Takuto Otoguro

Takuto Otoguro (乙黒 拓斗, Otoguro Takuto, born December 13, 1998 in Yamanashi Prefecture) is a Japanese freestyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms.^[1] At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Otoguro claimed the gold medal after beating the likes of defending World Champion Gadzhimurad Rashidov and three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev.^[2] A Cadet World Champion, Otoguro first broke into the senior scene when he went undefeated (16–0) in 2018, claiming the World Championship and the National Championship at age 19.^[3][4] He then went on to become a two–time Asian Continental Champion (claiming titles in 2020 and 2021).^[5][6]

Takuto Otoguro
乙黒拓斗

Personal information
Native name	乙黒拓斗
Nationality	Japan
Born	13 December 1998 (1998-12-13) (age 24) Yamanashi Prefecture, Chūbu region, Japan
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Website	Instagram Profile
Sport
Country	Japan
Sport	Wrestling
Weight class	65 kg
Event(s)	Freestyle
Club	JSDF Physical Training School
Achievements and titles
World finals	(2018) 5th(2019)
Regional finals	(2020) (2021)
Olympic finals	(2020)
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  Japan Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo 65 kg World Championships 2018 Budapest 65 kg World Cup 2018 Iowa Team Asian Championships 2021 Almaty 65 kg 2020 New Delhi 65 kg Japan National Championships 2019 Tokyo 65 kg 2018 Tokyo 65 kg All-Japan Invitational Championships 2018 Tokyo 65 kg 2019 Tokyo 65 kg World Cadets Championships 2015 Sarajevo 54 kg 2013 Zrenjanin 46 kg Asian Cadets Championships 2014 Bangkok 50 kg

Career

Early career

Otoguro begun wrestling at a young age. During his junior high school years, he studied and trained at the Elite Academy, which is hosted by the Japanese Olympic Committee.^[7] His first international appearance came at the 2013 Cadet World Championships, where he claimed a bronze medal.^[8] After earning the 2014 Cadet Asian Championship,^[9] Otoguro was unable to medal at the 2014 Cadet World Championship, placing eleventh.^[10] In 2015, Otoguro became a Cadet World Champion.^[11]

Senior level

2018

Otoguro made his senior freestyle debut in April 2018, at the World Cup, where he posted wins over 2016 World Champion and four–time NCAA champion Logan Stieber and India's 2017 Junior Asian Champion Sharvan.^[12][13] Otoguro then comfortably claimed the All–Japan Invitational crown with a flawless 6–0 win in the finals against 2016 Olympic Silver medalist Rei Higuchi, qualifying him for the JPN World Team Trials.^[14] At the WTT, he faced '2018 Asian Championship runner–up Daichi Takatani, whom he was able to flawlessly drive to a technical fall in under two minutes to claim the spot.^[15]

At the World Championships, Otaguro made his way to the semifinals with three technical falls, including one over the accomplished veteran Vasyl Shuptar. In the semis, he had a 25–point score match against Russian National champion Akhmed Chakaev, whom he was able to edge 15–10 to make the finals. In the finals, he had another 25–point score match, now against 2018 Asian Games Gold medalist Bajrang Punia, whom he defeated 16–9 to claim the World Championship at 65 kilograms.^[16][17] In doing so, Otaguro became the youngest Japanese wrestler to ever win a world title at the age of 19.^[18] He then wasted no time and became Japan's National Champion with wins over the accomplished Rei Higuchi and '18 Asian Games Silver medalist Daichi Takatani (by technical fall), being named the Outstanding Wrestler.^[19] After his championship performance through 2018, Otaguro was named one of the Breakout Performers of the Year and his match with Punia was named the Match of the Year by United World Wrestling.^[20][21]

2019

Otoguro was not able to compete at the Asian Championships nor the World Cup due to a knee injury and was able to practice again a month before the All-Japan Invitational Championships.^[22] At the tournament, limited preparation seemed to affect Otoguro, who lost by technical fall to Rei Higuchi in his first career loss as a senior.^[23] As the '18 Japan National champion, Otoguro rematched Higuchi at the WTT, and was able to defeat him to earn the spot.^[24]

At the World Championships, the returning champion got through the first round with a comfortable 6–0 score, but was then soundly defeated by two–time World Championship runner-up and eventual winner of the championship Gadzhimurad Rashidov with a score of 1–8.^[25] As the Russian kept advancing, Otoguro was able to go through repechage, where he had a 20–point score battle against three–time World and European Champion Haji Aliyev, whom he edged 11–9, and a 6–1 victory over Haji Mohamad Ali to make it to the third-place match. In the bronze-medal match, he was defeated by 2018 Russian National runner–up Ismail Musukaev to place fifth.^[26] Otoguro then became a two–time Japan National Champion and Olympian on December, with a victory over 2017 U23 World champion Rinya Nakamura in the finals.^[27]

2020

Otoguro came back in big fashion on February, when he claimed the Asian Continental Championship while posting notable and dominant victories over 2019 World Championship runner-up and three–time Asian Champion Daulet Niyazbekov (10–3) and the accomplished veteran Bajrang Punia in a rematch (10–2).^[28]

