World Games 2009 Kaohsiung

[Sasanishiki 57]

Just a quick update to get the ball rolling and so that other fourm members here can add their comments.

Today, Thursday is practice day and the draw will be made this afternoon. We had the weigh in yesterday, which was largely uneventful except perhaps for teh Hungarian lightweight who dropped 6 kils in a short time to make weight (got to love the laxatives). However, I imagine that this would be one of the easier cities in which to cut weight as it is so hot and humid you soon work up a sweat. I have just come back from a 90 minute walk around a couple of the districts and am drenched through.

What to say? There are 16 competitors in each of the men's and women's lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. The first day is for the specific weight calsses and then all 48 men and 48 women compete on the second day for the open weight title. Each continent gets two competitors per division, Chinese Taipei get one in each division and the IFS selects others to make up the 16, covering any vacant positions that the continents haven't been able to fill as well. This means some of the squads are only one or two athletes, while others are quite large. The usual suspeccts are here among a list of 21 countries represented in the sumo contest: (off the top of my head)

Men and women - Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Brazil, Bulgaria

Men only - New Zealand, USA, Egypt, Norway, Estonia

Women only - Germany, Netherlands, India, Hong Kong

The Opening Ceremony of the entire World Games will be held tonight in the impressive Main Stadium. Some of the sumo athletes have decided not to participate because of the time and energy it takes the night before the main events. However, I'm of the opinion that you'r eonly going to get one shot at this, so it might as well be experienced to the full.

Edited July 19, 2009 by Sasanishiki
More countries added

[Washuyama 587]

Men and women - Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, India, Chinese Taipei, Italy

Men only - New Zealand, USA, Egypt, Norway

Women only - Germany, Netherlands, Estonia

What? No Irish Team ;-)

[yamaneko 0]

that is very upsetting. Perhaps i could have gone then as a second competitor since mexico and canada are not sending anyone

[Washuyama 587]

What? No Irish Team (Showing respect...)

Each continent gets two competitors per division

I know... That was my way of rooting for you anyway. Plus isn't Ireland an island? It's not part of any continent, so you should get a special exemption!!

[athelitextreme 6]

that is very upsetting. Perhaps i could have gone then as a second competitor since mexico and canada are not sending anyone

Mexico doesn't have an association or team... or do they??? (Clapping wildly...)

[Kintamayama 40,182]

Trent and Gneiting:

http://www.kmvt.com/sports/50990607.html

[Obamayama 0]

I will be there tomorrow (July 18th) for most of the day. It starts around noonish Taiwan time. I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can (depending on whether or not my seats are good) and at the very least, I'll post a detailed report by Sunday night. This is the least I can do for all the hard work other forum members put in translating, posting pictures, videos, and results from my beloved Ozumo. Thanks everyone!

By the by, anyone in particular I should root for tomorrow?

[Jakusotsu 4,841]

By the by, anyone in particular I should root for tomorrow?

The Estonian girls, please! (Showing respect...)

(a hearty chant of "Esti! Esti!" will do the trick)

Edited July 17, 2009 by Jakusotsu

[Kintamayama 40,182]

Two gold medals for Japan-Heavyweight Himeno? (姫野, scientific and industrial research Usa) and middleweight was won by Ito from Nittaidai who beat Yoshida from Kyushu Electric in an all- Japanese final.

[Sasanishiki 57]

Check out a report of the first day's action here

Impressive win by the Hungarian lightweight, although he sustained a foot injury in the process. I would not be surprised to see him withdraw from the Open competition today. Alan Karaev hurt his heavily taped knee in his last match, so he might be doubtful or at least partially incapacitated. Ekhaterina Keyb, the Russian who took third, was injured in her second to last match and could hardly do sonkyo in the bronze medal match. She was moving OK at breakfast this morning, so we will see.

I'm going to put my neck out and say that the women's open medal winners will be the same as those who won in the heavyweight. The order might be different, but I don't see too much else out there to threaten them (assuming Keyb is competing). In the men's division, I'd expect to see Stoyanov (BUL) and Byamba (MGL) feature, as both were very good yesterday even though they lost twice.

Personally, a disappointing loss in the first round to an Egyptian who then gave Yoshida a good match in the second round. The Egyptian fought well in the repechage, as well. I'm not disappointed to have lost to a better athlete, just wish that I had put up more of a fight. Oh well, there is always the bronze medal winning Mongolian lightweight today :)

For the record, the second American lightweight is Andrew Freund, who got his place by virtue of his placing in a designated qualifying tournament (I don't know which one, only that is what the Americans told me).

Any questions that anyone wants answered? It might be hard to speak to people or wish them luck, etc. as I don't have internet access often and the competition is starting again in 3 hours. However, I can give you my perspective on certain things.

And, Obamayama, root for New Zealand - we need it.

