Japan's Yukako Kawai, right, battles Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the Tokyo Olympics' women's 62-kilogram freestyle wrestling final at Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba Prefecture on Aug. 4, 2021. (Mainichi/Noriko Tokuno)

       CHIBA -- Japan's Yukako Kawai, 23, defeated Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the Tokyo Olympics' women's 62-kilogram freestyle wrestling final held at Makuhari Messe Hall near Tokyo on Aug. 4 to win gold.

       This is the first gold medal won by a member of the Japan women's wrestling team at the Tokyo Games. Thanks to Kawai's performance, Japanese female wrestlers have now clinched gold in five consecutive Olympics since the 2004 Athens Games, when women's wrestling became an official Olympic sport.

       First-time Olympian Kawai's 26-year-old sister Risako, who is competing in the Tokyo Olympics' 57-kg freestyle wrestling, won a gold medal in the 63-kg class at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

       (Mainichi)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0