Shinobu Ota

Olympic silver medallist Shinobu Ota is the 2019 Greco-Roman wrestling champion (in the 63kg class) and has also been an Asian champion and Asian Games gold medallist. Since 2014, he has won six medals at major world and continental championships, establishing him as one of the foremost competitors in his chosen sport. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he was beaten only by Cuba’s Ismael Borrero. With places for the next Olympics still up for grabs, he will be hoping to represent his home nation of Japan when the Tokyo games eventually take place.

Born in 1993, Ota wrestled for the Nippon Sport Science University and ALSOK teams. He first senior success came at the age of 20 when he won silver at the 2014 Asian Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. The following year, in Doha, Qatar, he took bronze at the same event. He qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, beating opponents from Iran, Kazakhstan, Norway, and Azerbaijan to make the final. Following a quiet 2017, 2018 proved to be a major year for Ota. He began by winning his first senior gold at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Later that year, he represented Japan at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he beat Kyrgyzstan’s Kanybek Zholchubekov 8-3 in the final to claim another gold.

At the 2019 World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, he wrestled in the 63kg class for the first time at a major competition, having previously wrestled in the 59kg and 60kg classes. It made no difference to his winning ways as he took gold, becoming world champion for the first, and possibly not the last, time.