A women's sumo tournament supported by former sumo yokozuna Hakuho's master Miyagino was held for the first time in Tokyo, and athletes from Ishikawa Prefecture, an area affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, also participated and wowed the venue.
This tournament, named the ``Dream Girls Cup,'' was held for the first time in an effort to popularize women's sumo.
Approximately 200 people from elementary school to high school students from all over the country gathered at the venue in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, and Yuna Fujishima, a third-year junior high school student from Shiga Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, where the Noto Peninsula Earthquake experienced a magnitude 7 earthquake, participated.
Fujishima said before the match that his home had been damaged by the earthquake, including a water outage, ``Thanks to the support of the local people, I was able to continue sumo even after the disaster. "I want to bring smiles to people's faces," the players vowed powerfully.
In the match, he showed off his powerful sumo skills by moving forward and taking turns with his opponent, which electrified the audience, and he won runner-up in the junior high school heavyweight division.
Former yokozuna Hakuho's master Miyagino was involved in the tournament as a supporter, applauding and watching the players' performance.
Master Miyagino said, ``It was as powerful a sumo match as the men. I don't think there has ever been a tournament with so many women from all over the country. I want to continue this every year.''