On the second day of the All Japan Championship, which decides Japan's number one wrestling champion, Risako Kinjo, who won the gold medal in two consecutive Olympics, took on the challenge for the first time after giving birth to Risako Kawai, and won her fourth victory for the first time in five years. I was.
The All Japan Wrestling Championships, which began on the 22nd at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo, was held on the second day of the tournament, with a total of 17 weight classes for both men and women.
Of these, Kinjo, who won the gold medal for the second consecutive time at the Tokyo Olympics last year, participated in the women's 59 kg class, which is not an Olympic class.
Kinjo, 28, gave birth to her first child, a girl, in May this year, and returned to competition in October, aiming for the Paris Olympics. I went up one rank and came.
In her first match, in the quarterfinals, she faced Natsuki Yamaguchi, a first-year student at Shigakukan University, who was a junior at her university.
I won the semi-finals that followed, and in the finals I faced Yui Sakano, who was 3rd in the 62kg class last year.
The match ended with a one-point lead, but in the final stages of the match, they used skillful moves to take the back of their opponents, gaining more points and winning 4-1, winning their fourth title for the first time in five years since 2017. I did it.
In the women's 50-kilogram class, Yui Suzaki, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Remina Yoshimoto, who won the tournament last year, will advance to the finals on the 24th.
Kinjo: "I'm the only one who can give birth and aim for the Olympics"
Risako Kinjo, who won the women's 59-kilogram class, said, "I'm really happy that my last name has changed and I'm fighting under the name of Kinjo, and I have a daughter. I'm getting married, giving birth, and raising a child. The number of people who helped me increased. During the match, I really felt that various people were on the mat," he said with joy.
She is expected to move her weight back to the 57-kilogram weight class that won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the future. She said that she is determined to compete in the Paris Olympics.
On the other hand, regarding her smooth return to sports after childbirth, she said, "I just happened to be doing well, and I think there are various problems, such as women not being able to return to work after going on maternity leave. But I want it to be the wind to do better," he said.