African Championship Preview

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - 21:45 By Eric Olanowski

ALGER, Algeria (February 6) --- African stars Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY), Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY) and Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) enter the African Championships poised to improve their top-five rankings.

Adekuoroye jumped RONG Ningning (CHN) and is ranked second in the world at 57kg. The Nigerian superstar trails three-time world champion and 2016 Olympic champion Risako KAWAI (JPN) by 17 points.

But Adekuoroye, a three-time world medalist, can overthrow Kawai for the world’s top-ranking if she’s able to claim her fifth consecutive crown. A gold in Alger will be worth 18 points, which would catapult Adekuoroye into the No. 1 spot, one point ahead of the Japanese wrestler before the Asian Championships.

Adekuoroye is favored to win the five-woman 57kg bracket. But, undoubtedly, Adekuoroye’s biggest threat is Eman EBRAHIM (EGY), who she defeated in last year's All African Games finals.

Ebrahim, the defending African champion at 59kg, is ranked 12th in the world and will make her descent down to 57kg for a run at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Mohamed El Sayed enters the African Championships ranked fifth in the world at 67kg and is five points from leaping into the top-three of the rankings. He’s on a quest to win his fourth African championship crown in his last five tries.

The two-time U23 world champion will earn 18 Ranking Series points if he caps off the 2020 African Championships with another title. He'd move into the third spot of the rankings before the European Championships kick-off.

According to the 67kg early entries for the European Championships, fourth-ranked Mate NEMES (SRB) is the only European wrestler that’s ranked higher than El Sayed that’ll wrestle at the continental championships. Nazir ABDULLAEV (RUS) will replace No. 2 Artem SURKOV (RUS) and Witalis LAZOVSKI (GER) will take No. 3 Frank STAEBLER’S (GER) starting spot.

The absence of Surkov and Staebler presents El Sayed with an opportunity to be ranked no lower than fourth heading into the final Ranking Series event, the Poland Open. But first, he’ll have to get through his most dangerous opponent, Radhwen TARHOUNI (TUN), who was last year’s 63kg African runner-up.

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) could pass Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) for the No. 2 spot if she wins the 68kg title in Alger. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

At 68kg, Blessing Oborududu is ranked third in the world and sits ten points away from surpassing Jenny FRANSSON (SWE) for the No. 2 spot in the women’s wrestling rankings. A tenth African title will be worth 18 points and will boost Oborududu into the second spot, eight points ahead of Fransson.

Mona AHMED (EGY) and Anta SAMBOU (SEN) are in charge of stopping Oborududu in her quest to reach double-digit African titles. But that’ll be easier said than done. Oborududu hasn’t lost at the African Championships since her first continental appearance in 2009.

Ahmed won a silver medal at last year’s African Championships, but that was at 76kg. She’s dropping down two weight classes to try to improve on that silver-medal finish.

Sambou fell to Obordudu in their last three meetings. Sambou dropped her finals matches against the Nigerian at last year’s All African Championships and also fell to Obordudu in the previous two African Championship finals.

At 130kg, Abdellatif Mohamed enters the African Championships ranked third in the world with 30 Ranking Series points. He’s positioned eight points behind Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) but will gain the ten-point lead over the Cuban world runner-up if he claims gold in the five-person bracket in Alger.

Hichem KOUCHIT (ALG) and Amine GUENNICHI (TUN) are the top-two candidates who have a shot at stopping Mohamed from winning a fifth African title. Mohamed downed Kouchit, 8-0, in their fifth-round meeting at last year’s African Championships, and bested Guennichi in last year’s All African Games finals.

Samar HAMZA (EGY) is bumping up to 76kg after splitting time in 2019 at 68kg and 72kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Three Weights to Feature Two Returning Champs
57kg (WW), 74kg (FS) and 76kg (WW) feature a pair of reigning African champions entered into the same weight -- with one winner switching weight classes to challenge the defending 2019 champion.

As previously mentioned, reigning 59kg champion Eman Ebrahim is dropping down to 57kg to challenge Adekuoroye.

Samar HAMZA (EGY) is returning to the Olympic weight of 76kg to try to halt Blessing ONYEBUCHI (NGR) from winning a second consecutive 76kg title. Hamza split time in 2019 between 68kg and 72kg. Hamza's cut down to 68kg proved to be too much to handle, so she was left with no other option but to move back up to 76kg.

