Latest news with #sumo
Japan Times
37 minutes ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Former yokozuna Hakuho to leave sumo association
Retired former yokozuna Hakuho, a native of Mongolia who is now known as Miyagino oyakata, or stablemaster, will quit the Japan Sumo Association, the association said Monday. His departure comes more than a year after his stable closed down over a physical abuse incident involving one of its wrestlers. Quitting the JSA means the former yokozuna will no longer be part of the sumo wrestling world as a stablemaster, a role responsible for training and mentoring junior wrestlers. The JSA accepted his resignation and he will officially leave the association on June 9. Hakuho, who is currently in Mongolia, is expected to hold a news conference next week, according to media reports. The Miyagino stable shut down in February 2024 after one of its wrestlers, Hokuseiho, was found to have been regularly beating junior wrestlers in the same stable. Hakuho was demoted and received a pay cut for failing to prevent the incident. After the stable shut down, its members moved to the Isegahama stable, headed by Isegahama oyakata, better known as former yokozuna Asahifuji. In a statement, JSA said it had been discussing with Hakuho and other board members about restoring the stable after the November basho, trying to persuade him to stay on but without success. 'I've tried multiple times to persuade him to stay, to be patient a bit more, since the stable will be restarted soon, but he was adamant,' Asahifuji was quoted as saying in the statement. Asahifuji also noted that Hakuho seemed to be 'less passionate' in training junior wrestlers, apparently because his mind was elsewhere with him considering resignation. Local media reports said Hakuho was discontent with Asahifuji's decision to appoint former yokozuna Terunofuji, with whom he doesn't have a good relationship, as the new stablemaster for Isegahama stable. The decision was approved by the association the same day. The physical abuse incident tainted the career of the former yokozuna, who won 45 Emperor's Cups with 1,093 makuuchi victories, both record highs. In 2009 and 2010, he had a record 86 wins in a year. Born as Davaajargal Monkhbatyn, Hakuho became the 69th yokozuna in 2007 at the age of 22. He became a naturalized citizen of Japan in 2019 and retired as a wrestler in 2021. Japan Times sumo columnist John Gunning has described former Hakuho as arguably 'the greatest wrestler in the 2,000-year history of sumo,' comparing his achievements in the sport to the likes of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Cristiano Ronaldo. Information from Jiji added
NHK
an hour ago
- General
- NHK
Former Yokozuna Hakuho to leave world of sumo
Former Yokozuna Grand Champion Hakuho will leave the world of sumo wrestling, more than a year after his stable was closed due to a scandal involving one of its wrestlers. The Japan Sumo Association accepted Hakuho's resignation on Monday. He will retire from the sumo governing body on June 9. Hakuho won a record 45 tournament titles during his career that spanned two decades, and acquired Japanese nationality in 2019. He retired as a wrestler in 2021, and the following year became the head of the Miyagino Stable. Since then, the Mongolian-born wrestler has been known by the name Miyagino. But in February 2024, he was demoted by two ranks to the lowest rank of elders over acts of violence by one of his wrestlers. The stable was closed. The master and wrestlers were transferred to another stable of Isegahama. It is the leading stable of the Isegahama group, which his Miyagino stable belongs to. He continued training wrestlers as a junior master, but began expressing his intention to leave the association because there was no prospect of reopening his stable. Sources say he held talks with the association during the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in May, but the two sides failed to find common ground. He entrusted his letter of resignation to a person in the group and left his fate up to the association. He is now in Mongolia. Sources say he will return to Japan soon and meet reporters as early as June 9.
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Sumo legend Hakuho to resign after stable scandal, say reports
TOKYO, June 2 — Retired sumo great Hakuho will quit the ancient Japanese sport following a row over the forced closure of his wrestling stable for physical abuse, reports said Monday. The Mongolian-born Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shuttered in April last year when one of his proteges was accused of bullying. Hakuho was also handed an embarrassing demotion for failing to control the behaviour of Hokuseiho, who allegedly punched his lower-ranked stablemates and stole money from them. The future of Hakuho's stable is still unclear more than a year later, leading the 40-year-old to tender his resignation to the Japan Sumo Association, reports said. The reports said his resignation was accepted at an extraordinary board meeting in Tokyo. When contacted by AFP, the Japan Sumo Association declined to comment. Hakuho, who is currently in Mongolia according to posts he has made on social media, is expected to hold a news conference next week. Born Munkhbat Davaajargal, Hakuho moved to Japan aged 15 and made his sumo debut in 2001. He 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. — AFP
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Retired great Hakuho to quit sumo over stable row: reports
Retired sumo great Hakuho is set to quit the ancient Japanese sport, reports say (Philip FONG) Retired sumo great Hakuho will quit the ancient Japanese sport following a row over the forced closure of his wrestling stable for physical abuse, reports said Monday. The Mongolian-born Hakuho won a record 45 tournaments before retiring in 2021 to coach wrestlers, but his stable was indefinitely shuttered in April last year when one of his proteges was accused of bullying. Advertisement Hakuho was also handed an embarrassing demotion for failing to control the behaviour of Hokuseiho, who allegedly punched his lower-ranked stablemates and stole money from them. The future of Hakuho's stable is still unclear more than a year later, leading the 40-year-old to tender his resignation to the Japan Sumo Association, reports said. The reports said his resignation was accepted at an extraordinary board meeting in Tokyo. When contacted by AFP, the Japan Sumo Association declined to comment. Hakuho, who is currently in Mongolia according to posts he has made on social media, is expected to hold a news conference next week. Advertisement Born Munkhbat Davaajargal, Hakuho moved to Japan aged 15 and made his sumo debut in 2001. He 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. amk/dh
NHK
3 days ago
- General
- NHK
Sumo wrestler Onosato promoted to Yokozuna Grand Champion
Japanese sumo wrestler Onosato has been promoted to the highest rank of Yokozuna Grand Champion, becoming the 75th wrestler to hold the title. The Japan Sumo Association decided to promote Onosato from the second highest rank of ozeki at an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors on Wednesday. Onosato became champion of the latest Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with 14 wins and one loss. This was his fourth career tournament victory and second in a row. He won the spring tournament in a playoff after he and his rival ended the 15-day event with 12 wins and three losses. After the association meeting, two messengers visited the Nishonoseki stable in Ami Town, Ibaraki Prefecture. They notified Onosato and his stable master of the promotion. In accepting, Onosato vowed to practice hard so as not to disgrace the title of the grand champion. He also said he would make an effort to become a unique yokozuna. The new yokozuna then said at a news conference that he is truly glad about the promotion. He said he will work even harder because he is entering an important stage. Onosato achieved the fastest promotion to yokozuna since 1909, when the position became an official title. It took only 13 tournaments for him to achieve the feat. About his speedy promotion to yokozuna, he said it was fast in terms of a record, but he did not think about the speed. He said instead he learned from every tournament and believed in his capability to reach the position he would finally be in. Onosato, who is 24 years old, was born in Tsubata Town in central Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut as a professional sumo wrestler in May 2023. He is the first Japanese-born wrestler to become yokozuna since 2017. In that year, his stable master Nishonoseki, formerly known as wrestler Kisenosato, was promoted to the top position after the New Year Tournament.
