Sumo officials are facing another major embarrassment after ozeki Kotomitsuki appeared in the rankings released Monday for the upcoming Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament despite his dismissal from the sport for illicit gambling.
More than 100 fans lined up at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena in the morning to buy copies of what a Japan Sumo Association official has described as "unprecedented, unique rankings" ahead of next Sunday's start of the 15-day tournament at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Kotomitsuki's name appeared among five wrestlers who hold the second-highest position — below Hakuho, the only man in the top rank of yokozuna — for the tournament, which will go on without six other top-division wrestlers who have been suspended for their involvement in gambling.