Can The Japanese Women’s Wrestling Team’s Dominance of The Olympics Continue on Home Turf?
The Japanese women’s wrestling team has been one of the most dominant figures in the sport in the last twenty years. With legends like Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho both winning multiple golds since 2004, the women’s wrestling team has thrived. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Japan would dominate almost every weight class in women’s wrestling. They would claim four gold medals out of a possible six. The Japanese won the 48kg, 58kg, 63kg and the 69kg in the women’s division and a silver in the 53kg class. Quite the impressive feat with the only comparable dominance in the sport to the Russian team in the men’s division. This is in stark contrast to the often stereotype of the timid Asian women heard in western society. The toughness and grit displayed by these Japanese women is proof it is just a misconception.
The real question heading into the 2020 Tokyo Games is, can the Japanese woman’s team continue their success on home turf. Lets take a look at the defending champions, medalists and other upcoming members of the Japanese woman’s wrestling team. With the recent Wolrd Cup tournament held right here in Japan and the national tournament know as The Meiji Cup, we have a glimpse into the possible favorites in two years time.
Defending Olympic Champions
Eri Tosaka-48Kg Champion
Eri Tosaka first competed on the international stage in The 2012 World Championships at eighteen years of age. She did quite well in her debut and would win a silver medal. The spot light of the Olympic stage in Rio 2016 was not to big for Tosaka san. Tosaka would head into the Olympics on an absolute tear, winning the 2013,2014 and 2015 gold medals at the world championships. Tosaka would go on a dominant display through many of the matches in 2016. In the finals when she met Mariya Stadnik, it was anything but a breeze. Thanks to a last ditch effort in the waning seconds of the match, Tosaka was able to get a narrow 3–2 victory. Here is the link to the video below showing Tosaka taking the gold.
Unfortunately following the 2016 Olympics, Tosaka has had a run in with multiple injuries including the toe, knee and ankle. She did compete in the first half of the 2017 season but took a long break to nurse her injuries. She was able to compete in the recent Meiji Cup but had to default her semifinal match. This has unfortunately set up a long shot for her to make international competition this year. With Tosaka only being twenty five, a road to full recovery seems very likely
Here is a post from her Instagram, working out and training with fellow Olympic gold medalist Risako Kawai.
If you would like to follow Eri Tosaka on instagram, here is a link below.
Kaori Icho — 58kg Division Champion
Kaori Icho is far from a newcomer to the scene of international wrestling. If you have followed the sport or Olympics, your bound to know here name. She’s only won a casual four Olympic gold medals in a row. Beginning her international wrestling career, she started originally at higher weight of 63kg. Icho would win the 2004 Olympics in Athens at the age of 20 in the 63kg division. Despite being young she was by no means intimidated, as prior to her first Olympic games she was undefeated. Then would remain undefeated again at the 2008 Beijing games, then again at London 2012. Following the 2013 World Championships, despite winning gold Icho decided it would be best to switch weight classes to the 58kg divison. This would result in ultimately her fourth gold medal on the Olympic stage in 2016. Possibly an even more impressive feat, was she went undefeated in all competitions from 2003–2016. She is the only female in any individual sport at the Olympics to win four consecutive golds. To go along with her four Olympic gold medals, Icho has won a staggering ten World Championship titles as well.
Heading into the next Olympics it will be a tall task to win a fifth consecutive gold medal. There are a couple of factors that may make this the hardest challenge yet. Lets take a quick glance at some of them.
The obvious factor is that Kaori Icho will be thirty six years of age come 2020. With modern training methods and technology, athletes abilities to perform at high levels have been lengthened, but still it can’t be a factor overlooked. A second thing is there has been a recent issue coming to surface earlier this year. An anonymous complaint was directed towards Kazuhito Sakae, the development director of the Japan Wrestling Federation. It was in regards to interfering with Icho’s training. Most was specifically about the coaching situation. Icho did make a statement in regards to the letter, denying any affiliation with it, but still didn’t state if the harassment was true or not. This is without a doubt a distraction to one of Japans most accomplished athletes, but if anyone could overcome this situation it is this woman.