Otoguro was scheduled to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics on August,^[29] however, the Olympic Games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and are now expected to take place on August 1–7, 2021.^[30]

2021

After a full year of no competition due to the pandemic, Otoguro competed at the 2021 Asian Championships in April 17–18.^[31] To make the finals, he dominated 2019 Junior Asian Continental runner–up Nodir Rakhimov to a technical fall and defeated Morteza Ghiasi.^[32] In the finals, he was set up to face rival Bajrang Punia, but Punia pulled out of the match due to an elbow injury, resulting in Otoguro claiming his second gold medal from the Asian continental championships.^[6]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, an unseeded Otoguro debuted against former U23 Asian Champion, Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga, and defeated the Mongolian by a 6–3 score;^[33] in the quarter-final, Otoguro would then face Ismail Musukaev, who defeated Otoguro at the 2019 World Championships for a bronze medal. Otoguro would exact revenge, and defeated Musukaev by 4–1, thus advancing Otoguro into the semi-final - against Gadzhimurad Rashidov, another former opponent from 2019. After a competitive six minutes, Otoguro, again, exacted revenge and defeated the 2019 World Champion, by 3–2,^[34] gaining entry to the final - opposite Azerbaijan's Haji Aliyev.^[35] Against another one of his former 2019 World Championship opponents, Otoguro defeated the former Olympic Bronze medalist,^[36] and three-time World Champion, Aliyev by 5–4 in the final,^[37] to gain his first ever Olympic medal, and took first place on the podium.^[38]

Personal life

Takuto has a brother named Keisuke Otoguro, who is also a world-class wrestler.^[39]

Freestyle record

Senior freestyle matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2020 Summer Olympics   at 65 kg
Win	36–3	Haji Aliyev	5–4	August 6–7, 2021	2020 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan
Win	35–3	Gadzhimurad Rashidov	3–2
Win	34–3	Iszmail Muszukajev	4–1
Win	33–3	Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga	6–3
2021 Asian Championships   at 65 kg
Win		Bajrang Punia	INJ	April 17–18, 2021	2021 Asian Continental Championships	Almaty, Kazakhstan
Win	32–3	Morteza Ghiasi	8–2
Win	31–3	Nodir Rakhimov	TF 13–0
2020 Asian Championships   at 65 kg
Win	30–3	Bajrang Punia	10–2	February 18–23, 2020	2020 Asian Continental Championships	New Delhi, India
Win	29–3	Nyamdorj Battulga	TF 11–1
Win	28–3	Daulet Niyazbekov	10–3
Win	27–3	Mohammed Al Jawad Zuhair Kareem	TF 10–0
2019 Japan Nationals   at 65 kg
Win	26–3	Rinya Nakamura	TF 10–0	December 19, 2019	2019 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	25–3	Ryoma Anraku	8–1
Win	24–3	Shoya Shimae	6–1
Win	23–3	Yasuki Tsutsumi	5–2
2019 World Championships 5th at 65 kg
Loss	22–3	Iszmail Muszukajev	3–5	September 19–20, 2019	2019 World Championships	Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Win	22–2	Haji Mohamad Ali	6–1
Win	21–2	Haji Aliyev	11–9
Loss	20–2	Gadzhimurad Rashidov	1–8
Win	20–1	Vazgen Tevanyan	6–0
2019 JPN World Team Trials   at 65 kg
Win	19–1	Rei Higuchi	PP	July 6, 2019	2019 Japan Play-offs	Wakō, Saitama
2019 Meiji Cup   at 65 kg
Loss	18–1	Rei Higuchi	TF 5–15	June 17, 2019	2019 All–Japan Invitational Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	18–0	Yujiro Ueno	TF 10–0
Win	17–0	Kouki Shimizu	3–0
2018 Japan Nationals   at 65 kg
Win	16–0	Daichi Takatani	TF 10–0	December 20, 2018	2018 Japanese National Championships	Tokyo, Japan
Win	15–0	Rei Higuchi	8–3
Win	14–0	Rinya Nakamura	TF 10–0
Win	13–0	Hirotaka Abe	TF 14–3
2018 World Championships   at 65 kg
Win	12–0	Bajrang Punia	16–9	October 21–22, 2018	2018 World Championships	Budapest, Hungary
Win	11–0	Akhmed Chakaev	15–10
Win	10–0	Andrei Prepeliţă	TF 12–2
Win	9–0	Vasyl Shuptar	TF 11–0
Win	8–0	George Bucur	TF 13–2
2018 JPN World Team Trials   at 65 kg
Win	7–0	Daichi Takatani	TF 11–0	July 7, 2018	2018 Japan Play-offs	Wakō, Saitama
2018 Meiji Cup   at 65 kg
Win	6–0	Rei Higuchi	6–0	June 15, 2018	2018 Meiji Cup	Tokyo, Japan
Win	5–0	Koki Shimizu	TF 10–0
Win	4–0	Shoya Shimae	TF 11–0
Win	3–0	Ryoma Anraku	4–0
2018 World Cup   for Team JPN at 65 kg
Win	2–0	Sharvan Sharvan	TF 10–0	April 7–8, 2018	2018 World Cup	Iowa City, Iowa
Win	1–0	Logan Stieber	10–5

