Yokozuna Terunofuji decided Friday to sit out the upcoming New Year Grand Sumo Tournament to focus on making a full recovery from having surgery on both knees last October.
The injury-prone 31-year-old from Mongolia will have missed all or part of a grand sumo tournament for the fourth time in nine meets since his yokozuna debut in September 2021.
The New Year tournament begins Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, with ozeki Takakeisho competing as the highest-ranked wrestler after Shodai and Mitakeumi lost their ozeki status last year.
Foreshadowing his withdrawal from the meet, Terunofuji did not take part in the ancient sport's training tour in December.
In a rare occurrence, a different wrestler was crowned makuuchi division champion at each of last year's grand tournaments, with Mitakeumi, Wakatakakage, Terunofuji, Ichinojo, Tamawashi and Abi winning titles.