The final “regular season” Grand Prix tournament is ready to start in Manchester (GBR), with all eight of the top-ranked fighters in the Olympic categories on the entry lists. The top seeds and their current world rankings:
Men:
-58 kg:
1. Tae-Hun Kim (KOR: 1)
2. Mikhail Artamonov (RUS: 3)
-68 kg:
1. Dae-Hoon Lee (KOR: 1)
2. Jaouad Achab (BEL: 2)
-80 kg:
1. Cheick Sallah Cisse (CIV: 2)
2. Maksim Khramtcov (RUS: 1)
+80 kg:
1. Vladislav Larin (RUS: 1)
2. Kyo-Don In (KOR: 2)
Women:
-49 kg:
1. Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA: 1)
2. So-Hui Kim (KOR: 2)
-57 kg:
1. Jade Jones (GBR: 1)
2. Tatiana Kudashova (RUS: 3)
-67 kg:
1. Hyeri Oh (KOR: 1)
2. Nur Tatar Askari (TUR: 2)
+67 kg:
1. Bianca Walkden (GBR: 1)
2. Shuyin Zheng (CHN: 2)
The U.S. has two entries who are also ranked in the top 10 in their divisions: Paige McPherson, no. 4 in the women’s -67 kg class, and Jackie Galloway, ranked no. 6 in the +67 kg group.
The Grand Prix Final comes 22-23 November in Fujairah (UAE), so this final tune-up is an excellent preview of the season-ender. Prize money in Manchester is $5,000-3,000-1,000 for the top three places. Look for results here.