[Jakusotsu 4,841]

Check out a report of the first day's action here

Can't find a list of all participants on that site.

[yamaneko 0]

Yes, i saw that afterwards that andrew had gone. I had thought there was only one lightweight sent by us.

So no american medals this time...oh well.

How did dan do?

Give my regards to the usa team from bradley. Trent, kelly, andrew, dan, doug, i all know and have trained with for years. Kenna i really dont know personally. Tell them I have lost the weight and am down to 190lbs. So next tournament i will be entering lightweight for the first time.

Amazing that 3 years ago dan and i were both middleweights. Dan now is 330lbs, and I'm 190. we went from the same weight, to being 140lbs different. (about the weight of andrew freund. lol)

[Asashosakari 16,698]

Two gold medals for Japan-Heavyweight Himeno? (姫野, scientific and industrial research Usa) and middleweight was won by Ito from Nittaidai who beat Yoshida from Kyushu Electric in an all- Japanese final.

Is Ryo Ito on the Nittaidai staff now? I thought he was a senior last year...

Check out a report of the first day's action here

Can't find a list of all participants on that site.

http://results.worldgames2009.tw/en/Comp.m...e/SU/17-07-2009

Edited July 18, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Jakusotsu 4,841]

http://results.worldgames2009.tw/en/Comp.m...e/SU/17-07-2009

Great - thank you! (I am not worthy...)

[Asashosakari 16,698]

I must admit, I can't really make sense of the competition mode used on Friday...what exactly were the repechage rounds for? I've worked my way through the two lightweight competitions so far, and one of the two women's repechage winners entered the bronze medal match (and one losing semifinalist didn't...?), while for the men it was simply the losing semifinalists fighting for the bronze medal and the repechage winners didn't go on to anything. Huh?

Edit: I guess there were bronze medal qualifying matches between the repechage winners and the semifinal losers that the website fails to list? Otherwise I'm at a complete loss.

Edited July 18, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 16,698]

The women's open division was won by Russian heavyweight winner Anna Zhigalova, again beating Olga Davydko (UKR) in the final. Edyta Wydkowska-Popecka (POL) took the bronze against Yuka Ueta (JPN).

And in the men's open the winner is Byambajav who knocked off last December's All-Japan winner Mutoshi Matsunaga to win it. The bronze medal bout was an all-Japanese affair, won by Takashi Himeno over Masaru Tateno.

Incidentally, the All-Japan final bout saw two rematches here, as Matsunaga and Himeno faced off in the semis both yesterday and today. Himeno took the win yesterday (of course, since he won the heavyweight category), and today Matsunaga prevailed.

Edited July 18, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 16,698]

All medalists:

Women:

Lightweight:

1. Boykova, Alina (UKR)

2. Enkhzaya, Selenge (MGL)

3. Vorobyeva, Nelli (RUS)

Middleweight:

1. Mae, Epp (EST)

2. Pryshchepa, Maryna (UKR)

3. Matsuura, Asano (JPN)

Heavyweight:

1. Zhigalova, Anna (RUS)

2. Davydko, Olga (UKR)

3. Keyb, Ekaterina (RUS)

Open:

1. Zhigalova, Anna (RUS)

2. Davydko, Olga (UKR)

3. Witkowska-Popecka, Edyta (POL)

---

Men:

Lightweight:

1. Bardosi, Sandor (HUN)

2. Mongush, Nachyn (RUS)

3. Rentsendorj, Gantugs (MGL)

Middleweight:

1. Ito, Ryo (JPN)

2. Yoshida, Katsuo (JPN)

3. Iermakov, Kostiantyn (UKR)

Heavyweight:

1. Himeno, Takashi (JPN)

2. Gankhuyag, Naranbat (MGL)

3. Karaev, Alan (RUS)

Open:

1. Ulambayar, Byambajav (MGL)

2. Matsunaga, Mutoshi (JPN)

3. Himeno, Takashi (JPN)

Medal totals:

Japan: 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

Russia: 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze

Ukraine: 1 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze

Mongolia: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Estonia: 1 Gold

Hungary: 1 Gold

Poland: 1 Bronze

[Sasanishiki 57]

I must admit, I can't really make sense of the competition mode used on Friday...what exactly were the repechage rounds for? I've worked my way through the two lightweight competitions so far, and one of the two women's repechage winners entered the bronze medal match (and one losing semifinalist didn't...?), while for the men it was simply the losing semifinalists fighting for the bronze medal and the repechage winners didn't go on to anything. Huh?

Edit: I guess there were bronze medal qualifying matches between the repechage winners and the semifinal losers that the website fails to list? Otherwise I'm at a complete loss.

