Saori Yoshida wrestles way to third Asiad gold
Saori Yoshida proved to be the lone bright spot for Japan on the final day of the 2010 Asian Games wrestling competition on Friday.
The two-time Olympic champion defeated China's Zhang Lan 3-0 in the women's freestyle 55kg final to win her third-straight Asian Games crown. Yoshida used her speed and powerful leg holds to beat her Chinese opponent, a former world youth champion and silver medallist in the 59kg class in the world championships.
Aiym Abdildina of Kazakhstan and Pak Yon-h*i of North Korea pocketed the bronze medals.
"I'm happy that I won for the third straight time at the Asian Games and it is a good stepping stone for the London Olympics. I hope to continue winning," Yoshida told Kyodo News.
"The first round I fought well, but the second round, I think I was too wary of her fireman's carry technique and my legs didn't move as well. I still have room for improvement," added the eight-time world champion, who has won the same weight class since women's wrestling made its debut at the 2002 Busan Games.
Yoshida's victory came as a breakthrough as Japan's other top-ranked female wrestlers were upset in the tournament.
Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Kyoko Hamaguchi placed only third in the 72kg category, losing to China's Li Dan 0-5 in the semi-finals. She salvaged a bronze by beating South Korean Bae Mi-kyung in the third-place bout. Hamaguchi won gold in 2002 and silver in 2006.
The other bronze went to Kazakhstan's Guzel Manyurova, also a 5-0 winner over Vietnam's Tran Thi Hoa. Li eventually settled for the silver, bowing to Mongolian Naranchimeg Gelegjamts 1-3 in the final.
Mio Nishimaki fared even worse in the 63kg division as she failed to win a medal.
The two-time world champion lost to Mongolian Nasanburmaa Ochirbat 0-5 in the quarter-finals. In the repechage, she bowed to China's Chen Meng also via fall.
Kazakhstan's Yelena Shalygina beat Ochirbat 5-0 in the final to win the gold. The bronze medals were shared by Chen and South Korean Park Sang-eun.
Iran emerged as the overall winner in the wrestling competition with seven golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The Islamic Republic won four golds in the Greco-Roman discipline and three in the freestyle events. Japan placed second with a 3-3-6 production. Kazakhstan had a 2-2-7 harvest while Mongolia posted a 2-2-2 haul. Uzbekistan (2-1-1), North Korea (1-1-2) and Kyrgyzstan (1-1-1) were the other nations that won golds in the wrestling competition.
Rounding out the medal table were South Korea (0-3-6), host China (0-3-4), Vietnam (0-1-0), India (0-0-3), Iraq (0-0-1) and Tajikistan (0-0-1).
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