Risako Kawai — 63kg Division Champion
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Japanese Women would continue the dominance over the 63kg weight division. It would be a new face though carrying the torch. Risako Kawai had big shoes to fill and did so admirably. Unlike Tosaka or Icho, Kawai did not enter the Rio games having incredibly consistent success. Don’t get it wrong, she was known on the international level to those following the sport, having won a silver medal in the 2015 Las Vegas World Championships. Risako had a grueling path to the finals but was able to hold her opponent in the gold medal match pointless, defeating Maria Mamashuk a staggering 6–0. Here is a link below.
Risako Kawai would follow up this dominant performance the following year winning the 2017 Paris World Championships. A decision before the tournament was made to move down a weight class to the 60kg division. Risako Kawai has continued to perform at the 60kg weight division and last performed in the team event at the World Cup. There is no 60kg weight class at the Olympic games and it will be interesting to see if she decides to return to defend her 63kg title or drop to the 58kg division. Currently a student at Shigakkan University and just twenty three years of age, Kawai still has some great years to come.
Sara Dosho — 69kg Division Champion
Sara Dosho competes at the highest weight class among the defending Japanese champions at 69kg. At just 159cm tall, she has a powerful compact frame that she uses to her advantage. Dosho originally began at a smaller weight class, but adding that extra muscle has proven to be significant. Sara has had strong showings at international events since 2013, winning the Summer Universiade in Kazan. This event is for the top university students to compete, and following the victory Dosho never looked back. She would win a multitude of medals including a pair of bronze medals at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships. Dosho would also claim the 2014 and 2016 gold medals in the Asian Championships, and of course the gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Here is the video of Sara winning the gold against Russian wrestler Natalia Vorbeva.
Dosho would follow her Olympic performance with a strong showing in last years Asian Championships and World Championships. Dosho would win both these events and is expected to have a strong performances in the years leading up to the 2020 Olympics.
Saori Yoshida
It would be wrong to create a list talking about Japanese wrestling without mentioning Saori Yoshida. She is a three time Olympic gold medalist in the 55kg division and a silver medalist in the 53kg division at Rio 2016. A thirteen time World Champion and a four time Asian Games champion are just some of the other accolades she has accomplished.
Yoshida’s influence is extended outside the boundaries of simply dominating the game. There was a concern of wrestling being eliminated from The Olympic Games lineup of events, due to decreasing viewership. It’s hard to believe this was a conversation, considering the long history of the sport as a symbol of the Olympics, but it was one that came up. With the likes of Yoshida, coupled with other ambassadors of the sport intervening and advocating the importance of the wrestling event, The Olympic Committee agreed to continue hosting the event for Tokyo 2020.
Yoshida has not fully determined her aspirations for the 2020 games. The Japan Times reported on February 7th of this year that she is “still mulling” over her decision. However since then Yoshida has become pregnant and has recently posted photos of herself on Instagram, the chance of a return seems unlikely. It is important to note she will be 37 by the time the 2020 Olympics begin.
Other Talented Wrestlers
Early this year Japan hosted the first world cup of 2018 in Takasaki. This would be a great measuring device of the current state of Japan’s women’s wrestling team. In the finals it pitted China vs. Japan in a interesting bout. Japan would go on to win the finals 6–4 over the Chinese national team.
Here is the list of athletes that participated on team Japan:
Yuki IRIE
Haruna OKUNO
Maya MUKAIDA
Katsuki SAKAGAMI
Yukako KAWAI
Risako KAWAI
Anyana GEMPEI
Miwa MORIKAWA
Masako FURUICHI
Hiroe MINIGAWA SUZUKI
If interested here is a link where you can watch some highlights from the event.
Saki Igarashi
It is important to note quite a few stars are missing from this team due to various injuries. One such star includes Saki Igarashi, who according to the United World Organization is ranked first in the 55 kg weight division. Here is a link to the rankings as of March of this year.
Yui Susaki
Susaki is also a notable contender to keep your eyes on heading into Tokyo 2020. At the recent Meiji Cup, which is a Japanese national tournament that pits the most talented wrestlers against each other, Susaki was able to beat Yuki Irie in the 50kg finals. At just nineteen years of age, she is primed for a successful career in the years to come.
With so much talent of world class female wrestlers in Japan, the expectations will be incredibly high come 2020. It is a challenge that these strong Japanese women will undoubtedly be up to. These expectations, will also come with millions of Japanese fans support. This will hopefully propel these athletes to success and ultimately the podium.
If you wish to contact me, you can do so at shotarohmoore@hotmail.com
