Takuto Otoguro at the 2018 World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)As of today, we under 50 days from the start of wrestling at the Olympic Games. Over the next 50 days, we'll bring you one profile per day of a decorated international contender. Make sure you get to know the wrestlers that Team USA will compete against in Tokyo.
6/16/21 - Elizbar Odikadze (Georgia)
6/15/21 - Koumba Larroque (France)
6/14/21 - Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan)
6/13/21 - Ningning Rong (China)
6/12/21 - Bajrang Punia (India)
6/11/21 - Frank Staebler (Germany)
6/10/21 - Geno Petriashvili (Georgia)
A historical run to world gold in 2018 at only 19 years old outscoring a loaded 65 KG field by the score of 67-23 put #5 Takuto Otoguro of Japan on the shortlist of favorites to win Olympic gold in Tokyo. The Japanese sensation was heralded as the second coming of two-time World/Olympic champion Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu (JPN), but in a field with the parity of 65 KG, something had to give. While he qualified for Tokyo via a fifth-place finish at the 2019 World Championships, Otoguro's star status from the year prior was put in question. But with 65 as deep as it's ever been, will Takuto Otoguro bring home gold? We'll look at that and more in today's Olympic profile of 2018 world champion Takuto Otoguro (JPN).
The Stats
#5 Takuto Otoguro (JPN)- 2015 54 KG Cadet world champion, 2018 world champ, 2019 world fifth, 2019 All Japan championships gold, Two-time Asian champion ('20, '21).
Key Wins: Akhmed Chakaev (2018 world semis), Bajrang Punia (2018 world finals, 2020 Asian championships finals), Rei Higuchi (2019 Japanese world team wrestle-off, 2018 All Japan championships, 2017 All-Japan championships), Logan Stieber (2018 world cup), Daichi Takatani (2018 All-Japan championships), #6 Haji Aliyev (2019 world championships), #2 Vazgen Tevanyan (2019 world championships), Daulet Niyazbekov (2020 Asian championships)
Key Losses: #14 (57) Rei Higuchi (2019 All Japan championships finals), #1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (2019 world championships), #4 Ismail Musukaev (2019 world championships bronze medal match)
2013-2021
Takuto Otoguro would make his international debut in 2013, taking bronze at the 46 KG Cadet World Championships and he wouldn't return until mid-2014 when he would move up to 50 KG and take gold at the Cadet Asian championships.
Otoguro would move up another weight class in 2015 to 54 KG and be completely transformed, bulldozing his way through the competition by a score of 38-6 and beating #1 (61) Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) for gold. But after such a brilliant showing, Otoguro completely went off the map.
While he did have a big win at the 2017 All-Japan championships over Olympic silver medalist #14 (57) Rei Higuchi (JPN) and listed as the alternate for the Senior World Championships in Paris behind #6 (57) Yuki Takahashi, Otoguro wouldn't return to the international scene until the 2018 Senior World Cup. Up two weights now at 65 KG, Otoguro would make his Senior-level international debut against a red-hot Logan Stieber (USA), a 2016 61 KG world champion who had just beaten returning 61 KG world champion #6 Haji Aliyev (AZE) in the USA/ Azerbaijan dual meet. Otoguro was absolutely unfazed by Stieber's star power and knocked down the American champion 10-5 showing powerful, heavy hands and lightning-quick reattacks that stifled the four-time NCAA champion.
As one of the hottest commodities in wrestling going into the world championships, Otoguro would still have to win the spot. Standing against him was an old rival in Rei Higuchi, a runner-up at 57 KG in Rio. Otoguro would stymie the shorter Higuchi in a 6-0 win and lock down his spot for Budapest and chance at world gold.
The World Championships in Budapest were absolutely loaded. 9 World/Olympic medalists in the field stood between Otoguro and his first senior world title. And Otoguro absolutely blew through them, outscoring the competition 36-4 through the semifinals. Against Otoguro would be the Russian veteran #12 Akhmed Chakaev, a 2016 World bronze medalist who had gone his own impressive tear through the bracket, beating 2016 57 KG Olympic champion Vladimir Khinchegashvili (GEO) and 2016 61 KG world champion Logan Stieber (USA) for his semifinal berth. Chakaev, a powerhouse with punishing underhooks and crushing counters off his chest wrap against the precision and lightning-quick leg attacks of Otoguro, resulted in one of the best matches of the whole tournament. Chakaev's counters led the match early, but Otoguro powered through and adjusted his finishes to overcome the fading Russian and win the match 15-10, cementing his spot in the world finals at only 19 years old.
The world finals match between Otoguro and Bajrang would be one for the ages. Otoguro rushed out to a dominant 5-0 start with a huge double leg on the edge; Bajrang retaliated back, scoring takedowns off his foot stomp single and over collar tie shuck to close out the period 7-6 with Otoguro leading. The second period would see Otoguro begin to unravel the Bajrang puzzle and take advantage of the Indian's suspect leg defense and pull away on a flat-footed Bajrang for a 16-9 victory and world gold. Standing atop arguably the toughest weight class in the world at only 19 years old, the sky was the limit for Otoguro and even two years out from Tokyo, he was the consensus man to beat. An All-Japan title over Asian championships runner-up Daichi Takatani would conclude Otoguro's poster book year.
A knee injury limited most of Otoguro's 2019 and saw him suffer a stunning tech fall loss to #14 (57) Rei Higuchi in the finals of the Meiji Cup. A rehabilitated Otoguro would face off against Higuchi in a final qualifying bout prior to the World Championships and come out to take the series lead 3-1 and lock down his chance to win another world title.
Beginning his run for his second world title, Otoguro would blank #2 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) 6-0 to make the Round of 16 opposite returning two-time 61 KG world runner-up #1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS). The stocky powerhouse Rashidov used superior defense to fend off Otoguro and picked his spots to stomp out Otoguro's title aspirations with an 8-1 win. With Rashidov making his third consecutive world finals appearance, Otoguro was given a shot at repechage and qualifying Japan for Tokyo. Otoguro would go head-to-head against three-time 61 KG world champion #6 Haji Aliyev (AZE) in the second round of repechage. Proving that his title run from the year was no fluke, Otoguro went to war with Aliyev and came out the victor in an 11-9 brawl that was followed by a workmanlike 6-1 decision over Haji Ali (BRN) to qualify for the bronze medal match. #4 Ismail Musukaev (HUN) waited for Otoguro in the bronze medal match, a two-time Russian Nationals runner-up who had carved out a reputation as an electrifying and exhausted wrestler who blew through the competition and his gas tank in dominant fashion. 2019 would end with an All-Japan championships title over 2017 61 KG U-23 world champion Rinya Nakamura.
A resurgent Otoguro ran over the field at his first Asian championships and in the finals, he left no doubt in his mind who was the better man, decimating Bajrang 10-2 in a rematch of their 2018 world finals match. Returning to competition after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Otoguro won his second Asian championships title this year by forfeit over Bajrang.
Takuto Otoguro is absolutely someone who I see with finals potential in Tokyo. He's clearly shown he's the better man against the likes of Bajrang, #6 Haji Aliyev, and #2 Vazgen Tevanyan and I believe that he can adjust and beat #4 Ismail Musukaev and shouldn't have issues against #7 Ernazar Akhmataliev (KGZ) or Alejandro Valdes Tobier (CUB). While it does seem like something of a cop-out for me to automatically go with the Russian to win the field in #1 Gadzhimurad Rashidov, I do believe that Rashidov's positioning and ability to come up clutch will be what will make him the man to beat in Tokyo, whether Otoguro will be able to do so or not will be one of the biggest questions.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now