By ending her own personal Bronze Age, Hong Kexin helped China possibly usher in the beginning of a new Golden Era at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kexin was one of four Chinese to strike gold on the final day of the women\u2019s competition at the championships, winning the 57kg title on Friday to end a rash of recent third-place finishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEach bronze medal made me a little bit stronger by the competition,\u201d Kexin said. \u201cSo this time, I feel really happy, especially when yesterday I finished the semifinal and made it to the final. Finally, a final.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other Chinese who made the top of the podium in Bishkek\u2019s Zhastkyk Arena were Jin Zhang in the 53kg, Lili in the 65kg and Jia Long in the 72kg, capping a performance in which all 10 of the country\u2019s wrestlers took home medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lone other medal at stake on Friday went to two-time former world champion Nonoka Ozaki of Japan, who had ousted a Chinese opponent in the quarterfinals the previous day before snatching the 62kg gold by avenging one of her few international losses — which led to a nice surprise for her on the medal podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China pipped rival Japan for the team title when Lili and Long defeated Japanese opponents in their gold-medal matches. China, with five golds overall, finished on top with 205 points, followed by Japan with 191 and Mongolia in third with 126.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt shows that every single member of our team has been working hard behind the scenes,\u201d Long said. \u201cAnd because we have a good coach who draws up excellent plans for us, we execute them with dedication, all for the sake of our shared dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kexin completed a spotless run to the gold with a victory by fall over former world silver medalist Khulan Batkhuyag of Mongolia in the 57kg final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hong is no stranger to ending tournaments with victories, and her resume includes medals from every major global event. Unfortunately, none of those wins had come in finals over the past three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her Chinese teammates tease Kexin about having an affinity for bronze in major competitions, and it\u2019s not hard to see why. In the past three years, she has taken home medals of that color at the 2023 Asian Games, the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 2025 Asian Championships and the 2025 World Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The closest she came to breaking the hex came in Paris, where she was leading 7-0 in her semifinal against Anastacia Nichita of Moldovia when disaster struck and she got caught and pinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNobody wants to lose, but that’s part of competition,\u201d Kexin said. \u201cI really felt sad for that moment, but it also meant there was some weakness in my wrestling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, I accepted and recovered, and told myself that I can become better and better. Now I\u2019m happy to see myself improve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were no slip-ups in her demolition of Batkhuyag in Friday\u2019s final. Kexin opened with a takedown and lace lock for a quick 4-0 lead. After a second takedown and exposure, she got her arm between Batkhuyag\u2019s knees, lifted up and planted the Mongolian on her back, securing the fall in 1:31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBefore, I never thought about that I can finish so fast,\u201d said Kexin, who won all three of her matches by technical superiority or fall, without conceding a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust before the competition, I just thought to be ready for the six minutes, ready to fight to the last second and just try my best to show all my advantages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 62kg, Japan\u2019s Ozaki completed an equally flawless run to her third Asian gold and fifth medal overall by scoring two 4-point takedowns in a 10-0 victory over Mun Hyon Gyong of North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was able to win by technical superiority, but before the match, I never thought I could have such a large gap in points like this, so I’m really happy,\u201d said Ozaki, a Paris Olympic bronze medalist at 68kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victory in 2:15 avenged a particularly frustrating loss to Mun in the final of the 2023 Asian Games. Ozaki had been leading when Mun used an arm throw to toss her onto her back, then held her in the near fall position for the final minute to win 6-6 on criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of my main objectives coming here was to beat that DPR Korean wrestler,\u201d Ozaki said. \u201cThere were also big hurdles to get over. As such, I want to view this result in a positive light and regard it as doing a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ozaki\u2019s reward for a job well done came on the medal podium, where she was surprised to see that the presenter was none other than longtime rival and local superstar Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, the three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist who is currently on a hiatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They shared a hug after the medal was placed around a beaming Ozaki\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAisuluu-san is a hero,\u201d Ozaki said. \u201cI have so much respect for her. Of course, I respected her while she was competing. She’s really a special person. To be at a competition and receive the