Wrestling-Japan's double Olympic champion Kinjo announces retirement


FILE PHOTO: 2016 Rio Olympics - Wrestling - Final - Women's Freestyle 63 kg Gold Medal - Carioca Arena 2 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 18/08/2016. Maria Mamashuk (BLR) of Belarus and Risako Kawai (JPN) of Japan compete. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

(Reuters) -Japan's Risako Kinjo said her wrestling career had given her a sense of fulfilment after the double Olympic gold medallist announced her retirement at the age of 30 on Sunday.

Four-times world champion Kinjo took gold in the 63kg category in Rio in 2016 and stood on top of the podium on home soil in Tokyo five years later by winning the 57kg class.

Her sister Yukako also claimed wrestling gold in Tokyo, winning the 62kg event.

"I've experienced all the joy that comes from being an athlete," said Kinjo, who won her final world championships title in 2024, two years after she had given birth to her first child. "I feel fulfilled."

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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