Sekiwake Takanowaka is set to pull out of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, which gets under way Sunday, after failing to recover from a knee injury, sumo officials said Wednesday.
Takanowaka, who damaged knee ligaments in a loss to Kotomitsuki on the final day of the New Year meet in Tokyo, had hoped to make a swift recovery in time for the Osaka tourney but the injury appears to be worse than initially diagnosed.
The 26-year-old, who finished 9-6 in January, was looking to launch his ozeki promotion campaign in the March 9-23 tournament at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.