References

1. "Freestyle wrestling - Takuto Otoguro (Japan)". www.the-sports.org. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
2. "Japan's Takuto Otoguro and Yui Susaki each grab gold in freestyle wrestling". The Japan Times. 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
3. Eric. "Japan, U.S. Derail Russian Rout in Cadet World Championships Freestyle". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
4. Gallo, Ed (2020-03-06). "Wrestling breakdown: 2018 World champion Takuto Otoguro rebounds with Asian Championship gold". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
5. "Otoguro Takuto beats Bajrang Punia at Asian Championships final". Olympic Channel. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
6. "Ravi retains Asian title, Bajrang settles for silver after withdrawing from final due to injury". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
7. "乙黒拓斗Ｖ「申し訳ないけど、うれしい」／一問一答 - スポーツ : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-10-23.
8. "Russia upends Azerbaijan, Iran to win Cadet Freestyle title". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
9. "OTOGURO WINS GOLD FOR JAPAN ON FINAL DAY OF ASIA CADET C'SHIPS". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
10. "Spencer Lee Wins Cadet World Freestyle Championship". PA Power Wrestling. 2014-07-19. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
11. Eric. "Japan, U.S. Derail Russian Rout in Cadet World Championships Freestyle". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
12. "Team USA Up 2-0 After Day One of Men's Freestyle World Cup; Kyle Snyder and Logan Stieber Go 3-1". Eleven Warriors. 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
13. Steen, Alex (2018-04-08). "2018 MFS World Cup: Full Results Through Session III". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
14. "Meiji Cup: Susaki gains revenge, 50kg title; Takahashi, Kawai sisters bound for Budapest". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
15. "Susaki, Fujinami earn tickets to world championships". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
16. "World Wrestling: Bajrang settles for Silver after losing final to Takuto Otoguro". Sportstarlive. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
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18. "Takuto Otoguro advances to final at worlds". The Japan Times Online. 2018-10-22. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
19. "Icho scores dramatic win over Kawai for 57kg gold; Otoguro lands 1st natl title, Emperor's Cup". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
20. "Otoguro, Azizli, and Rong Appointed Breakout Performers of the Year | United World Wrestling". unitedworldwrestling.org. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
21. Eric. "Gray and Adar, Otoguro and Punia Among Match of the Year Award Winners". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
22. Eric. "Emboldened Kawai knocks off Icho as Susaki shines again, Otoguro dealt stunning loss". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
23. "Meiji Cup: Kawai avenges loss to Icho to set up rematch for world team berth; Susaki, Otoguro take divergent paths to playoffs". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
24. "RESULT: Risako Kawai beat Kaori Icho and World champion Yui Susaki lost". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-19.
25. "Wrestling World Championships: World champion Otoguro defeated, Tevanyan loses opportunity of consolation match | NEWS.am Sport - All about sports". sport.news.am. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
26. "Tynybekova earns first ever world wrestling gold for Kyrgyzstan". www.insidethegames.biz. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
27. "Otoguro nails down Tokyo 2020 spot with All-Japan win; Susaki heads to Asian qualifier". Japan Wrestling Federation (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-20.
28. Gallo, Ed (2020-03-06). "Wrestling breakdown: 2018 World champion Takuto Otoguro rebounds with Asian Championship gold". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
29. Anonym. "Takuto Otoguro decides Tokyo Olympics Wrestling All Japan Championship | tellerreport.com". www.tellerreport.com. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
30. "Tokyo Olympics officially postponed until 2021". ESPN.com. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
31. "Bajrang Punia Sets Up Asian Wrestling Final Against Nemesis Takuto Otoguro, Ravi Kumar Dahiya Too Advances". www.outlookindia.com/. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
32. "Bajrang Punia sets up Asian final against nemesis Takuto Otoguro, Ravi Kumar too advances | More sports News - Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. Apr 17, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
33. "Olympic Wrestling Results". Federal News Network. 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
34. "Wrestling-Japan's Susaki storms into final, Sadulaev v Snyder for gold". Reuters. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
35. "Wrestler Mayu Mukaida wins Olympic gold in women's 53 kg". The Japan Times. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
36. "Olympics: Japan's Takuto Otoguro wins 65 kg freestyle wrestling gold". Mainichi Daily News. 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
37. "OLYMPICS/ Takuto Otoguro, Yui Susaki claim freestyle wrestling gold | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
38. "Japan's Takuto Otoguro and Yui Susaki each grab gold in freestyle wrestling". The Japan Times. 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
39. "Bajrang Punia's nemesis Takuto Otoguro's brother also qualifies for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Wrestling TV. March 9, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

• Takuto Otoguro at International Wrestling Database 
• Takuto Otoguro at Olympedia