OSU wrestler Rin Sakamoto gets major call from Japan for national duty

Collegiate wrestler Rin Sakamoto has earned a major call from Japan to participate in the U20 World Wrestling Championships. Born and raised in Tokyo, Sakamoto will be representing his country at the championships for the second time, first earning a call-up in 2023, where he managed to reach the quarter-finals. Sakamoto enrolled at Oklahoma State University to compete in collegiate wrestling earlier this year.

Sakamoto comes from a wrestling family. His sister, Yu Sakamoto, wrestles at Northern Michigan. Yu won a National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) regional title only two months ago. Rin Sakamoto will look to repeat the same feat in his collegiate career as he looks to make his mark at Oklahoma. Before joining the Cowboys, the Japanese wrestler attended Jiyugaoka Gakuen High School in Tokyo, where he was a two-time Inter-High champion.

In a post shared by Rin Sakamoto and the Cowboys Wrestling account on Instagram, it was announced that he had earned a U20 World Team spot for Japan. They wrote:

"Congratulations to Rin for earning a U20 World Team spot representing Japan!"

Rin Sakamoto follows a long list of Japanese wrestlers to represent Oklahoma, such as Yojiro Uetake and Masaaki Hatta.

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Rin Sakamoto won his first All-Japan title before making Oklahoma move

Rin Sakamoto at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships 2025 - Source: Getty

Oklahoma State's Rin Sakamoto won his first senior national title at the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships in Tokyo last year. Sakamoto managed to defeat Daito Katsume 4-0 in the freestyle 57kg final. The Japanese wrestler has had a bright start to his career. He represented Japan at the Junior World Championships in 2023, where he won two of three matches before losing in the quarterfinals.

Sakamoto reflected on his win at the All-Japan Championships and also mentioned how he enjoyed the American style of wrestling. In an interview with United World Wrestling, he said:

"I think it [American Folkstyle] fits my style of wrestling, I've always liked the American style. If I make the adjustment, either style is alright for me."

Sakamoto also added that he now wears headgear, a major shift from the wrestling culture in Japan. He said:

"We have to wear a headgear all of the time, even in practice. So it's not to get me used to wearing one, but because I'm already used to it."

Rin Sakamoto made his collegiate debut for the Oklahoma Cowboys Wrestling team on February 23, 2025, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Iowa. He faced Drake Ayala, whom he lost to by an 11-1 major decision.