As the Japan Sumo Association grapples with the sport's biggest and most damaging scandal yet, wrestlers are at loss over how to deal with the cancellation of the March "basho."
JSA Chairman Hanaregoma, describing the bout-fixing scandal as the "darkest chapter" in sumo's centuries-old history, confirmed Sunday that the March 13 to 27 Spring Grand Sumo Tournament would be the first basho canceled since 1946.
"This is the first time I've ever experienced anything like this, so I'm not really sure how I should be dealing with it," veteran Mongolian maegashira Kyokutenho said Monday. "What are we supposed to train for now? As each day passes, I feel more and more the gravity of this problem."