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Takerufuji (r.) won against Gonoyama on Sunday – despite a damaged ankle
Photo: AFP
Japan has a new sumo star: 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first athlete in 110 years to win a top division tournament on his debut on Sunday. He triumphed at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka, despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day.
"My stablemaster advised me to stop the fight, but I knew that if I did I would regret it for the rest of my life," Takerufuji said in a televised ringside interview about his latest victory. In the sport of sumo, stable masters are usually former wrestlers who run their own stable or training group after their career. They often act as trainers and managers for their athletes.
The fans love his style
Sumo wrestler Takerufuji, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, was taken out of the arena in a wheelchair on Saturday after injuring his ankle in a losing bout against maegashira Asanoyama. "I tore a ligament in my right ankle on day 14," he said. According to Japan News, Takerufuji was even taken to the hospital. That didn't stop him from competing on Sunday.
It's not just the injury that makes the wrestler from northern Japan's triumph so unlikely: Takerufuji only started professional sumo at the end of 2022. He quickly picked up victories in lower-class tournaments and now celebrated his greatest success to date: at the “Spring Grand Sumo Tournament” he won 13 times and only lost twice.
He was then celebrated by the audience. According to "Japan News," fans particularly appreciated his sumo style, which is "dominated by strikes and takes advantage of his speed." Takerufuji is 1.84 meters tall and weighs 143 kilograms, more than 15 kilograms less than the average weight of wrestlers in his division.
The wrestler Ryogoku last achieved a victory on his debut in the highest division at the 1914 summer tournament.
Major sumo tournaments take place every two months and last 15 days, with each wrestler fighting once per day.
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