Terunofuji will pursue promotion to yokozuna and a third straight championship at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament from the top east ozeki slot in the rankings published by the Japan Sumo Association on Monday.
The 29-year-old's challenge will unfold over 15 days at Nagoya's Dolphins Arena starting from July 4.
Terunofuji's career was nearly wiped out by knee injuries that dropped him to No. 48 in the jonidan division, sumo's second-lowest tier, in March 2019. Last July the Mongolian regained admission to the elite makuuchi division and was re-promoted to ozeki in May, when he won his fourth career championship and his third in the span of one year.