Paris Olympics gold medallist Tsugumi Sakurai from Japan has decided to retire from wrestling at just 24 years old. She now plans to start a new chapter in her life by helping young wrestlers grow and also working as a sports ambassador for Kochi Prefecture in western Japan.
Sakurai reached the peak of her career in Paris, winning Olympic gold after already dominating the world stage for a few years. She had won three straight world titles before that, at 55kg in 2021, and at 57kg in both 2022 and 2023.
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Sharing the news on Instagram, she thanked everyone who supported her throughout her journey. And I was able to fulfil my dream of winning gold in the Olympics. Thanks to all of you for your support. Thank you," Sakurai posted.
"Thank you very much for your continued guidance and support, even when the results were hard to produce. I've had a lot of experiences through wrestling. Looking back, there have been a lot of pain, but I am glad I continued wrestling.
This is a decision I made after talking, worrying, and thinking about it with so many people over the past year. From now on, I want to start a classroom in Kochi Wrestling Club, Konan City, and do my best to spread and strengthen wrestling," the post read.
Sakurai’s journey in wrestling started early, and she became a world champion at the under-17 level in 2016. She also won gold medals at the Asian Championships in 2022 and the Asian Games in 2023.
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Her career had very few setbacks. One of her rare losses came at the 2024 Asian Championships, where she was beaten in the final by China’s Yongxian Feng.
However, she bounced back strongly later that year at the Paris Olympics. In the semifinals, she defeated Rio 2016 Olympic champion Helen Maroulis of the USA with a 10-4 score. In the final, she beat Anastasia Nichita 6-0, repeating her win from the 2023 World Championships and securing the biggest title of her career.