By Ece Toksabay
CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) – Japan’s Yui Susaki stormed into the women’s Olympic freestyle flyweight semi-finals with two commanding victories by technical superiority without conceding a point on Friday, wrapping up both bouts in the first period.
Susaki, Japan’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony, first beat Mongolia’s Namuuntsetseg Tsogt-Ochir before dominating Lucia Guzman of Ecuador, starting the bout with a four-point throw to leave Guzman searching for answers.
Susaki is looking to become Japan’s third wrestler to win gold in Tokyo after the Kawai sisters https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/wrestling-magic-man-taylor-wins-final-death-japans-kawai-claims-gold-2021-08-05 – Risako and Yukako – won the lightweight and middleweight categories.
The 22-year-old will be up against Azerbaijan’s three-times Olympic medallist Mariya Stadnik. Susaki had previously beaten her in the final of 2018 world championship.
India’s medal hope Bajrang Punia advanced to the men’s freestyle lightweight semi-finals after edging Kyrgyzstan’s Ernazar Akmataliev and pinning Iran’s Morteza Ghiasi – the only victory by fall on the day.
A single takedown in a 3-3 scoreline made the difference against Akmataliev while the 27-year-old Asian champion Punia found himself trailing against Ghiasi before he pinned the Iranian, who desperately tried to escape the hold but failed.
Punia will face Azerbaijan’s three-times world champion Haji Aliyev, who beat Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov 9-1 in a controlled quarter-final bout.
Niyazbekov was earlier involved in one of the highest-scoring bouts at the Games when he snatched an unlikely victory against Cuba’s Alejandro Valdes, fighting back from 11-3 down in the second period to win 21-11.
The other semi-final will be a battle of two world champions when Russian Gadzhimurad Rashidov takes on Japan’s Takuto Otoguro.
Russian Abdulrashid Sadulaev beat Azerbaijan’s Sharif Sharifov in the men’s freestyle heavyweight last-16 in what was a battle between two Olympic gold medallists.
Sadulaev, the 2016 middleweight champion, then outclassed Georgian Elizbar Odikadze 10-0 to win by technical superiority to book a semi-final spot against Cuba’s Reineris Salas.
(Writing by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
