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.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Club World Cup: Jack Grealish left out of Man City squad
MIAMI (AP) — Jack Grealish has been left out of Manchester City's squad for the Club World Cup. City manager Pep Guardiola named a 27-man squad for the tournament, which kicks off in Miami on Saturday, with Grealish a notable omission. The England forward was a British record signing when he moved to City from Aston Villa for 100 million pounds ($139 million then) in 2021 and went on to help the club win three Premier League titles, the Champions League and a host of other trophies. But he has become an increasingly peripheral figure and made only seven league starts last season. The 29-year-old Grealish's absence from the Club World Cup will add to the growing expectation that he will leave during the offseason, with Guardiola embarking on a squad rebuild following the team's first trophyless season in eight years. City's squad includes four new players signed in time to take part in the month-long tournament in the United States: Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marcus Bettinelli. In January, City also spent big to sign Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis as Guardiola began his overhaul of a squad that saw its dominance of English soccer broken by Liverpool last season. If Grealish goes, he is likely to be one of a number of players to move on. Kevin De Bruyne is leaving at the end of his contract this month and Kyle Walker is also likely to go after a loan move to AC Milan in January; as expected, neither player was in the squad. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. City's first match at the 32-team tournament is against Wydad Casablanca next Wednesday in Philadelphia. The other teams in the group are Juventus and Abu Dhabi's Al Ain. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
It didn't take DK Metcalf long to show the Steelers what they're getting in their new wide receiver
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The scene looked familiar. Maybe that's because it was. A defender racing downfield, ball in hand. DK Metcalf in relentless — and remarkably fast — pursuit. Five years ago, it was Metcalf memorably tracking down Arizona's Budda Baker 90 yards from the line of scrimmage to prevent a touchdown, a play that would be in the NFL GIF Hall of Fame, if such a thing existed (give it time, it might). On Tuesday, in Metcalf's first official practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being acquired in a trade with the Seahawks in March, he nearly caught new teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick as Fitzpatrick dashed toward the end zone with a turnover. This time, the whistle blew before Metcalf's white No. 4 jersey reached Fitzpatrick's No. 39. Nobody was robbed of a score. Nobody was mic'ed up. And no video evidence of the sequence will ever reach the internet. Still, the max effort from a two-time Pro Bowler during a time of year coach Mike Tomlin describes as 'football lite' was noticeable. 'I mean, that's just football,' Metcalf said with a shrug on Wednesday. 'If you see a turnover, I'm not just going to walk and let him return the ball. Like I'm going to go get his (butt).' It's the way Metcalf is wired, one of the many reasons the Steelers made the aggressive move to swing a deal for the 27-year-old, then immediately sign him to a massive extension. While Pittsburgh has a knack for finding talented wide receivers in the draft — from Antonio Brown to Martavis Bryant to JuJu Smith-Schuster to Diontae Johnson to George Pickens — the one thing it has struggled with is finding a pass catcher who can be a difference-maker on the field without being a headline-maker off it. Metcalf will have the chance to check that box and perhaps rewrite the narrative that surrounds his career in the process. He spent six seasons with the Seahawks as an imposing (6-foot-4) and dynamic downfield threat who also happens to be a willing blocker. The fire that runs through him, however, would sometimes singe teammates and coaches in Seattle, while also occasionally drawing attention from officials. Metcalf's challenge in Pittsburgh will be channeling things properly on a team that is in flux at quarterback. Yes, Aaron Rodgers — who famously met up with Metcalf in California during the offseason for a throwing session not long after Metcalf was acquired by Pittsburgh — will have the ball this season. What happens after that, however, is uncertain. Metcalf is committed to the long haul, and that includes providing leadership to a room that is largely lacking outside of 12-year veteran Robert Woods, signed in May. While Metcalf is still in the 'getting to know you' stage in Pittsburgh, he understands the standing that his resume and his contract command. 'I'm more of a lead by example-type guy,' he said. 