CHIBA, JAPAN: Japan's Yui Susaki stormed into the women's Olympic freestyle flyweight semi-finals with two commanding victories by technical superiority without conceding a point on Friday, wrapping up both bouts in the first period.
Susaki, Japan's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, first beat Mongolia's Namuuntsetseg Tsogt-Ochir before dominating Lucia Guzman of Ecuador, starting the bout with a four-point throw to leave Guzman searching for answers.
Susaki is looking to become Japan's third wrestler to win gold in Tokyo after the Kawai sisters won the lightweight and middleweight categories.
The 22-year-old will be up against Azerbaijan's three-times Olympic medallist Mariya Stadnik. Susaki had previously beaten her in the final of the 2018 world championship.
India's medal hopes Bajrang Punia advanced to the men's freestyle lightweight semi-finals after edging Kyrgyzstan's Ernazar Akmataliev and pinning Iran's Morteza Ghiasi - the only victory by fall on the day.
A single takedown in a 3-3 scoreline made the difference against Akmataliev while the 27-year-old Asian champion Punia found himself trailing against Ghiasi before he pinned the Iranian, who desperately tried to escape the hold but failed.
Punia will face Azerbaijan's three-time world champion Haji Aliyev, who beat Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov 9-1 in a controlled quarter-final bout.
Niyazbekov was earlier involved in one of the highest-scoring bouts at the Games when he snatched an unlikely victory against Cuba's Alejandro Valdes, fighting back from 11-3 down in the second period to win 21-11.
The other semi-final will be a battle of two world champions when Russian Gadzhimurad Rashidov takes on Japan's Takuto Otoguro.
Russian Abdulrashid Sadulaev beat Azerbaijan's Sharif Sharifov in the men's freestyle heavyweight last-16 in what was a battle between two Olympic gold medallists.
Sadulaev, the 2016 middleweight champion, then outclassed Georgian Elizbar Odikadze 10-0 to win by technical superiority to book a semi-final spot against Cuba's Reineris Salas.
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