Yumoto nabs London spot in 55-kg class
ASTANA--The Yumotos are halfway to becoming the first twins to make a Japanese Olympic wrestling team together.
Shinichi Yumoto, overcoming a right groin injury, clinched a place in the men's freestyle 55-kilogram division at the London Games on Friday by placing second at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament here.
Also securing a ticket to London was Sosuke Takatani, who finished second in the 74-kilogram class.
The top two finishers in the Kazakh capital earn spots for their countries at the London Games.
Yumoto's twin brother, Kenichi, secured an Olympic spot for Japan at 60 kilograms by placing third at last year's world championships, but must win a four-man domestic playoff April 7 to fill the berth himself.
"It's been my goal since I was little to make the Olympics," said Shinichi Yumoto, who along with Takatani qualified for his first Olympics.
Atsushi Matsumoto failed to qualify after losing in the semifinals at 84 kilograms, while Takao Isokawa (96 kilograms) lost his first-round match.
Both could have two more chances to make it to London through general global qualifying tournaments.
Japan will have at least four wrestlers in the freestyle competition, one more than at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. World silver medalist Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu has already qualified at 66 kilograms.
Yumoto's toughest test Friday came in the first round, when he needed overtime to win both of the first two periods and get past South Korea's Lee Woo Ju.
After topping Tajikistan's Nikolay Noev, he secured his Olympic spot with a semifinal win over Mongolia's Tsogtbaatar Damdinbazar. With nothing at stake, he defaulted in the final against India's Amit Kumar.
Takatani, who won his first national title last December, scored a victory by fall over South Korea's Lee Yun Seok, then advanced to the final with a close 2-1 win over Mongolia's Gombodorj Dorvvaanchig. He lost 2-1 in the final to Uzbekistan's Rashid Kurbanov.
Shinichi Yumoto, overcoming a right groin injury, clinched a place in the men's freestyle 55-kilogram division at the London Games on Friday by placing second at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament here.
Also securing a ticket to London was Sosuke Takatani, who finished second in the 74-kilogram class.
The top two finishers in the Kazakh capital earn spots for their countries at the London Games.
Yumoto's twin brother, Kenichi, secured an Olympic spot for Japan at 60 kilograms by placing third at last year's world championships, but must win a four-man domestic playoff April 7 to fill the berth himself.
"It's been my goal since I was little to make the Olympics," said Shinichi Yumoto, who along with Takatani qualified for his first Olympics.
Atsushi Matsumoto failed to qualify after losing in the semifinals at 84 kilograms, while Takao Isokawa (96 kilograms) lost his first-round match.
Both could have two more chances to make it to London through general global qualifying tournaments.
Japan will have at least four wrestlers in the freestyle competition, one more than at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. World silver medalist Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu has already qualified at 66 kilograms.
Yumoto's toughest test Friday came in the first round, when he needed overtime to win both of the first two periods and get past South Korea's Lee Woo Ju.
After topping Tajikistan's Nikolay Noev, he secured his Olympic spot with a semifinal win over Mongolia's Tsogtbaatar Damdinbazar. With nothing at stake, he defaulted in the final against India's Amit Kumar.
Takatani, who won his first national title last December, scored a victory by fall over South Korea's Lee Yun Seok, then advanced to the final with a close 2-1 win over Mongolia's Gombodorj Dorvvaanchig. He lost 2-1 in the final to Uzbekistan's Rashid Kurbanov.
(Apr. 1, 2012)
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