ASBC Asian Youth Champion Hayato Tsutsumi wins in the Japanese National High School Tournament

Winners in the event

The Japanese National High School Tournament was held in Hiroshima where eleven champions have been crowned. The competition was scheduled for the youth athletes and it was a selection event for the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships which will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia in November.
Women boxers could fight in three weight classes in Hiroshima where the best female performance was delivered by 18-year-old Tsukimi Namiki who won the gold medal at the Balkan Women’s Youth Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria last November. Japan’s biggest woman talent stopped Rinka Tanaka in the gold medal bout of the Women’s Flyweight class (51 kg). The referee finished their contest in the third round following Namiki’s lethal punches who defended her title.
The gold medal of the Women’s Pinweight class (46 kg) was won by Rinka Kinoshita who defeated Misaki Nasu in the final. Japanese Women’s High School National Champion Seira Hamaguchi claimed the third gold medal in the women competition following her dominancy in the Lightweight class (60 kg) where she defeated Rin Tsutsumimoto in the final. The 18-year-old boxer achieved her third national title in this age group.
Eight weight classes were held in the men competition of the High School National Championships from the 46 kg up to the 75 kg weight class. The Japanese boxers proved great performance in the 2015 ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan one year ago and also in the 2016 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan this May.
Ginjiro Shigeoka defeated Ryusei Matsumoto in the final of the Men’s Pinweight class (46 kg) and continued his winning path after his first gold medal which she bagged in this age group a few months ago. AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships quarter-finalist Takumi Tamura won the Men’s Light Flyweight class (49 kg) in the last edition and he was able to repeat that performance in Hiroshima. The 17-year-old boxer stopped Hiroto Kunezaki in the final who injured in the second round.
ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships bronze medallist Keisuke Matsumoto is only 17 who worked well in the recent national competitions. He moved up to the Flyweight class (52 kg) but had to meet with current ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Champion Hayato Tsutsumi who also attended in the AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships and also in the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships last year. Tsutsumi won all of the rounds as the scoring of 10:9 and finally his hand was raised after their top level contest.
ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships silver medallist Taiga Imanaga proved top performance once again and dominated his Bantamweight class (56 kg) final over Shogo Hosono in the event. Miyazaki-based 18-year-old Reo Saito had a difficult final against Shinichiro Morishita on their re-match but the result was the same as last time and he won the final of the Lightweight class (60 kg).
ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships silver medallist Issei Aramoto had thirteen rivals in the Japanese National High School Tournament and he dominated all of his fights including against Kaiki Yuba in the final. ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships bronze medallist Zen Kuroyanagi defended his throne at the Welterweight class (69 kg) while the last title at the Middleweight class (75 kg) was achieved by national team member Natsu Shinjo who was too strong for Masamitsu Uchida.

Winners in the Japanese National High School Tournament
Japan Women’s 46 kg: Rinka Kinoshita
Japan Women’s 51 kg: Tsukimi Namiki
Japan Women’s 60 kg: Seira Hamaguchi
Japan Men’s 46 kg: Ginjiro Shigeoka
Japan Men’s 49 kg: Takumi Tamura
Japan Men’s 52 kg: Hayato Tsutsumi
Japan Men’s 56 kg: Taiga Imanaga
Japan Men’s 60 kg: Reo Saito
Japan Men’s 64 kg: Issei Aramoto
Japan Men’s 69 kg: Zen Kuroyanagi
Japan Men’s 75 kg: Natsu Shinjo