Sumo yesterday crowned a new grand champion in record time as Onosato became the fastest to attain the exalted rank of yokozuna in the Japanese sport’s modern era.
The big news is that the 1.92m, 191kg Onosato, the 75th grand champion in the centuries-old sport, is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017.
The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians and prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia.
Photo: AFP
The 24-year-old’s elevation by the Japan Sumo Association came after he appeared in just 13 professional tournaments, eight fewer than the current record holder.
He was the second to reach the top rank in the space of four months, following Hoshoryu’s promotion in January.
Onosato’s promotion would set up an instant rivalry with Mongolia-born Hoshoryu.
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
The two are to go head-to-head for the first time as yokozuna in July in Nagoya.
“I’ll devote myself to training so that I will not disgrace the title of yokozuna,” Onosato said yesterday, dressed in a formal kimono and bowing as he sat on the floor. “I will aim to become a one-and-only yokozuna.”
Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, was recommended for promotion on Monday after he won the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament a day earlier for his second straight title and the fourth of his career.
His promotion was the fastest since the current six-tournament calendar was introduced in 1958.
Onosato is from Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit on Jan. 1 last year by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed about 600 people and caused widespread damage. Much of the destruction was centered on an area known as the Noto Peninsula.
“I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa Prefecture and the Noto region,” he said.
“I determined that yokozuna should be my goal once I entered the world of sumo,” he said. “It’s not easy to achieve and I’m really delighted.”
Sumo is regarded as Japan’s national sport, or most sacred sport, and many of the ritual elements are connected to Shinto, Japan’s indigenous religion.
Sumo’s origins date back more than 1,000 years, and Japan is the only country where it is contested on a professional level.
The sport is highly regimented with many wrestlers living in communal training facilities where food and dress are controlled by ancient traditions.
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