Yukako Kawai defeats North Korea's Rim Jong Sim in the women's 62-kg division bronze-medal match at the World Wrestling Championships on Friday in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. | KYODO

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Yukako Kawai earns family's second medal at 2019 world championships

Kyodo

NUR-SULTAN – Yukako Kawai earned a bronze medal in the women’s 62-kg division at the World Wrestling Championships on Friday to complement the gold medal won by her sister the day before.

Kawai’s triumph in her bronze-medal match against North Korea’s Rim Jong Sim earned her a spot on Japan’s team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics alongside her older sister, Risako, who won the 57-kg division.

Risako Kawai had reached the worlds by beating four-time Olympic champion Kaori Icho, and her sister’s bronze medal meant there was no chance that Icho might be selected for the Olympic team to wrestle in the heavier weight class.

By booking their spots in the 2020 Olympics, the Kawais will become Japan’s first wrestling sister act to compete together in the Olympics since Icho and her older sister, Chiharu, took part in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

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