Penn State junior Masanosuke Ono withdraws from Japan's Emperor's Cup, hopes to wrestle in college open tournament soon, report says

A new report from Wrestling Spirits, which bills itself as ‘Japan’s only wrestling-focused web media’, says that Penn State junior and former Japan and World champ Masanosuke Ono is withdrawing from his home country’s Emperor’s Cup, which is part of its world team selection process, due to a kidney issue. The tournament runs Dec. 18-21.

“He said the injury is not serious and he expects to return within this month and aim to compete in the university’s open tournament,” Wrestling Spirits writes. “His preparation for the 57kg weight class was going well, and by the middle of last week his weight had dropped to nearly 57kg. It is unclear whether excessive dehydration (weight loss) was the cause, but after his urine became darker and he was diagnosed, he was found to have kidney problems. After consulting with his doctor, he decided to postpone his participation in the competition in a “foreign country.”

The report adds that Ono still hopes to compete for a spot on Japan’s World team later this year. He was favored to make it before this news. However, the country’s national wrestling organization would need to grant him special entry into May’s Meiji Cup All-Japan Selection Championships. It’s unclear as of early December whether or not it will.

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Speaking with reporters earlier this year, Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson outlined the initial plan for Ono, who joined the Lions during the offseason. The Lions will redshirt him in 2025-2026, which still makes him eligible for open tournaments. They list him in the 133-pound weight class. He was attempting to wrestle lighter than that in the Emperor’s Cup, however. Fifty-seven kilograms equals 125.6 pounds. Ono also backed out of the Bill Farrell Memorial earlier this year despite being entered in the 57-kilogram bracket. No reason for that was given at the time.

“I think he really likes it here,” Sanderson said. “But, you know, I can’t speak for him, but it was just one of those deals where he was scheduled, that he was coming in here to train, and then it kind of, it looked like, I think he went to maybe our first match, or wasn’t our first match, but when he was here, went to a match, and kind of wanted to see if there was any way he could wrestle here, and it just kind of went from there.

“It was a lot of work, a lot of work on his part to make it happen. But yeah, he loves folk style, right? He spent time trying to get better on the mat, which he’s doing very well. That’s just him, just being a competitor and just loving the sport. He’s a great wrestler, great energy, just a good person, and we’re grateful that he’s on our team.”