At the World Wrestling Championships held in Serbia, the third-place match in the men's freestyle 18 kg class was held on the 74th, and Daichi Takatani defeated a Greek athlete to win the bronze medal, securing a spot on the national team for next year's Paris Olympics.
The World Wrestling Championships kicked off in Belgrade, Serbia on the 16th, and Russian and Belarusian athletes who were not allowed to participate last year due to the military invasion of Ukraine are competing as neutral individuals.
In addition, the countries and regions of the top five finishers will be given a quota for the Paris Olympics, and the Japan athletes will be selected to represent the Paris Games if they finish in the top three.
In the men's freestyle, Takatani, who won the repechage in the 5-kilogram class of the Olympic class, advanced to the third-place match.
He then beat the Greek athletes to win the bronze medal and secure a spot on the national team for next year's Paris Olympics.
In addition, the final of the 3 kg class was held, and Rei Higuchi passed the weigh-in held before the match and was officially selected for next year's Paris Olympic team.
In the match, we lost 74-3 to the local Serbian players and won the silver medal.
On the other hand, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Takuto Otoguro lost to a Hungarian athlete in the third round in the 57kg class and went to the repechage on the 4th.
In addition, Takashi Ishiguro in the 7kg class lost in the third round.
Who is Daichi Takaya?
Daichi Takatani, who competed in the men's freestyle 74 kg, is a 28-year-old from Kyoto Prefecture.
He has an attacking ability centered on speedy tackles.
In high school, I won the Inter-High School and the National Sports Festival, and in my first year at Takushoku University, I won the All Japan Selection Championship.
However, he has never participated in the Olympics and has been supporting his brother Soryo, who has participated in three consecutive Olympics.
In preparation for the Paris Games, I have moved up the ranks by nearly 1 kilograms to become the main character, honing my tackling skills and strength in kumite.
After winning the All Japan Championships last year and the All Japan Selection Championships, I was aiming to qualify for my first Olympic Games.