Shohei Yabiku picked up the bronze medal with a victory over Iran's Mohammadali Geraei in the third-place match in the 77-kilogram division in Greco-Roman wrestling, while Yukako Kawai knocked off the 2018 world champion Taybe Mustafa Yusein of Bulgaria to lock up at least a silver medal in the women's 62-kilogram division in freestyle on Tuesday at the Tokyo Olympics.
Yabiku used all his might to pull Geraei off the mat, lift his opponent up and throw him. The five-point maneuver pretty much decided the outcome of the match.
Stamina-wise, Yabiku clearly had more left, and Geraei threw everything he had at his opponent. But he had no answers as Yabiku slammed him to the mat en route to winning by technical fall to earn the bronze medal.
Yabiku's first match in the consolation bracket ended up being a walkover, putting him directly into the third-place match.
The anticipated matchup of middleweights was supposed to be a showdown against Geraei, who was third at the 2019 world championships and had defeated Yabiku at the 2018 Asian Games. But Yabiku turned it into an easy victory.
"For the longest time, we [middleweights] haven't been able to win a medal on the world stage," Yabiku said. "So also considering that, this medal has a lot of value for me."
Kenichiro Fumita, who earlier this week took the silver medal in the Greco-Roman 60-kilogram division, uses a completely different wrestling style than Yabiku.
"I'm not Kenichiro -- my throws aren't the sharpest. My wrestling is down and dirty," Yabiku said.
Part of Yabiku's training for the Games was strapping on 200 kilograms and doing squats to develop his lower body so he could push his way past opponents. He was able to make that hard work pay off and also showed off some throws in a big match with a medal on the line.
He's the first Okinawa native to step onto an Olympic wrestling mat, and he came away with a medal with which he can make a triumphant return home.
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Shohei Yabiku shows off his wrestling bronze medal at a press conference on Wednesday in Tokyo.
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