Japan's Ken Matsui,right, defeats Emin Sefershaev of Russia in the men's 55-kilogram Greco-Roman final at the wrestling world championships in Oslo on Oct. 8, 2021. (For editorial use only/Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's Ken Matsui won the men's 55-kilogram Greco-Roman title Friday at the wrestling world championships, outpointing reigning European champion Emin Sefershaev of Russia 7-1 in the final.

       With his victory in the non-Olympic weight division, world championship debutant Matsui claimed Japan's fifth gold medal of the tournament in Oslo.

       He also became the country's youngest-ever Greco-Roman world champion at 20 years and eight months, according to the Japan Wrestling Federation.

       "I wasn't expecting to win, so I'm really surprised. I was facing a superior opponent in the final, so I decided to show all my skills and not have any regrets," Matsui said.

       In the men's 60-kg Greco-Roman division, Japan's Ayata Suzuki saw his title bid end in a quarterfinal loss to Azerbaijan's Murad Mammadov.

       Japan's Yuta Nara and Arata Sonoda bowed out in opening-round matches of the men's 97-kg and 130-kg Greco-Roman, respectively.

       The Japanese team for the Oct. 2-10 championships in Norway does not include any members of the Tokyo Olympic Games squad.

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