International Sumo Federation needs major reform, new leadership
With all the recent hullabaloo over Tokyo's scrapped national stadium costing too much, and being an over-the-top architectural white elephant (a new stadium budget was unveiled on Friday), few in Japan noticed the decision of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic ...
Time for Hakuho to bring down curtain on legendary career?
In 1971, when the great Taiho retired from the sport of sumo with 32 Emperor's Cups to his name, Hakuho was not yet born. Sumo was, with but a few exceptions, a Japanese-only sport, and nobody could have possibly predicted a skinny teen from Mongolia ...
While fondly recalling late Takanonami's career, expectations rising for newest ozeki
In the run-up to the 2015 Nagoya Basho, on June 20 it was announced in the domestic media that former ozeki Takanonami had passed away at age 43. Incredibly popular in his day, the Aomori-born wrestler first entered professional sumo as a teen in 1987. At ...
Terunofuji could be sumo's next yokozuna
On the back of his first ever Emperor's Cup victory on Sunday, Wednesday morning saw sekiwake Terunofuji promoted to sumo's second rank of ozeki. Aged just 23, and in just his 25th career tournament to date he is the first sekitori born in the current ...
Hakuho out for No. 35, Henderson out just to survive
When the 2015 Summer Grand Sumo Tournament gets under way on May 10 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, for the first time in just over three years, Hakuho's dominance over fellow yokozuna Harumafuji and Kakuryu will not be the hot topic on the lips of ...
Hakuho showing no signs of letting up
When Hakuho won his 33rd Emperor’s Cup in January, he was widely acknowledged as the greatest ever grand champion in the history of the sport. At the time, he moved past Taiho into first place on the all time leaders, in the process equalling the ...
Will SMS be the undoing of sumo’s latest foreign ‘star’?
Sumo has a new superstar. Or at least that is what the individual in question appears to be thinking at the moment! Brodik Henderson is his name. He is Canadian. And if the hype he is largely generating himself on Facebook is to be believed, ...
In praise of Hakuho, from those in the know
In the days since yokozuna grand champion Hakuho pushed ozeki Kisenosato from the ring on Day 13 of the Hatsu Basho at Ryogoku's Kokugikan to claim his 33rd Emperor's Cup, the man from Mongolia has been featured in media around the globe. As is often ...
History in the making as Hakuho goes for 33 championships
The eyes of a nation will be on yokozuna Hakuho when he walks out for his bout on Sunday at Ryogoku’s Kokugikan Stadium. Never before in the history of a sport documented since 1757 has an individual of any rank been on the verge of ...
Hakuho stands shoulder to shoulder with sumo’s greatest
Much has been made about Hakuho coming from behind in Fukuoka last week to claim his latest Emperor’s Cup. And rightly so. Rounding off the 15 days of action with a convincing yorikiri win over fellow yokozuna Kakuryu to finish with a 14-1 record, in ...
Kyushu Basho 2014: A tale of two Mongolians
There are two men to watch when the action gets underway at sumo’s final basho of 2014, down in Fukuoka on Sunday. Both are Mongolian. One, in just his first tournament in the top division so very nearly upstaged the other, arguably the greatest wrestler who ...
Hakuho equals Chiyonofuji on all-time greatest list, but leaves the limelight for Ichinojo to enjoy
In years to come, the 2014 Aki Basho will most likely be remembered as the tournament in which makunouchi’s Mongolian new boy Ichinojo made arguably the biggest splash in a top flight debut in living memory. On his way to an incredible 13-2 finish – ...