medal this way is really an honor and I am proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To get to Bishkek, Ozaki had to defeat reigning world and Olympic champion Sakura Motoki at the All-Japan Championships in December. Now, to achieve her goal of getting to this year\u2019s World Championships and Asian Games, she will have to beat Motoki again, either at next month\u2019s Meiji Cup or a subsequent playoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 53kg, Zhang picked up her first gold in her second trip to the Asian Championships with a lightning-quick 10-0 victory over Meenakshi of India. A single-leg takedown, a lace lock and four quick spins gave Zhang the victory in 53 seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhang, the 2024 world silver medalist at 55kg, got over her biggest hurdle in the semifinals, when she pancaked former world champion Moe Kiyooka of Japan for a stunning victory by fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never think about when what kind of action I can win from,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cI just follow the coach\u2019s instructions, to be tough and do your attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhang said she will not succumb to the pressure that comes with being a newly crowned Asian champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter I stepped off this podium, everything will go to zero and it’s a new start,\u201d she said. \u201cI will never think about I’m Asian champion now. I will surely fight for the higher step of the podium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Going into the last two finals, Japan could have won the team title with victories in both. Instead, the Chinese swept the two, with one match coming down to a challenge decision and the other a more forthright victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 65kg, China\u2019s Lili had the winning takedown confirmed by challenge for a 3-2 victory after it appeared that Nana Ikehata of Japan had held on for the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ikehata, the winner at the Zagreb Ranking Series this year and the 2024 world U20 champion, was leading 2-1 with all of the points coming on the activity clock when Lili made a low lunge for Ikehata\u2019s leg with :30 to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lili caught Ikehata\u2019s heel and the Japanese tumbled onto her backside, but immediately got up and fought desperately to keep Lili from completing the takedown as time ran out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But on challenge, it was decided that Ikehata\u2019s initial drop to the mat constituted a takedown for Lili, who was awarded the 2 and the victory, giving her an Asian gold to go with her 2023 world bronze, and leaving Ikehata stunned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final bout of the night, Long completed the Chinese gold rush with a 10-2 victory in the 72kg final over Japan’s Mahiro Yoshitake – a repeat of the 65kg final in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a step-out and activity clock gave Long a 2-0 lead at the break, she finally got Yoshitake to the mat with a single-leg takedown. From there she used her deadly high gut wrench for three consecutive rolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That should have ended the proceedings right there, but on the final one, Yoshitake managed to fluidly step over for a 2-point exposure that kept the action going with 1:20 left. But Yoshitake never threatened and Long came away with her second Asian gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long has been gradually moving up in weight, having won the 2022 world silver and 2024 world gold at 65kg and a bronze at last year\u2019s World Championships at 68kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerhaps there were some challenges with strength,\u201d Long said of competing at 72kg. \u201cBut in terms of speed, it might have been a bit better than at 68kg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kiyooka, Natami bounce back<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kiyooka and teammate Sara Natami, who were both handed stunning losses by fall in the semifinals, bounced back to take home bronze medals with one-sided victories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kiyooka, the silver medalist a year ago, completed the collection of Asian medals with a 10-0 rout of Aziza Keldibekova of Kyrgyzstan in 1:24 at 53kg. Kiyooka also has 55kg gold from 2024, the year she also won a world title at that weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uzbekistan’s Sakibjamal Esbosynova took home the other bronze at 53kg, using a fireman\u2019s carry to take Park Seoyoung of Korea directly to her back and secure a fall in 2:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Natami, whose defense of the 57kg title was ended in the semifinals by Batkhuyag, needed slightly more time than Kiyooka to finish up her 10-0 win over Manisha of India. The winning points were decided on a Japanese challenge when the referee under-counted the number of spins Natami accomplished with her lace lock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Natami, who came to Bishkek as a substitute for injured Olympic champion Skari Fujinami, now also has the full collection of Asian medals. In addition to last year\u2019s gold, she won a silver in 2018 and another gold in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the other match at 57kg, Kwon Youngjin gave Korea its lone medal in Women\u2019s Wrestling by scoring three 2-point exposures off a takedown counter in the second period to top Nguyen Thi My Trang of Vietnam 7-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qi Zhang, the lone Chinese not wrestling in a final on the night, assured she would not leave Bishkek empty-handed when she converted her second takedown of Uzbekistan’s Nigina Sabirova into a fall in 1:31 at 62kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The victory gave Zhang a second straight bronze and fourth of her career in a fourth different weight class. She also has a gold at 59kg from 2024, as well as the 2023 world gold at that weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A first-period fall also decided the other 62kg bronze, with Mongolia’sTserenchimed building up a 7-0 lead over Tynys Dubek of Kazakhstan before using an arm bar to end the match at 1:48.