News Page
Gary Abbott USA
Wrestling
09/11/2007
The superstar in
this division has been Japan’s Hitomi Sakamoto, who has won the World
Championships at this weight the last two years and was also a World champion in
2001. She has dominated the opponents in recent seasons. Japan also won the
World title here in 2003 with Chiharu Icho, who has since dropped to 48 kg and
won a World title there. Sakamoto did not compete at the Asian Championships or
World Cup this year, but remains Japan’s top star in this
division.
Winning the 2006 World silver medal was veteran Canadian star
Lindsay Belisle, who had her career best performance last year in China by.
However, the Canadian entry this year will be veteran Erica Sharp, who was
second at the 1999 World Championships, and most recently fifth at the 2005
World Championships. She has been at six previous World Championships, going
back to 1993, one of the most experienced athletes in the field.
Patricia
Miranda of the United States won a bronze medal here in 2006, her first year
back from a short retirement after winning a 2004 Olympic bronze medal at 48 kg.
Miranda also won two other World silver medals. Miranda has finished law school
and is training full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center once again, with
the goal of returning to the Olympics and winning a gold medal.
The
other 2006 World bronze medalist was Russia’s young Alena Adashinskaya, who also
wrestled at the World Cup this year. Russia has many of options at this weight
class, including 2007 European champion Zamira Rahmanova, who was also second at
the 2007 World Cup. Rakhmanova is listed as the Russian entry on FILA’s website,
but Olga Gileva and Irina Kisel are also on their preliminary list, neither who
have substantial international experience.
China lists Xueceng Ren as
its entry at 51 kg, even though she was the 2005 World champion and 2006 World
silver medalist down at 48 kg. Ren has had some success at this weight class,
and will be a medal contender here if she is the entry. Other options for China
include 2005 World bronze medalist Juling Wen of China, plus Rong Lio, who was
third in the Asian Championships this year and Li Xioa, the 2007 Junior World
bronze medalist.
Oleksandra Kohut of Ukraine has placed fifth in the
World Championships the last two years in this weight class and seeks to break
through with a medal. Kohut was third at the Junior World Championships in
Beijing, China this year, and also fifth at the European Championships. She also
won a Junior World title back in 2005, and has considerable experience even
though she is just 20 years old. Kohut has made 48 kg in the past, but with
Olympic champion Irini Merlini back at that class, she is expected to stay up at
51 kg.
There were some new names in the results at the European
Championships, athletes that will seek to make a name for themselves at the
World level this year. Estera Dobre of Romania captured the silver medal, and
the bronze medals went to Maria del Mar Serrano Barcelo of Spain and Emese Barka
of Hungary. All are young and none of them have won a Senior-level World medal,
so there are questions if they will be a factor in Baku.
There are other
talents from the European nations who could be medal contenders. Vanessa
Boubryemm of France placed second at the 2005 World Championships and was a 2006
European champion. Boubryemm is listed as dropping to 48 kg this year, with Anne
Catherine Deluntch as the French entry at 51 kg.
Alexandra Englehart of
Germany was second in the 2006 European Championships and has competed in two
previous World Championships. Alena Kareisha of Belarus was fourth at the 2003
World Championships, but is listed as an alternate behind Tatsiana Hryhoryeva on
the FILA list.
The 2007 Asian champion is Jyldyz Eshimova-Turtbayeva of
Kazakhstan, who was eighth at the Junior World Championships this year. Park
Yeon Jim of Korea, an Asian bronze medalist this year, placed seventh in the
World Championships last year. Dinara Mirzaeva of Uzbekistan, eighth in last
year’s World Championships, did not compete at the Asian Championships this
year, but is a past Asian silver medalist. Babita Kumari of India was second at
the 2007 Junior World Championships.
The African champion this year was
Isabelle Sambou of Senegal. Winning the 2007 Pan American Championships was
Maria Sarmiento of Venezuela (this division was not included in the Pan American
Games).
Japan has won this weight class four of the last five times,
with just the 2002 World title going to Sofia Poumbouridou of Greece, who is now
competing up at 55 kg. There are a number of athletes who have won past World
medals and continental titles, all seeking to be the one who beats Hitomi
Sakamoto and loosens the Japanese stranglehold on the division.
