Japan’s ancient sport of sumo is celebrating the birth of a new hero, with Muto becoming the first wrestler in more than a century to win the top division on debut.
There were wild celebrations at Osaka’s Edion Arena on Sunday after he ended the 15-day tournament with an unblemished 13-2 record.
The 24-year-old from northern Aomori Prefecture pushed his opponent Gonoyama out of the ring. soil fertilizer He won the Emperor’s Cup despite injuring his ankle the day before and having to be taken out in a wheelchair after losing a match.
On Sunday, a shocked Takerufuji (real name Mikiya Ishioka) revealed that his stable owner encouraged him to withdraw from the race to avoid injuring his ankle.
“But I knew if I quit, I would regret it for the rest of my life,” the 143-kilogram (315-pound) wrestler said in a ringside interview. “If you asked me to do it again, I would never be able to do it.
“I did this through sheer willpower. I really don’t know what happened.”
Takerufuji is the first wrestler to win the inaugural 15-Day Classic since Ryogoku in 1914 Honey distribute.
He only made his official debut in September 2022, winning his first Emperor’s Cup title faster than any competitor since sumo adopted its current competition schedule in 1958.
His achievements are all the more remarkable considering his rank, Qiantou 17th, the lowest of all 42 wrestlers in the division, including overall championship rankings Yokozuna.
Most of the top-ranked wrestlers suffered multiple defeats early in Osaka, with Teruno Fuji, the only current overall champion, exiting the tournament after the first week with a back injury.
Grand Sumo holds six tournaments each year, each lasting 15 days, three in Tokyo and one each in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Wrestlers will move up or down the rankings, or stay at their current position, depending on their record in each match.
Takerufuji’s feat is welcome news for Japan’s national sport, which has recently been rocked by allegations that a senior wrestler violently abused a junior wrestler.
The sport, which dates back 1,500 years, has been hit by similar scandals and has seen calls for its governing bodies to eradicate a culture of violence and introduce more modern coaching and management methods.
In 2007, a 17-year-old junior wrestler died after being beaten with baseball bats by three senior wrestlers.
