Sumo: Ex-yokozuna Hakuho set to announce JSA retirement next week
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Former yokozuna Hakuho is expected to hold a press conference on June 9 to announce his retirement from the Japan Sumo Association.
Multiple association sources said Monday the Mongolian-born 40-year-old, now known as elder Miyagino, will leave the ancient sport's governing body amid uncertainty about the future of his scandal-hit Miyagino stable.
The stable has been closed since April 2024 after Miyagino's protege Hokuseiho was found to have physically abused two junior wrestlers.
Wrestlers and elders from the Miyagino stable transferred to the Isegahama stable indefinitely after the closure.
Hakuho, a winner of 45 elite-level championships and 1,187 matches, both all-time records, retired from competition in September 2021 and became a stablemaster the following July.
He was found responsible and punished over the violent acts committed by the Mongolian-born, Hokkaido-raised Hokuseiho, who retired from sumo over the scandal.
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