Kamikawa undaunted by early Riner prospect

Japanese heavyweight Daiki Kamikawa says he is undaunted by the prospect of facing world champion Teddy Riner in the first round of the Olympics next week.

The 22-year-old is the only man to have beaten Riner in a major competition since the last Olympics when the giant Frenchman was defeated by Uzbekistan's Abdullo Tangriev in the semi-finals.

But Kamikawa's general form has been far from spectacular over the last two years, winning only about 60 percent of his fights leaving him outside the top eight seeds for the Games as he is ranked only 12th in the world.

It puts him at risk of drawing one of the favourites in the first round with Riner the major obstacle.

The five-time world champion, and bronze medallist in Beijing four years ago when only 19, is overwhelming favourite but Kamikawa is prepared for an almost kamikaze approach to the draw.

"I want to win the Olympics, everyone is very strong but that's much better because I want to fight with strong guys," said the 2010 Open weight world champion.

Kamikawa beat Riner in the Open final in Tokyo after the bout went to a judges' decision, with the Frenchman later claiming he was robbed by some home-town scoring.

Although the Japanese hope has not been in great form since, he believes he is improving.

He has reached only one final this year at the Almaty Masters in January where he lost to Brazil's world number three Rafael Silva.

And that had been his first final for almost a year since he was well beaten by a fired-up Riner, out for revenge at the Paris Grand Slam.

"Previously I tended to take a step backwards and wait for my opponents to attack but now I take a step forwards," said Kamikawa.

"That's helped improve my performance very much. I want to fight without regrets and do my best.

"I've improved my performance since trying to step forwards, so I've found a new part of myself."

He's not the only Japanese heavyweight under pressure to deliver as women's entrant Maki Sugimoto will be up against near-unbeatable Chinese star Tong Wen.

Tong is the reigning Olympic champion and won the world title in Paris last year on her comeback after a doping incident which saw her initially banned for taking clenbuterol, only to have that overturned on a appeal due to a technicality.

Sugimoto says she has been working on the gripping of her opponent's jacket to try to turn the tide against her illustrious foe.

"I will focus on gripping and trying different types of grips to start with before moving on to my favourite grip," she said.

"I'm trying to imagine different patterns of grips to meet foreign athletes."

Under-52kg fighter Misato Nakamura faces a potential joker in the pack in the form of North Korea's An Kum-Ae, who beat her in the semi-finals in Beijing four years ago.

Like all North Koreans, An is rarely seen in international competitions so she will not be seeded.

So world champion Nakamura, who was picked ahead of compatriot world number one Yuka Nishida, could face a tricky first round tie.

"I might have her in the first bout but I don't care, it doesn't matter where I meet her," she said.

"I don't think I will lose, I think I can win because I have fought her before and I know how she fights."

Men's under-66kg world champion Masashi Ebinuma is feeling confident ahead of his first Olympics, although the 22-year-old acknowledges he will be less of a surprise to his rivals.

"Since I won the Worlds the other athletes will have done some research on me," he said.

"Although they've done research I can do my best because I have improved in terms of breaking (his opponent's) balance and the start of a technique.

"They haven't seen those things yet as I've added them since the Worlds so I'm confident with that."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kamikawa-undaunted-early-riner-prospect-184421198.html

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