Sosuke Takatani, a world championships silver medalist in the men's 74-kg freestyle, won his third straight title at the National Invitational Wrestling Championships on Saturday and a berth at this year's worlds.
Takatani, Japan's ace, won by a narrow margin over Daisuke Shimada. Takatani took a 7-0 lead in the first period before struggling in the second period after he hurt his neck and surrendering six points.
"You never know what's going to happen in a match. This was a good lesson," said Takatani. "It feels like I was in a traffic accident."
"Everyone is desperate to make next year's Olympics, so no one's going to hand you a victory."
The invitationals at Yoyogi National Gymnasium double as a qualifying event for the world championships, which will be held in Las Vegas in September. Tomohiro Inoue won the 66-kg Greco-Roman title, but was beaten in a playoff with national champion Takeshi Izumi to decide Japan's representative in the division in Las Vegas.
"I lost my first match, but I put it behind me and looked forward to the playoff," Izumi said. "I want to do whatever it takes to win a medal at the worlds."
Sara Dosho, the world silver medalist in the women's 69 kg division, won her division for the third straight time to take a big step toward making this year's worlds, as did Risako Kawai (women's 63 kg).