Rei Higuchi is in the spotlight yet again! The 28-year-old Japanese wrestler has been basking in popularity since he defeated Spencer Lee, the wrestling Pan American Champion, in the 57kg freestyle Olympic finals. Before that, Higuchi also graced the Olympic podium in the 2016 Rio Olympics, clinching a silver. However, this time, Higuchi is in the spotlight for his no-holds-barred comment on X. The whole incident unfolded on a social media site with a tweet from the Olympic gold medalist. He threw a truth bomb with his piercing assessment of Japan’s wrestling landscape. Expressing his views , Higuchi wrote on X, “Japan still has much to learn. Especially from NA, Dagestan, and Iran, we can absorb more. At least I do.”

So, what’s the talk all about? Higuchi has lately been vocal about the scope of growth in the Japanese wrestling landscape. Despite the country clinching third position in the overall medal tally at the Paris Olympics with 11 medals in wrestling alone, Higuchi still believes that Japan can achieve more. Higuchi’s tweet is a continuation of his recent take on how wrestling is being presented and marketed in the country. The former wrestling world champion wants to utilize the medals and their popularity to push the game further amongst the Japanese masses.

The goal is to make the sport more accessible to the public, ultimately pushing its popularity and leading to better infrastructure. Higuchi took to X to express his thoughts, writing, “With 11 medals, including 8 gold medals, it’s up to the association to make the most of these or not. To make the sport more accessible to the general public, I think the first step to increasing the number of new fans and participants would be to provide simple rule explanations, make the sound and lighting more spectacular like overseas competitions, and engage in advertising and PR activities on social media and in the media.”

Higuchi’s golden call to action to elevate Japanese wrestling also involved learning from other countries with extensive wrestling talent and robust infrastructure.

Higuchi draws a comparison with the USA, Iran and Dagestan to inspire the same level of excellence in Japan

Japan had an exceptional run in wrestling in the Paris Olympics. Its female wrestlers mesmerized the world with their extraordinary performance, and all six of them took home a medal. However, Higuchi wants his country to learn from wrestling powerhouses like the US and Iran and not retreat into its comfort zone. Incidentally, Iran stood second in the wrestling medal tally at the Paris Olympics. Iranian wrestlers bagged 11 medals, including two gold, four silvers and two bronze, cementing Iran as a dominant force in the world wrestling landscape.

Meanwhile, the US got a real shocker from Japan’s Rei Higuchi when he trampled their star wrestler Spencer Lee. Despite the massive disruption in the 57 kg category, the USA managed to claim seven medals in wrestling at the Paris Olympics. Dagestan also flexed its muscles, dominating the competition with a staggering medal haul. Dagestani wrestlers competing under different flags claimed a total of six medals, clinching three gold medals, a silver medal, and two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics. Their extraordinary feat mesmerized Rei Higuchi, too. When a user asked if he had trained with Dagestan wrestlers, the Japanese prodigy candidly replied, “Yes, about five years ago”, attaching some throwback pics as well. 

Rei Higuchi is trying to spearhead the Japanese wrestling landscape to unprecedented heights single-handedly. By drawing parallels with the likes of the US and Iran, Higuchi is pushing for continued excellence and preventing complacency within the Japanese wrestling team. We will see in time how fruitful his efforts are.