'I'm not a big rah-rah guy or walk up to you and say something to you on the spot (guy).' He would rather pull someone off to the side for a quick chat rather than 'blast' them in front of the whole team. That might be a step in the right direction for a group that's spent the past few years trying to weather Pickens' petulant behavior. Pittsburgh opted to move on, shipping the talented but mercurial 24-year-old to Dallas last month. While it might feel like addition by subtraction in a locker room that was over his antics, on the field, it also could create a void. Metcalf, however, cautioned against the idea that the unit can't be productive. He pledged to be an 'open book' to Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson, both of whom Metcalf called 'special.' 'I'm going to be asking them questions as well and how they see the game,' he said. 'So just piggybacking off of what they do and just bouncing ideas off each other.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. He also plans to continue to bounce things off Rodgers, whose quick release combined with Metcalf's innate ability to beat defenders off the line of scrimmage could create the kind of opportunities that didn't come enough last season, when Metcalf only turned 35 of his 66 receptions into first downs, a career low. Rodgers and Metcalf have quickly hit it off and even spent some of their downtime together challenging each other by playing a trivia game. Metcalf called Rodgers 'a fun person' and believes there's an opportunity for both of them to turn the chemistry they're building into something special come late fall. 'Hopefully,' he said, 'we can put a product on the field that you know can last a lifetime.' ___ AP NFL:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
'The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays' explores baseball team's 48-year history
TORONTO – Toronto Blue Jays brass used all the bells and whistles when they tried to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in the fall of 2023. The once-in-a-lifetime pursuit of the Japanese free agent, as author Keegan Matheson writes in his new book, 'The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays,' included taking Ohtani, his agent and interpreter at the time on a tour of the team's renovated player development complex, complete with a few special touches. Three lockers in the clubhouse were set aside for Ohtani, along with jerseys, gear, hats, bags and accessories. It was all part of an elaborate effort to sell him on the team. An impressed Ohtani — whose camp wanted total secrecy throughout the process — walked out of the Dunedin, Fla., facility with bags of team gear and a Blue Jays hat on his head, Matheson writes. Ohtani stopped to take pictures with his interpreter, who was also sporting some Toronto kit. The superstar's dog, 'Decoy,' came running out to join them in a Canadian dog jacket the Blue Jays had bought for him. 'I think that the presentation they gave Ohtani was incredibly impressive and they were not the No. 2 team just to be strung along and used as the other person at the bargaining table,' said Matheson. 'They were No. 2 because they almost signed him.' The behind-the-scenes colour and details from Matheson's interviews and descriptions bring an intriguing, memorable and downright surreal chapter in the team's near half-century history to life. Ohtani would eventually sign a 10-year, US$700-million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a big blow for Canada's lone big-league team and its countrywide contingent of supporters. The Blue Jays would eventually sign a big fish of their own, locking up star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year extension last April worth a team record $500 million. The megadeal helped soothe any lingering pain from the Ohtani situation and also showed the franchise was willing to spend big in an effort to be a consistent contender. But that Ohtani off-season — from a bizarre Zoom call with general manager Ross Atkins to the erroneous report that Ohtani had chosen the Blue Jays and was on a plane to Toronto — was the 'strangest experience' Matheson expects to have as a reporter. 'The game that went into it was really fascinating,' Matheson said in a recent interview. 'Trying to operate in secrecy in a world where we want to know everything that's going on with your favourite team and with your favourite player. 'This was more of a TV drama and the amount of work that went into keeping it secret fascinates me.' The book also explores the team's early days, the playoff successes in the early 1990s, the near-misses in the previous decade, and many of the players — on and off the field — who made it all happen. The stories and anecdotes are not always the obvious ones. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. From players sipping chicken noodle soup at a frigid Exhibition Stadium, to amusing tales of manager-athlete dynamics, to the homecoming after a 670-day break between home games due to COVID-19, Matheson touches all the bases. 'Instead of asking a pitcher why he lost or asking someone why they struck out three times, this was an opportunity to ask someone, 'Hey, tell me about the best days of your life,'' said Matheson, who covers the team for 'Tell me about that memory that everyone always asks you about at the bar, at golf tournaments and coffee shops.' 'The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays,' a 302-page book published by Triumph Books, is available now at a retail price of $38. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
