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WRESTLER SASAMOTO SO NEAR, YET SO FAR
Ken Marantz
The Daily Yomiuri
Aug 13, 2008
Japan
After the long years of living with a loss that should never have been
and the countless hours of preparing for the moment, how cruel that
four seconds out of Makoto Sasamoto's life could have such an impact.
Sasamoto was four seconds from winning his second-round match at
the Beijing Olympics before victory was snatched from his hands and,
a short time later, his dreams of an elusive medal ended as well.
Sasamoto, Japan's top hope for a men's wrestling medal, was dealt a
heartbreaking 2-1 (0-4, 2-0, 2-0) loss by two-time Olympic champion
Armen Nazarian in the Greco-Roman 60-kilogram class Tuesday at the
Beijing Agricultural University Gymnasium.
While that loss erased Sasamoto's hopes of a gold medal, any chance
of leaving Beijing with even a bronze ended when Nazarian lost his
quarterfinal match to Azerbaijan's Vitaliy Rahimov, a loss that kept
the Japanese out of the repechage round that leads to the bronze-medal
playoffs.
"I wanted to win a medal, and to lose in the second round leaves me
with nothing but regrets," the 30-year-old Sasamoto said.
After outclassing Nazarian in the first period, turning him over twice
with surprising ease, Sasamoto only had to resist being turned over
in the final 30-second down position of the second period to win the
period and the match.
Nazarian pressed and pressed and, with the clock ticking down to the
single digits, finally broke down Sasamoto's resistance, lifting him up
and tossing him for two points to send the match to the third period.
In the final frame, it was Sasamoto who was on top at the end and
needing to somehow turn Nazarian to win the match. He came close as
he strained with all his might. But the Bulgarian held out to clinch
the win.
"I was in good shape," Sasamoto said. "At the end, it was a matter
of who could hold out more."
As the 2007 world silver medalist, Sasamoto had come to Beijing aiming
to become Japan's first Greco-Roman gold medalist since 1984.
The loss marked the third time that Nazarian defeated Sasamoto at
the Olympics, although his victory in the semifinals in Athens four
years ago was steeped in controversy.
A call against Nazarian that would have given Sasamoto the win was
reversed by an on-site FILA official, who later admitted he made
a mistake.
"It's really disappointing," Sasamoto said. "To lose to the same
opponent three times..."
The 34-year-old Nazarian won a gold medal for Armenia at the 1996
Atlanta Olympics, then repeated as champion for Bulgaria in Sydney
in 2000. In Athens, the three-time world champion had to settle for
the bronze medal.
In his first-round match, Nazarian beat Georgia's David Bedinadze,
who defeated Sasamoto in the final at last year's world championships.
"It was just a small difference," Japan coach Hiroshi Kado said of
the levels between Sasamoto and Nazarian. "[Nazarian] beat the world
champion, but he was not someone [Sasamoto] can't beat."
Sasamoto, who defeated 2006 European champion Karen Mnatsakanyan
of Armenia in the first round, said he would continue his wrestling
career, adding, "But I don't know if I can remain at the top level."
Ken Marantz
The Daily Yomiuri
Aug 13, 2008
Japan
After the long years of living with a loss that should never have been
and the countless hours of preparing for the moment, how cruel that
four seconds out of Makoto Sasamoto's life could have such an impact.
Sasamoto was four seconds from winning his second-round match at
the Beijing Olympics before victory was snatched from his hands and,
a short time later, his dreams of an elusive medal ended as well.
Sasamoto, Japan's top hope for a men's wrestling medal, was dealt a
heartbreaking 2-1 (0-4, 2-0, 2-0) loss by two-time Olympic champion
Armen Nazarian in the Greco-Roman 60-kilogram class Tuesday at the
Beijing Agricultural University Gymnasium.
While that loss erased Sasamoto's hopes of a gold medal, any chance
of leaving Beijing with even a bronze ended when Nazarian lost his
quarterfinal match to Azerbaijan's Vitaliy Rahimov, a loss that kept
the Japanese out of the repechage round that leads to the bronze-medal
playoffs.
"I wanted to win a medal, and to lose in the second round leaves me
with nothing but regrets," the 30-year-old Sasamoto said.
After outclassing Nazarian in the first period, turning him over twice
with surprising ease, Sasamoto only had to resist being turned over
in the final 30-second down position of the second period to win the
period and the match.
Nazarian pressed and pressed and, with the clock ticking down to the
single digits, finally broke down Sasamoto's resistance, lifting him up
and tossing him for two points to send the match to the third period.
In the final frame, it was Sasamoto who was on top at the end and
needing to somehow turn Nazarian to win the match. He came close as
he strained with all his might. But the Bulgarian held out to clinch
the win.
"I was in good shape," Sasamoto said. "At the end, it was a matter
of who could hold out more."
As the 2007 world silver medalist, Sasamoto had come to Beijing aiming
to become Japan's first Greco-Roman gold medalist since 1984.
The loss marked the third time that Nazarian defeated Sasamoto at
the Olympics, although his victory in the semifinals in Athens four
years ago was steeped in controversy.
A call against Nazarian that would have given Sasamoto the win was
reversed by an on-site FILA official, who later admitted he made
a mistake.
"It's really disappointing," Sasamoto said. "To lose to the same
opponent three times..."
The 34-year-old Nazarian won a gold medal for Armenia at the 1996
Atlanta Olympics, then repeated as champion for Bulgaria in Sydney
in 2000. In Athens, the three-time world champion had to settle for
the bronze medal.
In his first-round match, Nazarian beat Georgia's David Bedinadze,
who defeated Sasamoto in the final at last year's world championships.
"It was just a small difference," Japan coach Hiroshi Kado said of
the levels between Sasamoto and Nazarian. "[Nazarian] beat the world
champion, but he was not someone [Sasamoto] can't beat."
Sasamoto, who defeated 2006 European champion Karen Mnatsakanyan
of Armenia in the first round, said he would continue his wrestling
career, adding, "But I don't know if I can remain at the top level."