Sumo: Resurgent Wakatakakage buoyed by ozeki promotion prospect
The 30-year-old from Fukushima Prefecture dominated young talents Hakuoho and Kusano on Tuesday during a training session at the Japan Sumo Association's regional tour event in Sendai, the capital of neighboring Miyagi Prefecture.
"The next meet is important. I'll get proper practice and ready myself both mentally and physically," he said on the 15-day tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Wakatakakage won his first and only Emperor's Cup in March 2022 in Osaka on his sekiwake debut and held the third-highest rank for seven straight meets before suffering a right anterior cruciate ligament injury a year later.
After missing the ensuing three tournaments entirely, Wakatakakage returned to the raised ring down in the third-tier makushita division that November.
He was back in the elite makuuchi division after competing in four tournaments and surged up the standings since, posting five double-digit wins against only one losing record in seven meets.
Having gone 12-3 as komusubi in May and 10-5 as sekiwake in July, Wakatakakage needs 11 wins in September to reach the ozeki promotion standard of 33 wins over three meets wrestling as sekiwake or komusubi.
"I've never compared myself to how I was before the injury, and I'm not looking back in the past," he said. "What I always have is the desire to get stronger."
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