Reining Olympic and world champion Saori Yoshida won her fifth consecutive title Tuesday with a solid victory over rival Chikako Matsukawa in the final at the Japan Queens Cup.
Saori Yoshida fights Chikako Matsukawa in the final of the women's 55-kg category at the Japan Queens Cup.
Yoshida beat all three of her opponents in the women's 55-kilogram category by fall at the meet, which also doubled as a qualifier for the wrestling world championships in Guangzhou, China, this September.
She also extended her unbeaten streak that began after the 2001 national championships to 89 victories.
Athens Olympic gold medalist Kaori Icho cruised to her sixth straight title, including one at 56 kg, in the 63-kg weight class while Kyoko Hamaguchi claimed her 10th championship title. Ayako Shoda took the 59-kg crown for the second year in a row and fourth time in her career.
Yoshida claimed a berth for the world championships along with siblings Chiharu and Kaori Icho at 48 kg and 63 kg, respectively. Hitomi Sakamoto booked a spot at 51 kg, Eri Sakamoto will appear at 67 kg while the sixth spot went to Hamaguchi.
The final ticket at 59 kg for the Sept. 26-Oct 1 China meet will be determined in playoff between Shoda and Seiko Yamamoto in June.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.