Just 868 days after Onosato began his professional sumo career with a loss to a former college teammate, the Ishikawa native claimed a fifth Emperor’s Cup — his first at the rank of yokozuna.
It’s been an absolutely stunning two years in Japan’s national sport for a rikishi who, after just 15 tournaments, already looks on track to become one of the best that sumo has ever seen.
With victory in a playoff over Hoshoryu — a man who had defeated Onosato in seven of their previous eight meetings — the young yokozuna overcame his sole remaining weakness and cemented his position as the preeminent force in sumo.
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