Veteran Tamawashi’s surprise championship in September was notable for several reasons.
Coming just a couple of months before his 38th birthday, the triumph meant the Ulaanbaatar native became the oldest wrestler to lift the Emperor’s Cup since the six-tournament system was instituted in 1958.
It also ensured that no two honbasho during the year to that point had the same champion — a statistical fact Abi’s win in November guaranteed would apply to all of 2022.