Riku Yanagisawa (Karuizawa, JPN) lost
8-3 to
Shinya Abe (Sapporo, JPN) in the Final of the ZEH-NOH Japan Curling Championship, held January 27 - February 4, 2024 in Tokoro, Japan. To advance to the championship game, Yanagisawa won
8-5 over
Takumi Maeda (Kitami, JPN) in the semifinals of the 2024 ZEH-NOH Japan Curling Championship in Tokoro, Japan;
Yanagisawa finished 5-2 in the 10-team qualifying round. . In their opening game, Yanagisawa defeated
Japan's Ryutaro Tani 11-3, then won
17-1 against
Kouhei Sato (Tohoku, JPN). Yanagisawa went on to lose
8-1 against
Abe. Yanagisawa responded with a
10-0 win over
Kounosuke Takahashi (Nagano, JPN). Yanagisawa won
8-7 against
Yusuke Morozumi (Karuizawa, JPN). Yanagisawa went on to lose
12-6 against
Maeda. Yanagisawa responded with a
7-1 win over
Kohsuke Hirata (Kitami, JPN) in their final qualifying round match.
With their runner-up finish at the ZEH-NOH Japan Curling Championship, Yanagisawa take home
22.000 world rankings points, remaining in 28th place overall on the
World Ranking Standings with a net gain of -20.094 after improving upon their best so far this season. Yanagisawa ranks 28th overall on the
Year-to-Date rankings with
116.125 points earned so far this season.
