#WrestleNice

Updated (Jan. 14) Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France Preliminary Entries

Thursday, January 7, 2021 - 20:43 By Eric Olanowski

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Nice, FRANCE (January 8) -- The 47th Annual Henri Deglane Grand Prix of France kicks off January 14-18 and will feature nearly 315 athletes from 26 different nations.

*Please note: These are preliminary entries and are subject to change.

Freestyle

57kg
Chakir ANSARI (MAR)
Mahir AMIRASLANOV (AZE)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE)
NilsL EUTERT (SUI)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Temerlan AZIZOV (FRA)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Andrei DUKOV (ROU)
Vitali ARUJAU (USA)
Thomas GILMAN (USA)
Nicholas SURIANO (USA)

61kg
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Viktor LYZEN (GER)
Nico MEGERLE (GER)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Valentin DAMOUR (FRA)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Ayub MUSAEV (BEL)
Ivan GUIDEA (ROU)
Anvar SUVINIITTY (FIN)
Joseph COLON (USA)


World and Olympic champion Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO) highlights a stacked list of 65kg entries. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

65kg
Juan Pablo GONZALEZ (ESP)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Alexander SEMISOROW (GER)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Quentin STICKER (FRA)
Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA)
Théo MAZOYER-VEAUTIER (FRA)
Magomedmurad GADZIHEV (POL)
Vladimer KHINCHEGASHVILI (GEO)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Evghenii VOLKOV (ROU)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Alexandru MATEA( ROU)
Stefan COMAN (ROU)
Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
John DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)
James GREEN (USA)

70kg
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
Kevin HENKEL (GER)
Abdulla TOMOV (FRA)
Zurab ILAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Mihail SAVA (MDA)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
George BUCUR (ROU)
Norbert MOLNOS (ROU)

74kg
Jonathan ALVAREZ (ESP)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Gadzhimurad OMAROV (AZE)
Joel MEIER (SUI)
Marc DIETSCHE (SUI)
Kubilay CAKICI (GER)
Matthias SCHMIDT (GER)
Charles AFA (FRA)
Sofiane PADIOU BELMIR (FRA)
Eduard GREGOREW (POL)
Avtandi lKENTCHADZE (GEO)
Daviti TLASHADZE (GEO)
Valentin BORZIN (MDA)
Avghenii NEDEALCO (MDA)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Jorge Ivan LLANO (ARG)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Kyle DAKE (USA)

79kg
Eduard TATARINOV (GER)
DanielS ARTAKOV (GER)
Andreas WALTER (GER)
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)
Stanislav NOVAC (MDA)
Grigore CARASTOIAN (MDA)

86kg
DamianI GLESIAS (ESP)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Stefan REICHMUTH (SUI)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Radoslaw MARCINKIEWIC (POL)
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Dato MARSAGISHVILI (GEO)
Andrian GROSU (MDA)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)

92kg
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Robin FERDINAND (GER)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Irakli MITSURI (GEO)


A potential Nur-Sultan semifinal rematch of Olympic champions Sharif SHARIFOF (AZE) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) could be brewing at 97kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

97kg
Alejandro CANADA (ESP)
Sharif SHARIFOF (AZE)
Erik THIELE (GER)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Jose CUBA (ESP)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Asghar LAGHARI (GER)
Kamil KOSCIOTEK (POL)
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Jere HEINO (FIN)
Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)


World champion Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) will compete at 55g. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
André SILVA (POR)
Sargis GEVORGIZYAN (AUT)
Nugzar iTSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Ekrem ÖZTÜRK (TUR)
Serif KILIÇ (TUR)
Elcin ALİ (TUR)

60kg 
António CABRAL (POR)
Albert BAGUMYAN (ESP)
Murad MAMMADOV(AZE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

63kg
Julinho DJU (POR)
Andy JUAN (ESP)
Murad BAZAROV (AZE)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Yanis NIFRI (FRA)
Mcateusz SZEWCZUK (POL)
Abdurahman ALTAN (TUR)
Mehmet ÇEKER (TUR)
Fatih ÜÇÜNCÜ (TUR)
Colton RASCHE (USA)
Devin HESTER (USA)

