Japan’s Ken Matsui won the men’s 55-kilogram Greco-Roman title Friday at the wrestling world championships, outpointing reigning European champion Emin Sefershaev of Russia 7-1 in the final.
With his victory in the non-Olympic weight division, world championship debutant Matsui claimed Japan’s fifth gold medal of the tournament in Oslo.
He also became the country’s youngest-ever Greco-Roman world champion at 20 years and eight months, according to the Japan Wrestling Federation.
“I wasn’t expecting to win, so I’m really surprised. I was facing a superior opponent in the final, so I decided to show all my skills and not have any regrets,” Matsui said.
In the men’s 60-kg Greco-Roman division, Japan’s Ayata Suzuki saw his title bid end in a quarterfinal loss to Azerbaijan’s Murad Mammadov.
Japan’s Yuta Nara and Arata Sonoda bowed out in opening-round matches of the men’s 97-kg and 130-kg Greco-Roman, respectively.
The Japanese team for the Oct. 2-10 championships in Norway does not include any members of the Tokyo Olympic squad.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
KEYWORDS
wrestling, Ken Matsui