Hamza’s move to 76kg reinvigorates her rivalry with Onyebuchi that dates back to 2016. The Egyptian scored the come-from-behind fall against Onyebuchi in their 2016 African Championship semifinals match, which ultimately led to her winning one of her three continental titles. Hamza won their latest meeting, too. She grabbed a one-point victory in the pair’s 9-8 shootout match at the 2018 African Championships.

On a side note, Hamza’s African record remains unblemished in her five trips to the African Championships. She’s a two-time junior African champion and three-time senior African gold medalist.

In freestyle, Amr HUSSEN (EGY) will make his ascent up to 74kg and try to avenge multiple losses suffered at the hands of three-time African champion Ogbonna Emmanuel JOHN (NGR).

Most recently, Hussen fell to John 2-2 on criteria in the 2018 African finals. The Egyptian wrestler also fell to the Nigerian in the 2017 African Championships. That 9-8 quarterfinals loss in 2017 led to Hussen finishing with a bronze medal, while John reached the top of the podium.

Adama DIATTA (SEN) is in search of his tenth African title. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Diatta Chasing African Title Number Ten
Adama DIATTA (SEN) is on a quest to claim his tenth African Championship title. He won his first of nine titles 13 years ago, at the 2007 African Championships. He captured three consecutive African gold medals from 2007-’09, before dropping to a silver and a bronze-medal finish at the 2010 and ’11 African Championships, respectively. Diatta added six African crowns to his resume since that loss in 2011 and is awaiting title number ten.

But for Diatta to reach double digits will be extremely tough. He’s bumping up to 65kg for the second time in his career. He appeared at 65kg at last year’s All African Games and finished in eighth place.

The favorite at the weight is returning 65kg African champion, Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS).

Marwa AMRI (TUN), a Rio Olympic bronze medalist, is one of nine returning women's wrestling African champions. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

23 of 30 Gold Medalists Returning
There are 23 of last year’s 30 champions that are returning to the African Championships looking to defend their 2019 crowns. Women’s wrestling has nine returning winners; freestyle has eight and Greco-Roman is set to feature six wrestlers looking to win a second consecutive title.

Women’s Wrestling:
50kg - Miesinnei GENESIS (NGR)
55kg - Faten HAMMAMI (TUN)
57kg - No. 2 Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
57kg - No. 12 Eman Essam Guda EBRAHIM (Ranked at 59kg) (EGY)
62kg - Marwa AMRI (TUN)
68kg - No. 3 Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
72kg - Sunmisola Idowu BALOGUN (NGR)
76kg - Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
76kg - Blessing Joy ONYEBUCHI (NGR)

Freestyle:
57kg - Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
65kg - Mbunde CUMBA MBALI (GBS)
74kg - Amr Reda HUSSEN (EGY)
74kg - Ogbonna JOHN (NGR)
79kg - Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)
86kg - Sabri MNASRIYA (TUN)
92kg - Mohamed ABDALLA (EGY)
97kg - Mohamed SAADAOUI (TUN)

Greco-Roman:
55kg - Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG)
60kg - Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
67kg - No. 5 Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
72kg - Tarek Aziz BENAISSA (ALG)
97kg - Adem BOUDJEMLINE (ALG)
130kg - Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)

SENIOR AFRICAN CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday (February 7)
14:00 - Technical conference – all SENIOR teams

Saturday (February 8)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in WW – GR / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds and repechage WW – GR / SENIOR
17: 00 - Finals WW – GR / SENIOR

Sunday (February 9)
8:30 - Medical examination and Weigh-in FS / SENIOR
10:30 - Qualification rounds FS / SENIOR
17:00 - Finals FS / SENIOR

#JapanWrestling

Olympic champ Fumita joins Ono as late withdrawal from Emperor's Cup

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 - 07:42 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (December 17) -- Five days after former world champion Masanosuke ONO made the stunning announcement that he was pulling out of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships, another high-profile star aborted a long-awaited return to action by joining him on the sidelines.

Olympic champion Kenichiro FUMITA announced Wednesday on the eve of the tournament that he was withdrawing due to an injury, keeping him out of what would have been his first tournament since his triumph at the Paris Olympics.

