After two straight championships, yokozuna Kakuryu sits atop the rankings for the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament that the Japan Sumo Association published Monday.
While the 32-year-old Mongolian goes for a grand tournament title hat-trick, much of the attention at the 15-day event at Dolphins Arena will be on the newest member of the sumo elite, Georgian ozeki Tochinoshin.
At 30 years, 7 months when the tournament kicks off on July 8, Tochinoshin, who has battled back from knee surgery, will be the fourth-oldest wrestler to ascend to sumo's second-highest rank. He is also the first ozeki from Georgia, and the third European after Bulgarian Kotooshu and Estonian Baruto to reach that rank.