OK, I'll try to answer this in two ways, as I am not sure quite which way to take your question. Do you mean, how did the repechage work? If so, those athletes who have been beaten by a semi-finalist get a second chance to fight for bronze. The beaten athlete in the first round fights the beaten athlete in the second round and the winner fights the beaten athlete in the next round, etc up until facing the beaten semi-finalist. At a Sumo World Champs there are usually two bronze medal winners, one from either side of the draw. However, at this World Games there was only one bronze on offer, meaning a further match between the two athletes who normally would have been awarded bronze from each side to determine the true bronze winner.

Now, the secopnd way that I read the question was, "Is it worth having a repechage, is it effective and (perhaps an implied meaning of) do people really progress from a defeat in the first or second round to capture a bronze?" Well, the point of the repechage is to make sure that the bronze medalist(s) really are the most deserving of the athletes who have lost once. The repechage means that an athlete who was eliminated by one of the four best athletes according to the draw gets the chance to tst themselves against other athletes in that boat to determine the true consolation medalist(s). Does it work? I'm not going to delve into a statistcal analysis or justify it based on results, except to say that everyone is pretty happy with the current format, especially considering there have been a few worse ones used that seem less fair and are certainly harder for the athletes and spectators to understand.

[Asashosakari 16,698]

OK, I'll try to answer this in two ways, as I am not sure quite which way to take your question. Do you mean, how did the repechage work? If so, those athletes who have been beaten by a semi-finalist get a second chance to fight for bronze. The beaten athlete in the first round fights the beaten athlete in the second round and the winner fights the beaten athlete in the next round, etc up until facing the beaten semi-finalist. At a Sumo World Champs there are usually two bronze medal winners, one from either side of the draw. However, at this World Games there was only one bronze on offer, meaning a further match between the two athletes who normally would have been awarded bronze from each side to determine the true bronze winner.

First off, thanks. (In a state of confusion...) No, I know how repechage systems work, I was just extremely confused because the results website fails to show any of the bouts between the two repechage winners and the semifinal losers (for the weight class tourneys anyhow; they're there for the openweight competition), and thus wasn't sure if that was simply an oversight or if they used some other esoteric system for determining who gets to compete in the bronze medal match.

[Asashosakari 16,698]

Full results, country and age in brackets. No heights and weights available on the site. No kimarite either unfortunately - were any announced in the arena? I've also added the missing final repechage bouts by hand.

Women:

Lightweight:

Baterdene,

[Asashosakari 16,698]

(Yes, the posted heavyweight results say that Dan Kalbfleisch didn't compete and instead Haitham Alsadi fought in two first-round bouts... I'm guessing that's an entry error and the second Alsadi appearance was really Dan's bout.)

Men:

Lightweight:

Bardosi,

Edited July 20, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Asashosakari 16,698]

(Open competitions...I've added the competitors' weight classes in brackets. Among the women the heavyweights pretty much dominated, it seems, while some light- and middleweight men lasted relatively long. Apparently no less than four male fighters didn't show up for the repechage rounds, including Ryo Ito after his first round loss.)

Women Open:

[dns]

Edited July 20, 2009 by Asashosakari

[Sasanishiki 57]

(Yes, the posted heavyweight results say that Dan Kalbfleisch didn't compete and instead Haitham Alsadi fought in two first-round bouts... I'm guessing that's an entry error and the second Alsadi appearance was really Dan's bout.)

Absolutely correct. I have the kimarite for Day 1 but am updating this from Sydney airport on the way home.

[Sasanishiki 57]

(Open competitions...I've added the competitors' weight classes in brackets. Among the women the heavyweights pretty much dominated, it seems, while some light- and middleweight men lasted relatively long. Apparently no less than four male fighters didn't show up for the repechage rounds, including Ryo Ito after his first round loss.)

This was not actually the case as some of those first round wins were fusensho. For example, Karaev pulled out on the morning of the competition. He was thus fusenpai in the first round and should not have been included thereafter in the repechage. The same with Ito. From memory, Kaziev did compete but could not go on. I'm not sure about Saleh.

[Asashosakari 16,698]

(Open competitions...I've added the competitors' weight classes in brackets. Among the women the heavyweights pretty much dominated, it seems, while some light- and middleweight men lasted relatively long. Apparently no less than four male fighters didn't show up for the repechage rounds, including Ryo Ito after his first round loss.)

This was not actually the case as some of those first round wins were fusensho. For example, Karaev pulled out on the morning of the competition. He was thus fusenpai in the first round and should not have been included thereafter in the repechage. The same with Ito. From memory, Kaziev did compete but could not go on. I'm not sure about Saleh.

Thank you for the clarification. That's partially my fault for adding them as [absent] into the repechage rounds because they are listed for the first rounds...there might have been some fixing going on since I originally jotted down the Saturday results, Karaev and Ito are now marked DNS for their first-rounders which I don't recall seeing there before. I'll rework the results above once I've figured out what's what. (Thanks also for the Alsadi/Kalbfleisch confirmation.)