NEWSWORTHY
Takakeisho was officially promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki on Wednesday by the Japan Sumo Association. The 22-year-old Japanese is the first wrestler to reach the rank since Georgian Tochinoshin, who faces demotion after posting two straight losing records, was bumped up from ...
Yokozuna Hakuho extended his career championship haul to 42 on Sunday after winning the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament with a record 15th undefeated run. Needing a win against fellow Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu to avoid a championship playoff, Hakuho was pushed to the limit in a ...
Yokozuna Hakuho dodged a bullet from rank-and-filer Tochiozan on Sunday to claim his eighth straight win and take sole possession of the lead at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. Hakuho, seeking a record-extending 42nd top-division title, looked on the verge of an upset against No. ...
Tamawashi put on thrilling show during run to first title
Just prior to the 2018 September Tournament, while sitting in a sweltering Ryogoku Kokugikan and watching the Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice session, I grabbed a quick selfie with a couple of rikishi standing over my right shoulder. Tochinoshin and Mitakeumi were the two wrestlers in ...
Sumo's young guns ready to make big impact in 2019
Last December, when looking ahead to 2018, I wrote that this would be the year when a new generation of sumo talent would rise to glory. It's a prediction that came true for the most part, with three rikishi winning their first Emperor's Cup during ...
Shohei Ohtani receives Prime Minister Cup for second time at Japan Pro Sports Awards
Baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has collected another Prime Minister Cup at the Japan Pro Sports Awards. Los Angeles Angels player Ohtani was given the grand prize at a reception ceremony in Tokyo on Thursday. The 24-year-old captured his first in 2016, when he led the ...
Takakeisho's victory may herald rise of new generation
Takakeisho's victory in the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament made him the third wrestler to lift a maiden Emperor's Cup in 2018. Sumo hasn't seen a breakthrough on that scale in nearly two decades. Not since Musoyama, Takatoriki and Kaio triumphed in January, March and May of ...
Second straight loss for yokozuna Kisenosato at Kyushu Basho
Yokozuna Kisenosato suffered his second straight loss at the 15-day Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament after being defeated by top-ranked maegashira Myogiryu on Monday. Kisenosato, the only yokozuna competing at Fukuoka Kokusai Center following withdrawals by Mongolians Hakuho and Kakuryu, was unable to find an opening ...
Yokozuna Kisenosato opened the 15-day Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament with a loss to Takakeisho on Sunday. Kisenosato, who entered a tournament as the sole yokozuna for the first time, chased the 22-year-old komusubi around the ring to get a hold of his belt. Takakeisho, however, fought ...
Higher-ranked wrestlers in driver's seat in Kyushu
November is upon us and that means the final sumo tournament of the year is just days away. So far 2018 has seen Tochinoshin claim the first championship by a maegashira-ranked wrestler in six years, a dramatic return to form by yokozuna Kakuryu, a surprise ...
Yokozuna Hakuho edged one step closer to his first title of the year and a record-extending 41st career championship after beating Tochinoshin on Thursday, the 12th day of the 15-day Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. Hakuho extended his undefeated run at Ryogoku Kokugikan to 12 straight ...
Tochinoshin will fight to keep ozeki status during Autumn Basho
Georgian Tochinoshin will face his first threat to survival as an ozeki starting on Sept. 9, when the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament kicks off. The 30-year-old failed to win eight bouts in July, his first tournament as an ozeki. He won five of his first ...
