Games-Olympic champion Kusaka wins Paris rematch but fades in final

NAGOYA, Japan, Oct 1 : Olympic champion Nao Kusaka produced one stirring comeback on Thursday but could not conjure another, as the home favourite settled for silver in the men's Greco-Roman 77kg wrestling at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Two years after beating Demeu Zhadrayev for Olympic gold in Paris, Kusaka faced the Kazakh again in the quarter-finals at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Center.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, competitors can attack only with their upper bodies and arms and are not allowed to hold below the waist.

Zhadrayev led 9-4 and looked poised for revenge until Kusaka, roared on by a loud home crowd, fought back to win 11-9.

Kusaka scored two step-outs and two exposures to go 10-9 ahead. Zhadrayev challenged the final exposure call and lost, which gave Kusaka one more point and ended a gripping bout.

Kusaka again fell behind in the final against Iran’s Alireza Abdevali after giving away two early points. This time he could not recover, and his desperate push in the second period could not prevent a 5-2 defeat.

"I was focusing on the match but conceding unnecessary early points completely disrupted my rhythm," the 25-year-old said.

"I believed that winning this tournament would prove my true strength, and I prepared for the tournament with that in mind.

"However, I lacked the inner strength to push through such a hard match, and I failed to maintain my focus all the way to the final. I was simply weak."

Japan, a traditional wrestling powerhouse, still had gold to celebrate after Yuri Nakazato defeated India’s Nitesh Siwach 4-0 in the men’s Greco-Roman 97kg final.

"It feels so strange. To be honest, I never imagined I could win the gold," said Nakazato, who hobbled onto the podium after injuring his leg.

"Looking at the bracket, there were top-tier athletes from Kazakhstan and Iran, and I've been beaten in about 40 seconds at this year's Asian championships.

"I just wanted to win a medal and show my best performance for everyone supporting me, and that came true."

Nonoka Ozaki also won a gold for the hosts, beating North Korea’s Kim Ok Ju 3-0 in the women's freestyle 62kg final.