RECENT WORLD AND OLYMPIC RESULTS
2006 World
Championships
51 kg./112.25 lbs. - Gold - Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan); Silver
- Lindsay Belisle (Canada); Bronze - Patricia Miranda (United States); Bronze -
Alena Adashinskaya (Russia); 5th - Okeksandra Kohut (Ukraine); 5th - Brigitte
Wagner (Germany); 7th - Park Yeon Jim (Korea); 8th - Dina Mirzaeva (Uzbekistan);
9th - Liao Dong Hua (China); 10th - Maria del Mar Serrano (Spain)
2005
World Championships
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Gold - Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan);
Silver - Vanessa Boubryemm (France); Bronze - Tsogtbaz Enkhjargal (Mongolia);
Bronze - Juling Wen (China); 5th - Aleksandra Kohut (Ukraine); 5th - Erica Sharp
(Canada); 7th - Stephanie Murata (USA); 8th - Dinara Mirzaeva (Uzbekistan); 9th
- Natalya Smirnova (Russia); 10th - Nurzat Shaylobaeva (Kyrgyzstan)
2004
– Olympic Year - No World Championships at this non-Olympic
weight
2003 World Championship
51 kg/112.25 lbs. - Gold –
Chiharu Icho (Japan) dec. Natalia Karamchakova (Russia), 3-0; Bronze – Jenny
Wong (United States) dec. Alena Kareisha (Belarus), 3-2, ot, 6:02; 5th – Wen
Juling (China); 6th – Anne Catherine Deluntsch (France); 7th – Elzbieta Stryczek
(Poland); 8th – Mersini Koloni (Greece); 9th – Nadine Tokar (Switzerland); 10th
– Alexandra Demmel (Germany)
2002 World Championships
51
kg/112.25 lbs. - 1st - Sofia Poumbouridou (Greece) dec. Chiharu Icho (Japan),
3-0, ot; 3rd - Natalia Golts (Russia) dec. Lyndsay Belisle (Canada), 3-0; 5th -
Viktorya Brandush (Ukraine); 6th - M.Ugrun Percin (Turkey); 7th - Wen Juling
(China); 8th - M. Magdelena Arellano (Mexico); 9th - Alena Kareisha (Belarus);
10th - Stephanie Murata (USA)
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Principal Correspondent 9/11/07
NEW DELHI: Anil Kumar Mann, the best grappler in the Commonwealth Games, is
the notable omission from the Indian team that is getting ready to fly to Baku
for the World wrestling championship that begins there on September 17.
At the Commonwealth championship in Ontario (Canada) in June, Mann struck two
gold medals, in both freestyle and Greco-Roman in the 96kg class, but at the
trials conducted in NIS, Patiala, he failed to make the grade. The 21-member
team is currently training in Patiala and will leave for Baku on Saturday after
the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) secured necessary Government sanction
for the tour.
“The Sports Ministry has given its approval for the World championship tour,
but still a major part of the expenditure will have to be borne by us,” the WFI
President, G.S. Mandher, said.Palwinder Singh Cheema has made a return and will
spearhead the Indian challenge. After winning the bronze at the 2002 Busan Asian
Games, Cheema has been struggling to find form at international stage.
This is the right time for Cheema to prove himself as the top eight finishers
in each weight category will get a ticket to Beijing Olympics.
The World championship is the first Olympic qualifying tournament and offers
the most spots for Beijing.
The grapplers will have three more Olympic qualifiers early next year besides
the Asian championship to make it to the 2008 Olympics.
In the women’s section, though all seven weight categories will be
represented, wrestlers in only four weight classes will get Olympic berths.
In Olympics, women’s wrestling competition is conducted in only four weight
categories, 48kg, 55kg, 63kg and 72kg.
The team:
Women: Nirmal (48kg), Babita (51kg), Alka Tomar (55kg), Kamlesh
(59kg), Geetika Jakhar (63kg), Suman Kundu (67kg), Minakshi (72kg).
Coaches: S.R. Sangha and Ramani Chanu.