Asian Games 2026: Taizo Yoshida of Japan won gold medal at 87kg in Greco-Roman on day one of the wrestling competition in Aichi-Nagoya.
NAGOYA, Japan (September 30) -- Taizo YOSHIDA (JPN) thunderous performance earned Japan its first wrestling gold medal of the 20th Asian Games at the Inae Sports Center on Wednesday.
Yoshida, who recently became Japan's first-ever U20 world champion in Greco-Roman, handed Asian champion Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) an 11-1 defeat in the 87kg final.
The two-time age-group world champion posted his third technical superiority win of the day. He began with two four-point throws against Callum ROBERTS (PHI) for a 11-0 win before handing Sunil KUMAR (IND) an 11-0 defeat in the semifinal.
In the other side of the bracket, Zhanyshov defeated Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ) in the semifinal and began will against Yoshida but the Japanese increased the pressure on the Kyrgyzstan wrestler. Yoshida relentless attacks tired Zhanyshov out and the last pushout from Yoshida turned out to be a four-pointer.
"I strongly felt that if I just execute what I need to do, I can win," Yoshida said. "Up until now, my victories were in the 82kg category, which isn’t a major competition weight class. So I used to think, maybe this isn’t my true ability."
Yoshida, a 2023 U17 world champion, was the Asian champion at 82kg in 2024 before winning a senior world bronze medal at 82kg last year. Last month, he won the U20 world gold in Bratislava, Slovakia.
“But the crowd’s support didn’t let me compromise at all. It was the absolute best support. I was able to score consistently from standing and felt that my standing techniques, which I already thought were a good weapon, turned into a proven weapon that works even in the 87kg category," he said.
Yoshida will now try to win the senior world title in Astana, where the World Championships will begin from October 24. But the Nippon Sports Science University graduate was not fixated on the gold medal.
“As for the World Championships, you could say it’s a tournament where winning isn’t the absolute priority, but since I won here, opponents will definitely mark me and prepare harder," he said. "I want to fight with the mindset of overcoming opponents who have scouted and prepared for me, because that experience will directly connect to the Olympics."
Japan had another chance to win gold in Greco-Roman after Kotaro SOGABE (JPN) made it to the 67kg final. However, world champion at 63kg Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) eked out a tough 3-2 win.
Sogabe had lost to Khalmakhanov earlier this year at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series but kept it close in Nagoya.
Khalmakhanov scored exposure points from par terre to lead 3-0 against Sogabe who scored only two points in the second period, handing the Uzbekistan wrestler the victory.
At 130kg, defending champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) was the favorite coming into the Games and he managed to defend his gold medal after beating Rafael TSITSUASHVILI (UZB) 3-1, thanks to a gut-wrench for two points.
"This medal is very important because it’s my second time [winning] at the Asian Games and I am still happy to get a gold medal," Mirzazadeh said. "There were hard days but I am proud to get the medal for Iran."
The world champion had to work hard for a 1-1 criteria win over Lingzhe MENG (CHN) in the semifinals, in what was a rematch of the 2022 Asian Games final. But he recovered to clinch the final.
“He is an Olympic medallist and of course we fight at the same level, and I tried to be better than him," he said.
In the one Women's Wrestling weight category in action, world champion Ami ISHII (JPN) showed that she is the best at 68kg as she triumphed 7-2 over Sol Gum PAK (PRK) in the final.