Japan's "Fantastic Four" in women's wrestling have no doubts to be the most promising winners at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing with their collection of 19 Olympic and world championships gold medals.
The foursome combined to win two golds, one silver and one bronze in Athens in 2004 when women's wresting made its Olympic debut.
Saori Yoshida, gold-medal defender of women's freestyle 55kg at the Beijing Olympics, however, lost to unfancy American Marcie van Dusen 2-0 at the World Cup team competition in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China in January.
It was her first defeat in 120 games in seven years, which also seemed to be a great shock to the "Fantastic Four".
"It went wrong just because I thought I could surely win and took it easy," said Yoshida after her first ever defeat to a foreigner.
"Foreigners had never come out attacking. But now they are beginning to make the first moves by themselves," said Yoshida, 25, who started wrestling at the age of three under her father, a former national champion.
"Yoshida's lost has changed the atmosphere in the team. They worked harder and study more seriously," said Kazuhito Sakae, the team coach.
The 63kg champion Kaori Icho, 24, admitted that the rest of the world was emphasizing counter-attacks.
"I feel a bit scared when I tackle. I must become capable of scoring points against tightly guarded opponents," said Icho, who and her sister Chiharu Icho were led to practice wrestling by their older brother when they were children.
Both Kaori Icho and Yoshida won a record fifth straight title at the World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, last September when Japanese women won four of seven golds on offer. The result further boosted Japan's cache of world titles to 54 from the past 19 world championships since 1987.
At the Olympics, women's wrestling is contested in only four categories. Japan failed to win the 48kg and 72kg.
World 48kg champion Chiharu Icho, 26, who won silver in Athens, is now focused more on shaking the opponents' upper-body and pulling the arms than on tackling.
"Now I know even the stronger can lose," said Chiharu.
Kyoko Hamaguchi was the final member of the fabulous four. Hamaguchi, 30, lost to China's Wang Xu in the semifinal of 72kg in 2004 and only made the bronze. Hamaguchi only finished ninth in Baku and left herself in illusions that she was not capable for the national team. The heavyweight proved herself by winning a ticket to Beijing when she triumphed at the Asian Championships in Jeju, South Korea, in March.
Wang Xu won China's first Olympic wrestling gold.
Heigo Hamaguchi, Kyoko's father and also her trainer, is a former professional wrestler dubbed "Animal".
Kyoko, who started wrestling at a gym run by her father when she was 13, grapples for her first world-class gold since winning her fifth world title in 2003.
Yoshida also triumphed at the Asian Championships on her comeback from the World Cup failure.
"The memory of the World Cup was swirling around in my head," said Yoshida. "I have no time to shed a tear as I'm looking ahead to the Olympics."
(Xinhua News Agency July 22, 2008)