#development

Wrestling Australia Hosts Education Week prior to Youth Nationals

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 - 15:23 By United World Wrestling Press

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SYDNEY, Australia (October 25) – Wrestling Australia and Combat Australia organized an Education Week prior to their Youth Nationals.  During the week, the participants had an opportunity to participate in a Level 1 Coaching Course and the Introduction to Referee Course.  The coaching course was held on 17-19 October and the referee course was on 20-21 October.  On 22 October, Wrestling Australia hosted their Youth National Competition at the Whitlam Leisure Centre.

The Level 1 Coaching Course was conducted by Mr. Zach Errett (USA) – UWW Education Manager.  This course had 11 participants (8 men and 3 women).  The coach participants focused on many topics that would improve their coaching skills.  The areas of emphasis included:  implementing discovery games, identifying key factors in a technique, introducing new skills, improving coaching skills, checking for comprehension, risk management, age group characteristics, athlete safeguarding and anti-doping.  “We all learned a lot in a short period of time - the quality of teaching was great and very professional.” said Aryan Negahdari.  The coaches also participated in practical assessments on many of these areas.  They were asked to demonstrate the coaching skills that they were learning.  They ended the course with a technical session that covered various areas on different wrestling techniques and drills.  “This group of coaches was great!  They were eager to learn and had a great effort each day.  It was great to see them grow as coaches during the course.”  said Zach Errett.

AUSParticipants of the Level 1 Coaching Course and the Introduction to Referee Course host their certificates after completing the course in Sydney. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The Introduction to Referee Course was conducted by Mr. Stefan Rudevics (AUS) – UWW Referee Educator.  This course had 14 participants (11 men and 3 women). The referee participants focused on skills that would provide a solid foundation as a referee.  The areas they focused on were evaluation of holds, starting and ending matches, referee mechanics, positioning, safety of the athletes, and controlling the bout.  “"It was fun, and the days went quick. We learnt by doing; pre- and post-course film sessions and putting it all into action on the youth Nationals with close senior referee support. Stefan was supportive, patient and very knowledgeable. He gave us feedback throughout the whole event and discussed multiple sequences of us refereeing on video, both simulated and live.” said Luke Massey.  During their course, they were asked to referee simulated matches.  This allowed them to use the skills that they were learning.  Many of these referees also participated in the Youth Nationals after the course.  “The course is a fantastic starting point for a refereeing journey, especially to complete it with a competition which helped us gain confidence, humility and insights.” Said Jackie Hattingh. During the event, they were evaluated and given feedback during the sessions.  “Throughout the course, the participants were able to build on their knowledge of wrestling and learn how to referee matches. They expanded their knowledge of the rules and understood new and different philosophies of wrestling they had not contemplated before. As an educator, it makes me so proud to see such development of my students. From little to no refereeing knowledge, to confidently and competently calling challenging matches and feeling good about it shows UWW's development program works.” said Stefan Rudevics.

AUS
Stefan RUDEVICS (AUS) (middle) leads the Introduction to Referee Course. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Wrestling Australia and Combat Australia are actively looking to grow the sport and improve their workforce.  Since they began these referee courses, their national referee enrollment has risen from 7 to 41. This is almost a 500% growth in referees since we started, including 11 female officials.   “We would like to thank Zach Errett, Stefan Rudevics & UWW for the fantastic opportunity they provided our emerging coaches and referees. The training that Zach and Stefan provided throughout the week was of very high value and incredibly important for the growth of our sport here in Australia. The people they trained this week can now go out to practice their new skills and plant the seeds for future.  The feedback we received from all attendees was that they learnt so much and have already started to apply these new skills within days. We look forward to repeating this type of training on a regular basis as it is so important for the growth of our great sport of Wrestling.” said Andrew Kanatli – President of Wrestling Australia

#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.