Rinka Kinoshita made a fantastic debut in her new weight class at the All Japan National Championships
Eight female boxers won their titles at the All Japan Elite National Championships which was held in the Sumida Ward General Gymnasium in Tokyo. The ASBC Asian Champion Rinka Kinoshita moved down to the light flyweight (50kg) and she defeated two world-class opponents in the Nationals.
Their best female boxers could compete in eight different weight categories in the National Championships from the minimumweight (48kg) up to the welterweight (66kg). The event was also a selection for the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament which will be held in Busto Arsizio, Italy from February 29 in 2024.
The Japanese women boxers competed successfully in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games but since then Sena Irie, their champion, retired from the sport, while the bronze medallist Tsukimi Namiki missed the All Japan National Championships.
Nara’s Hikaru Kato is one of their sensations at the women’s minimumweight (48kg) who earned a silver medal at the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships. The speedy boxer was dominant in all of her contests in Tokyo including her final against a younger talent, Yuka Sadamatsu.
Rinka Kinoshita, the ASBC Asian Champion at the flyweight (52kg), moved back one category and she amazed once again in a strong event. The 23-year-old boxer did not qualify for the Olympic Games yet and she had to do her very best against her main national rivals such as the ASBC Asian Youth Champion Hikaru Shinohara and a former Women’s World Championships bronze medallist, Madoka Wada.
Kumamoto’s Korin Kokofu was member of Japan’s youth national team in 2022 and in 2023 as well but in this National Championships, the 18-year-old boxer won the light flyweight (52kg) against the Youth World bronze medallist Miyu Suzuki. Another boxer from Kumamoto, Mikoto Harada, won the bantamweight (54kg) against a local hope, Hana Narita, causing a surprise in the day of the finals.
Tochimoto’s Satsuki Yoshizawa replaced the Olympic Champion Sena Irie in the national team and the Asian Games competitor had the experience to beat her main rivals at the featherweight (57kg) such as Saya Hamamoto and Noa Funayama. Saitama’s ASBC medallist Ayaka Taguchi controlled all of the three rounds against Anera Osawa and she remained on the top of the lightweight (60kg).
Tokyo’s Minami Takahashi needed less than two minutes to win the final of the light welterweight (63kg) against Masako Suzuki. Aichi’s Mai Kito and Tokyo’s Arisa Tsubata represented Japan in several international competitions and they faced each other in the final of the Olympic welterweight (66kg). Kito looked fresh and faster in this final contest and she won the last bout of the All Japan National Championships.
The list of the female winners at the All Japan National Championships
48kg: Hikaru Kato
50kg: Rinka Kinoshita
52kg: Korin Kokofu
54kg: Mikoto Harada
57kg: Satsuki Yoshizawa
60kg: Ayaka Taguchi
63kg: Minami Takahashi
66kg: Mai Kito
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