BAKU (May 12) – Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu won a rematch of last year’s world championships final, but Japan dropped its first three dual meets at the World Cup of men’s freestyle wrestling.
Yonemitsu, the world silver medalist at 66kg in Istanbul, toppled world champ Mehdi Taghavi Kermani (IRI), 2-1 (1-0, 0-2, 1-0) in a third-round dual, but Japan fell 5-2 (19-8) to Iran.
Japan was also saddled with losses by the United States, 5-2, and Georgia, 4-3, in the five-team preliminary round competition. Japan will face Turkey on Sunday after the fifth-round duals were postponed due to the length of the first four rounds.
At the end of the first day of competition, Iran is undefeated with four wins in Group B while host Azerbaijan is atop Group A unbeaten with three wins. Winless Japan and Turkey will face off in Round 5 to stay out of the Group B cellar.
Japanese heavyweight Nobuyoshi Arakida did not make the trip to Baku after injuring his knee at the Olympic qualification tourney in China in late April.
Results of Japan’s dual meets:
Group B, Round 1
Japan 2, United States 5
55kg – Yasuhiro Inaba df. Sam Hazewinkel, 2-1 (2-3, 3-1, 7-0)
60kg – Kenichi Yumoto lost to Scott Coleman, 1-2 (1-0, 1-3, 1-2)
66kg – Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu df. Jared Frayer, 2-0 (2-0, 2-1)
74kg – Sosuke Takatani lost to Jordan Burroughs, 1-2 (5-4, 1-3, 2-3)
84kg – Atsushi Matsumoto lost to Keith Gavin, 0-2 (0-1, 0-6)
96kg – Takeshi Yamaguchi lost to Jake Varner, 0-2 (0-6, 0-4)
120kg – forfeit to Tervel Dlagnev
Group B, Round 2
Japan – bye
Group B, Round 3
Japan 2, Iran 5
55kg – Yasuhiro Inaba lost to Mohammed Hossein Soltanihaghighi, 0-2 (0-4, 4-6)
60kg – Kenichi Yumoto df. Behnam Eshagh Ehsanpoor, 2-0 (1-0, 1-1)
66kg – Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu df. Mehdi Taghavi Kermani, 2-1 (1-0, 0-2, 1-0)
74kg – Sosuke Takatani lost to Mostafa Mohabbali Hosseinkhani, 1-2 (1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
84kg – Atsushi Matsumoto lost to Ehsan Salman Amini, 0-2 (0-3, 0-5)
96kg – Takeshi Yamaguchi lost to Abbas Mohammadtaher Tahan, 0-2 (0-1, 0-4)
120kg – forfeit to Ghasemi Komeil Nemat
Group B, Round 4
Japan 3, Georgia 4
55kg – Yasuhiro Inaba df. Giorgi Edisherashvili, 2-0 (4-2, 8-3)
60kg – Kenichi Yumoto df. Malkhaz Zarkua, 2-1 (2-3, 3-0, 1-1)
66kg – Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu df. Zurabi Iakobishivili, 2-1 (2-2, 2-0, 1-0)
74kg – Sosuke Takatani lost to Davit Khutsishvili, 1-2 (1-2, 1-1, 0-3)
84kg – Atsushi Matsumoto lost to Dato Marsagishvili, 0-2 (1-4, 0-6)
96kg – Takeshi Yamaguchi lost to Elizbar Odikadze, 0-2 (0-3, 0-6)
120kg – forfeit to David Modzmanashvili
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