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Russian sumo brothers fail marijuana tests

Russian sumo wrestler Hakurozan, left, receives water from his brother Roho, right, before his bout at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya, Japan, on July 20. The two brothers, who tested positive for marijuana use on Tuesday, yesterday denied that they had “used or even touched the stuff.” PHOTO: AP

Stung into action by the arrest of one of its top wrestlers, the Japan Sumo Association conducted its first drug tests this week and two Russian wrestlers tested positive for marijuana use.

The association announced that Russian wrestler Roho, 28, and his brother, Hakurozan, 26, both tested positive for marijuana. They were the only wrestlers who tested positive, it said.

Both wrestlers yesterday denied they had used the drug.

The latest scandal was splashed across the front pages of newspapers, which said it would be inevitable for Kitanoumi, one of the modern era’s greatest sumo champions, to resign as head of the association.

The incident was the top item on morning television shows, pushing aside the political turmoil after Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s sudden resignation.

The positive tests are the latest scandal to hit the ancient sport, which has been criticized for the bad conduct by some of its most senior athletes and a criminal investigation into abusive hazing at one of its training centers.

The sumo association said all 69 wrestlers in the top two divisions were tested on Tuesday for marijuana and two kinds of stimulants.

“It’s possible that they inhaled very recently, probably within the past two or three days,” said Shohei Onishi, an anti-doping official at the association.

The test was conducted in response to the arrest and subsequent lifetime ban last month on wrestler Wakanoho, who police claim had a small amount of marijuana in his wallet.

The association did not immediately announce any punishment for Roho or Hakurozan.

Roho, whose real name was listed by the association as Boradzov Soslan Feliksovich, is in sumo’s top division, while Hakurozan — who was listed as Baradzov Batraz Feliksovich — is in a lower tier.

“I have never used or even touched the stuff,” Roho told reporters yesterday. “I want another test to be conducted at a hospital I can trust.”

Hakorozan made a similar denial, the Kyodo news agency reported.

Mitsuru Yaku, who serves on the association’s reform committee, told the Fuji television network Kitanoumi “will naturally get sacked.”

He said more shady revelations could emerge from sumo.

“I’m far from believing that all of the pus has come out,” he said.

Kitanoumi, 55, whose real name is Toshimitsu Obata, was monstrously strong in his peak days in the ring in the 1970s. He retains the record for the youngest wrestler to reach the top rank of yokozuna at age 21 years and two months.

An association official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the group is considering expanding its drug testing to include steroids. He said tests for marijuana and stimulant drugs would also likely be conducted more regularly.
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