Imagine being declared the winner of a World Championship match, only to have it ripped away seconds later. That’s exactly what happened to Oklahoma State University freshman Rin Sakamoto on August 18 in Samokov, Bulgaria. Under the watchful eye of head coach David Taylor, the Japanese prodigy thought he had opened his U20 World Championships on the second day with a victory… until India challenged, and everything changed.
At first, the script looked perfect. Wrestling at 57kg, Sakamoto stormed to a 10–1 lead over India’s Sumit Malik. He seemed untouchable, scoring with ease while controlling every exchange. But wrestling is never over until the final whistle. Malik clawed back with a second-period surge, a four-pointer followed by takedowns that brought the score to 10–9. With only seconds left, he snatched another takedown to tie it up. Sakamoto’s corner thought they’d survived. The scoreboard said “win.” But India wasn’t finished.
The Indian coaches threw the challenge brick, claiming Sakamoto had committed a defensive foul by tugging Malik’s singlet. Officials reviewed the sequence, confirmed the violation, and handed Malik a point. Just like that, the bout flipped from a Sakamoto win to a 10–10 tie. By wrestling’s rules, ties go to the wrestler with higher quality points, and this time it was Malik. The Japanese star walked off stunned, the Cowboys’ bench silent, while head coach David Taylor could only watch as one pull of fabric erased a medal chance.
Sakamoto drops his opening bout to Malik , he originally won the match. But India challenged, and got given a point for a defensive foul (singlet pull). pic.twitter.com/DekVH3CWG4
— infa (@InfaWrest) August 18, 2025
For David Taylor, who only took over as OSU’s head coach last year, it was a harsh call on how razor-thin margins define this sport. For Sakamoto, who joined OSU in 2024, won Japan’s Emperor’s Cup and Meiji Cup, and had just secured a place on the senior World team, it was heartbreak wrapped in a lesson. He is still Japan’s representative at 57kg for the senior Worlds. But while Sakamoto’s run ended, OSU’s hopes shifted to another 19-year-old rising star. But did he qualify for the finals?
Under David Taylor’s wing, an OSU freshman shows champion potential
LaDarion “Dee” Lockett, an incoming freshman at Oklahoma State University, entered the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria as the lone OSU wrestler representing the U.S. men’s freestyle team. He earned his spot by winning the U20 World Team Trials at 74 kg in Geneva, Ohio, and opened his Worlds campaign with a dominant win by technical superiority. In the Round of 16, he faced European U23 champion Ismail Khaniev of Russia and fell 5–2, but because Khaniev advanced to the finals, Lockett was pulled back into the repechage bracket for another shot at a medal.
From there, Lockett showed his grit. He stormed through repechage with a 10–0 technical fall, followed by a hard-fought 8–5 victory. Thus, secured a place in the bronze medal match against Japan’s Kanata Yamaguchi. Known for his disciplined, defensive style, Yamaguchi will test Lockett’s aggressive offense in a clash of approaches. While he fell short of the finals, Lockett’s run has kept him firmly in the medal hunt, and a bronze here would mark not only a major milestone at this stage of his career but also a strong preview of the impact he could make at OSU under David Taylor’s guidance.
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