New Delhi, April 5 – Tsugumi Sakurai, the 24-year-old Japanese wrestler who won the gold medal in the women's 57kg category at the Paris Olympics, has decided to retire from professional wrestling. She plans to dedicate herself to nurturing a new generation of wrestlers while also serving as a goodwill ambassador for her native Kochi Prefecture in western Japan.
Sakurai's success in Paris followed three consecutive world titles, including gold medals in the 55kg category in 2021 and back-to-back golds in the 57kg category in 2022 and 2023.
In a post on Instagram, Sakurai wrote, "Thank you for your continued support. I have decided to end my wrestling career, which has spanned almost 21 years. I am grateful for the opportunity to have competed in such a supportive environment. I was also able to achieve my dream of winning an Olympic gold medal. Thank you all."
"I would like to thank everyone for their guidance and support, even when the results were not as desired. I have gained a lot of experience through wrestling. Looking back, there have been many challenges, but I am glad that I continued to pursue this sport.
This decision was made after careful consideration and consultation with many people over the past year. Moving forward, I plan to start a wrestling training program at the Kochi Wrestling Club in Konan City, and I will strive to promote and strengthen the sport," the post read.
Sakurai was a U17 world champion in 2016, and she also won gold medals at the Asian Championships and Asian Games in 2022 and 2023, respectively. However, she suffered a defeat at the 2024 Asian Championships, where she lost to Yongxian Feng of China in the final.
Despite this setback, Sakurai bounced back five months later at the Paris Olympics, where she defeated 2016 Rio Olympic champion Helen MAROULIS (USA) 10-4 in the semifinals. She then went on to win the gold medal with a 6-0 victory over Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) in a rematch of the 2023 world final.
--IAN