67kg
Marcos SANCHEZ SILVA (ESP)
Namaz RUSTAMOV (AZE)
Islambek DADOV (AZE)
Stefan CLEMENT (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Yasin OZAY (FRA)
Gagik SNJOYAN (FRA)
Aleksander MILEWCZYK (POL)
Aker AL OBAIDI (AUT)
Atakan YÜKSEL (TUR)
Jamel JOHNSON (USA)
Raymond BUNKER (USA)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)

77kg
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Johnny BUR (FRA)
Patryk BEDNARZ (POL)
Maksym ZAKHARCZUK (POL)
Beka MAMUKASHVILI (GEO)
Yunus Emre BAŞAR (TUR)
Fatih CENGİZ (TUR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)
Peyton WALSH (USA)

82kg
Alejandro CONCEPCION (ESP)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Emrah KUS (TUR)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
John STEFANOWICZ (USA)

87kg
Yuisralembert CARRION (ESP)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Saba DJAVAKHICHVILI (FRA)
Michal DYBKA (POL)
Szymon SZYMONOWICZ (POL)
Lesyan Osvaldo COUSIN OTOMURO (JAM)
Guram KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Emrah KUŞ (TUR)
Terrence ZALESKI (USA)
Vaughn MONREAL BERNER (USA)

97kg
Pedro GARCIA (ESP)
Jesus GASCA (ESP)
Murad LOKIAEV (AZE)
Loic SAMEN (FRA)
Piotr CHUDZIK (POL)
Gerard KURNICZAK (POL)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Metehan BAŞAR (TUR)
Daniel MILLER (USA)

130kg
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Sulkhani BUIDZE (GEO)
Jakob KAJAIA (GEO)
Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI)
Diego ALMENDRAS (CHI)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)


Reigning world champion Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA) will take the mat at 68kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Ana TORRES (ESP)
Jonna MALMGREN (SWE)
Lisa ERSEL (GER)
Julie SABATIÉ (FRA)
Félicia GALLO (FRA)
Taru VAINIONPÄÄ (FIN)
Evin DEMİRHAN (TUR)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Sarah HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Amy FEARNSIDE (USA)

53kg
Marina RUEDA (ESP)
Sofia MATTSSON (SWE)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Angelina PURSCHKE( GER)
Hilary HONORINE (FRA)
Emma LUTTENAUER (FRA)
Florine SCHELDER (AUT)
Zeynep YETGİL (TUR)
Esra PUL (TUR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)
Sara ETTAKI (ITA)
Oriana DI STEFANO (ITA)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)


Olympic champion Helen MAROULIS (USA) headlines the entries at 57kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Maria VICTORIA BAEZ (ESP)
Graciela SANCHEZ (ESP)
Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Laura MERTENS (GER)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Elena HeikeBRUGGER (GER)
Josefine PURSCHKE (GER)
Mathilde RIVIERE (FRA)
Gaëlle RUIZ (FRA)
Jeannie KESSLER (AUT)
Bediha GÜN (TUR)
Mehlika ÖZTÜRK (TUR)
Lauren LOUIVE (USA)
Helen MAROULIS (USA)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)

63kg
Lydia PEREZ (ESP)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Andrea GRASRUCK (GER)
Anne NURNBERGER (GER)
Améline DOUARRE (FRA)
Gamze NurADAKAN (TUR)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Kayla MIRACLE (USA)
Macey KILTY (USA)
Rebecca DE LEO (ITA)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Sara DACOL (ITA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Yulia TKACH (UKR)

68kg
Nerea PAMPIN (ESP)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)
Eyleen SEWINA (GER)
Kendra DACHER (FRA)
Luz Clara VAZQUEZ (ARG)
Asli DEMİR (TUR)
Nesrin BAŞ (TUR)
Nazar BATIR (TUR)
Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA)
Forrest MOLINARI (USA)
Victoria FRANCIS (USA)
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)

76kg
Carla LERA (ESP)
Francy RADELT (GER)
Johanna MEIER (GER)
Lilly SCHNEIDER (GER)
Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Cynthia VESCAN (FRA)
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Epp MAE (EST)
Ay Segul ÖZBEĞE (TUR)
Merve PUL (TUR)
Vahide Nur GÖK (TUR)
Elenj PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)

#JapanWrestling

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

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

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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.