Bronze, 28 entries)

R1 – lost to Eldaniz Azizli (AZE), 0-2  (0-1, 0-6)

c1 – df. Abou Halima Mohamed el Said ab Abou Halima (EGY), 2-0 (4-2, 5-0)

c2 – df. Mazyar Shirmohammadi (FIN), 2-0 (2-0, 6-0)

F3 – df. Serif Kilic (TUR) by fall, 3P (2-4, 6-0, F4-0)

60kg – MATSUZAWA, Rikiya (27th, 29 entries)

R1 – lost to Manish Manish (IND), 0-2 (0-2, 0-3)

66kg – KANEMITSU, Teruaki (35th, 36 entries)

R1 – lost to Dmitri Pynkov (UKR) by fall, 2P (0-6, F0-3)

74kg – NAKAMURA, Takaharu (20th, 29 entries)

R1 – lost to Kazbek Kilov (BLR), 0-2 (0-1, 0-7)

c1 – lost to Payam Abdeh Saleh Bouyeri Payani (IRI) by fall, 3P (3-0, 0-4, F0-3)

84kg – KAGAYA, Yoichiro (11th, 27 entries)

R1 – df. Manuchar Alaev (TJK), 2-0 (4-0, 3-0)

R2 – lost to Idris Tatiev (RUS), 0-2 (0-2, 1-2)

96kg – TANAKA, Tetsuya (26th, 26 entries)

R1 – lost to Saman Abbas Noroozi (IRI), 0-2 (0-7, 0-6)

120kg – SONODA, Arata (13th, 17entries)

R1 – bye

R2 – lost to Giorgiy Shoniya (RUS) by fall, 1P (F0-3)

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