Choi Min-jeong grabs three golds for South Korea at Asian Winter Games
Harbin, China –
Three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong led the way with three golds as South Korea dominated the short track speedskating at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin over the weekend.
Short track is one of the few sports with genuine world class competition at the Winter Asiad, and the South Koreans claimed six of the nine titles, with China snaring two and Kazakhstan claiming the last gold.
Choi won individual titles in the 500 and 100 meters and also helped her country to the 2,000-meter mixed team gold to complete a career sweep of all five Asian Games titles available to women.
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The Mainichi
an hour ago
- The Mainichi
All-time great wrestler Hakuho quits Japan Sumo Association with plans to form global body
TOKYO (AP) -- Hakuho, a retired "yokozuna" or grand champion and viewed by many as the sport's greatest wrestler, quit the Japan Sumo Association on Monday after an apparent falling out with the governing body of the ancient sport. The Mongolia-born Hakuho was earlier sanctioned by the Japan Sumo Association, accused of failing to control the behavior of a wrestler in his so-called stable, the term used for a training team headed by retired wrestlers. Hakuho's stable was closed a year ago. Japanese media reports say the wrestler in question engaged in physical violence. But closing a stable, instead of just punishing an individual wrestler, was unusual. He did not directly criticize the professional Japan Sumo Association, but he said wrestlers who had trained under him were treated unfairly. Hakuho, who was granted Japanese citizenship, said he had been in talks with the association but recently decided to quit because there was no hope of reopening his stable. His farewell and future "After 25 years of loving sumo and being loved by sumo, I want to advance toward a new dream," Hakuho told reporters Monday at a Tokyo hotel. Hakuho said he wants to create a body to govern sumo outside Japan -- the "world sumo project." "When I think of my situation, I think it's best to contribute to sumo from the outside," he said, wearing a dark suit and referring to the Japan Sumo Association. Appearing with a lawyer and other officials he had tapped for his team, Hakuho said they were getting corporate sponsors to back sumo grand slams, which draw amateur sumo wrestlers from around the world, including children and women. Hakuho said he was friends with Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda, who has expressed interest in supporting his efforts. Toyota already supports various amateur and professional sports activities. Many regard the Mongolia-born Hakuko as the greatest champion in the sport's history and he holds many of its records. Hahuko's late-father, who went by the given name of Monkhbat, was an Olympic silver medalist for Mongolia in 1968. He also competed in at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Sumo encompasses very strict rules and traditions that have prompted other top wrestlers to pursue careers outside the sport. Hahuko retired from active wrestling in 2021.
Asahi Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
SUMO/ Hakuho to work outside of JSA to spread the sport across the globe
One week after resigning from the Japan Sumo Association, retired yokozuna great Hakuho said he isn't leaving the sport entirely but wants to take sumo global and support it outside the JSA. At a news conference on June 9 that lasted about an hour, Hakuho, 40, explained why he decided to leave the JSA rather than continue as stablemaster Miyagino. He said he had decided in March to resign from the association, but waited until after the conclusion of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament held in Tokyo in May to make a formal announcement. Hakuho said he would establish a new company designed to turn sumo into a global sport and which he would head. 'I have been loved by sumo and have in turn loved sumo for the past 25 years,' Hakuho said. 'I am here today to inform all of you that I am leaving the association and moving forward toward a new dream. Thinking about my current position, I decided it would be better to make every effort to further develop sumo from outside the association rather than within it.' He said he wanted to work toward creating a world sumo grand slam tournament as well as to make it an Olympic sport. Hakuho added that the religious roots of sumo helps to foster the physical and mental sides of an individual to make them better people. 'I believe it will be possible to transmit the fundamentals of sumo in order to rid the world of discrimination and prejudice,' Hakuho said. He explained that various proposals were raised within the JSA about what to do with his Miyagino stable, which had been placed under the auspices of the Isegahama stable. That was a result of disciplinary measures taken against Hakuho for violent acts by some of his stable members that were not reported to the JSA. Hakuho said nine stable members decided to retire rather than join a stable suggested by the JSA. Some had insisted on joining the Oshima stable now headed by the former Kyokutenho. But Hakuho said JSA officials did not approve such a move because Kyokutenho was also originally from Mongolia, like his own country of origin. Hakuho also brushed off media reports that suggested he was upset that the retired yokozuna Terunofuji would become the new Isegahama stablemaster rather than himself. Hakuho said he feels like a father to Terunofuji since he introduced him to a sumo stable when he joined the sumo world.
Japan Today
6 hours ago
- Japan Today
Retired yokozuna Hakuho says he wants to expand sumo to the world
Former yokozuna Hakuho speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, to deliver a farewell message following the reported acceptance of his resignation and to outline his future plans. By Natsuko FUKUE Retired sumo great Hakuho said Monday he was quitting the ancient sport in Japan after his wrestling stable was closed because of a bullying scandal involving his protege. "It has been 25 years of being loved by sumo and loving sumo," the Mongolian-born Hakuho told reporters, confirming he was leaving the Japan Sumo Association. "I have no regrets," he said, adding that his family supported his decision. Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring from competition in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shut in April last year. The 40-year-old was handed an embarrassing demotion for failing to control the behavior of his protege Hokuseiho, who allegedly punched his lower-ranked stablemates and stole money from them. Sumo has been dogged by multiple scandals in the past including allegations of bullying, illegal betting and links to organized crime. Hakuho, who returned to Tokyo from Mongolia for the press conference, said he had "cried a lot". Having no clear indication of when the stable could resume operations was the main reason for his decision to walk away, he said. Japanese media said last week that the sumo association, which declined to comment at the time, had accepted Hakuho's resignation. Hakuho said Monday he was "moving on to a new dream" and that in the future "I intend to focus on projects to expand sumo to the world. "I believe that... sumo can bring hope to resolve the discrimination, prejudice and roughness in the world today," he said. An adviser to the company Hakuho is setting up to promote sumo said that the new project called "World Sumo Grand Slam" targets amateur wrestlers. Hakuho was born Munkhbat Davaajargal and was the son of a champion Mongolian wrestler who won his country's first Olympic medal at the 1968 Games. Hakuho moved to Japan aged 15. He was turned away by most stables because no one wanted someone "as pale and skinny as me", according to his 2016 autobiography. But he managed to persuade a trainer to take him on and made his sumo debut in 2001. Hakuho won his first top-division title in 2006 and went on to fight at the sport's highest rank of yokozuna more times than anyone in history. He took Japanese citizenship in 2019, a requirement to run his own stable. Six of the last seven sumo grand champions, including Hakuho, were born in Mongolia. © 2025 AFP