Fumita, who won the Paris gold at Greco 60kg but was entered at 63kg, made the announcement on his X account. Without disclosing the injury, he said it "was not a major injury that will have an effect on my wrestling career, but I feel it is not worth the risk at this time so I decided to withdraw."

The Emperor's Cup is also serving as the domestic qualifier for the 2026 Asian Championships, and as the first of two national domestic qualifiers for this year's World Championships and Asian Games. The latter holds particular significance in that Japan will be hosting the event.

Fumita, the silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and a two-time former world champion, had only competed at 63kg once in his career, at the 2023 German Grand Prix, where he placed second as a warmup for the World Championships, where he took home the silver.

The 30-year-old was due to take the mat on Thursday, the first day of the four-day tournament at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"I deeply apologize to everyone who was looking forward [to seeing me] and to all those involved [with the tournament]," Fumita said. "I will make the utmost effort to be in top condition and be able to perform at the next competition."

Last Friday, Ono announced that he had withdrawn for health reasons, a move that indefinitely delays his return to the mats of his native country.

Ono revealed on social media that he had been diagnosed with a kidney problem, possibly linked to cutting weight to get down to 57kg, according to a report by Japan's top wrestling website Wrestling Spirits.

Ono has been competing at either 61kg or 65kg in recent years, and the stress of getting down to 57kg might have taken too big a toll. Ono said that he had gotten near 57kg the previous week when he experienced thickening of the urine, which can be regarded as a sign of dehydration.

Upon consultation with a doctor, it was decided "I will play it safe this time," Ono said.

The 22-year-old Ono has become a worldwide sensation, first by winning the senior world title at freestyle 61kg in 2024 with one-sided victories that included beating a past Olympic gold medalist and the reigning world champion, then for leaving the comfort of Yamanashi Gakuin University for the challenge of competing in American folkstyle at powerhouse Penn State University.

The Emperor's Cup would have provided a rare chance for Ono to compete in a freestyle tournament again, the first step on the path to getting back to the World Championships.

Ono said he will now return to Penn State, where he will resume his introduction into folkstyle. While he is redshirting this year -- the system that allows him to train with the team but not enter official competitions to preserve a year of eligibility -- he plans to enter an open tournament in January.

As pointed out by Wrestling Spirits, the big issue facing Ono now is whether or not he will be afforded a spot in the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships in May next year, which will be the second domestic qualifier for the worlds and Asian Games.

As the name implies, the field is limited to invitees, using criteria set by the Japan Wrestling Federation based on results from major competitions over the past year. There are exceptions made for a wrestler who has been out of action for an extended time but has achieved "particularly outstanding results."

In the past, this has been interpreted to mean medaling at an Olympics, as the majority of wrestlers take time off following Olympic success. The question the federation will have to answer is, will a world title in 2024 earn Ono an invitation?

Asked directly by Wrestling Spirits, Kenji INOUE, the federation's chairman of the technical enhancement committee, replied, "At this stage, nothing has been decided."

There is one incentive for the publicity-starved JWF to include Ono in the Meiji Cup field -- it could set up a classic match-up between him and Paris Olympic champion Rei HIGUCHI.

Higuchi has not competed since winning the Paris gold, but has already stated he plans to return at the Meiji Cup with eyes on a first Asian Games appearance.

Ono has not competed in Japan since June 2024, when he participated in the East Japan Collegiate League, a team competition in which he helped Yamanashi Gakuin win the Division I title.

After winning the gold at the Non-Olympic Weight Class World Championships in Tirana in October 2024, he revealed he had been dealing with a broken ankle.

That kept him out of competition for awhile, then early in 2025, he headed across the Pacific to begin training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. In March, he made the blockbuster announcement that he would enroll at Penn State.

Ono had been entered at 57kg at the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational in New York in November, but was a late withdrawal for undisclosed reasons.

At the Emperor's Cup, Olympic weight classes will be contested over two days in the same format at the World Championships, while non-Olympic weights will be finished in a single day.

Although Fumita will no longer be competing, fellow Paris gold medalist Yuka KAGAMI will be making her return to the mat for the first time since her Olympic triumph at women's 76kg, which gets started on Thursday.

African Championship Preview

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Olympic champ Fumita joins Ono as late withdrawal from Emperor's Cup