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both the home team and India bagged bronzes in the two heavier weights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 65kg, Kyrgyzstan’s Gulnura Tashtanbekova gave up an early takedown to Uzbekistan’s Firuza Esenbaeva but came back with a 4-point takedown to the back that she topped off with a fall in 2:02 to add to the Asian bronze she won at 68kg in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two-time world U23 bronze medalist Monika of India also had a 4-point takedown in a 9-0 victory over Korean Lee Hanbit for the other 65kg bronze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kyrgyzstan’s Nurzat Nurtaeva, a world bronze medalist at 72kg, scored a first-period takedown while on the activity clock and that was enough to edge Mongolia’s Odgerel Edene Ochir 2-0 for her first Asian bronze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the other 72kg bout, India’s Harshita added to her 2024 silver medal with a victory by fall over Uzbekistan’s Sevinchoy Polnova in 3:25 after building up a 5-0 lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RESULTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s Wrestling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 53kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) df. Aziza KELDIBEKOVA (KGZ) by TS, 11-0, 1:24 57kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Youngjin KWON (KOR) df. Thi My Trang NGUYEN (VIE), 7-2 62kg (11 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Qi ZHANG (CHN) df. Nigina SABIROVA (UZB) by Fall, 1:31 (4-0) 65kg (9 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ) df. Firuza ESENBAEVA (UZB) by Fall, 2:02 (4-2) 72kg (8 entries)<\/strong> BRONZE: Nurzat NURTAEVA (KGZ) df. Odgerel ERDENE OCHIR (MGL), 2-0 Freestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 57kg (11 entries)<\/strong> 65kg (12 entries)<\/strong> 70kg (10 entries)<\/strong> 79kg (12 entries)<\/strong> 97kg (13 entries)<\/strong> By ending her own personal Bronze Age, Hong Kexin helped China possibly usher in the beginning of a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-11525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-wrestling"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551.jpg",1300,731,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-768x432.jpg",640,360,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-1024x576.jpg",640,360,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551.jpg",1300,731,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551.jpg",1300,731,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-825x575.jpg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551-590x410.jpg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Newsbeat<\/a>","tag_info":"Newsbeat","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/57kg_ww_-_kexin_hong_chn_df._khulan_batkhuyag_mgl_551.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11527,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11525\/revisions\/11527"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
GOLD: Jin ZHANG (CHN) df. MEENAKSHI (IND) by TS, 10-0, :53<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Sakibjamal ESBOSYNOVA (UZB) df. Seoyoung PARK (KOR) by Fall, 2:00 (2-0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Kexin HONG (CHN) df. Khulan BATKHUYAG (MGL) by Fall, 1:31 (10-0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Sara NATAMI (JPN) df. MANISHA (IND) by TS, 10-0, 1:50<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) df. Hyon Gyong MUN (PRK) by TS, 10-0, 2:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) df. Tynys DUBEK (KAZ) by Fall, 1:48 (7-0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: LILI (CHN) df. Nana IKEHATA (JPN), 3-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: MONIKA (IND) df. Hanbit LEE (KOR), 9-0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GOLD: Jia LONG (CHN) df. Mahiro YOSHITAKE (JPN), 10-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRONZE: HARSHITA (IND) df. Sevinchoy POLVONOVA (UZB) by Fall, 3:25 (5-0)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Munkh Erdene BATKHUYAG (MGL) df. Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ), 4-1
SF 2: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI) df. Fuga SASAKI (JPN) by TS, 11-0, 3:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: SUJEET (IND) df. Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK), 7-2
SF 2: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) df. Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN), 5-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: ABHIMANYOU (IND) df. Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), 6-3
SF 2: Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) df. Sina KHALILI (IRI), 5-1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) df. Razambek JAMALOV (UZB), 4-3
SF 2: Sandeep Singh MANN (IND) df. Somonjon IKROMOV (TJK) by TS, 10-0, 3:13<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SF 1: Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) df. VICKY (IND), 2-0
SF 2: Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) df. Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), 15-6<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"