Japan's sumo authority yesterday forced controversial grand champion Asashoryu to give up his wish to spend New Year's Day with his children in his native Mongolia.
The 27-year-old behemoth's professional activities have been strictly controlled by the Japan Sumo Association even after a two-tournament ban on him ended at the end of last month.
He was punished in July for skipping a regional exhibition tour citing injuries but then being caught on camera cheerfully playing a charity football match at home in Mongolia.
"I won't go home. I can't see them [the children]," Kyodo News quoted Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, as saying. "Why is everybody making a fuss?"
The wrestler had told reporters on Monday that he had promised his two children, who live in Mongolia with his wife, that he would spend a few days with them around New Year's Day.
He added that if his home trip is approved he would come back before Jan. 3, when his stable's official training for the tournament from Jan. 13 to Jan. 27 begins.
"I will try not to do anything selfish. I will consult my stable master," Asashoryu said.
But his stable master, Takasago, acting on behalf of sumo authorities, yesterday persuaded Asashoryu to remain in Japan.
"He spoke of his wish, but he understood my opinion," Takasago said.
Asashoryu's perceived disrespect for sumo's code of conduct including good manners has been criticized by the sport's traditionalists, fans and media since he made a meteoric rise to the top rank in 2002.
After he was banned from two bi-monthly tournaments and had severe restrictions placed on his personal life, he went home in late August citing a need for treatment of what was described by his doctors as mental depression.
Asashoryu returned to Japan from Mongolia on Nov. 30 and delivered a somber apology for the controversy he has caused.
Kitanoumi, the association's president, had raised objections to Asashoryu going home again any time soon but said it was ultimately up to the stable master to approve or disapprove such a trip.
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