Wrestling on the move despite Paris failure – JWA boss

THOUGH AARON Johnson just missed out on becoming Jamaica’s first Olympic wrestler, president of the Jamaica Wrestling Association (JWA) Osayimwese Osagboro said Johnson’s 11th-place finish and 31st world ranking at the United World Wrestling Olympic qualifiers in Turkey over last weekend is still a massive achievement.

Competing in the 125kg class, Johnson won one fight and lost two to just miss qualification, but Osagboro thought it was a respectable effort from the nation’s lone representative.

“He did finish 11th out of 32 athletes, and he is now ranked 31 in the world. That’s not an easy task,” Osagboro said.

“So, the fact that he finished 11th in the tournament and ranked 31 in the world is a very serious achievement.”

Johnson started the tournament in the qualification round where he drew India’s Sumit Malik.

Although Malik was first to score, Johnson rallied mid-way through the second period. Though the match ended 2-2, Johnson was declared the winner, based on the criterion that he was last to score.

In the next round against Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgyzstan, he lost the match 10-0, and required Lazarev to make the final in order for him to get another opportunity through the repêchage round, which is a secondary opportunity given to competitors when the opponent that they lost to reaches the final.

The wrestler then goes up against others who were defeated by the respective finalists on his side of the bracket.

Lazarev would go on to win his next two matches and make the final, thus giving Johnson a second chance against Khasanboy Rakhimov of Uzbekistan.

Unfortunately, Rakhimov got the better of the Jamaican, winning the match by technical superiority 11-0.

“That third match, if he had won, he would have qualified,” Osagboro added. “But, unfortunately, that’s the nature of the sports, you make one mistake and that’s it.”