After weeks of heated media coverage and speculation over his future, sumo grand champion Harumafuji announced his retirement from the sport Wednesday to take responsibility for the Oct. 25 assault on wrestler Takanoiwa in the city of Tottori.
The 33-year-old top-tier yokozuna from Mongolia submitted a letter of resignation to the Japan Sumo Association earlier in the day through his stablemaster, Isegahama, in Fukuoka.
At the time, senior members of the association were meeting to decide the official ranking of wrestlers for the first tournament of next year.