(Reuters) – Takerufuji became the first sumo wrestler in 110 years to win the top-division tournament on debut on Sunday, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day.
The 24-year-old from northern Japan, who only entered professional sumo in late 2022, shoved out his opponent Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup.
“I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going on,” Takerufuji said of his final win in a televised ringside interview.
The wrestler, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, had been taken out of the arena in a wheelchair on Saturday after appearing to hurt his ankle in a losing bout.
“My stablemaster (manager) told me to pull out but I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did,” Takerufuji said.
Most of the top-ranked wrestlers had a tournament to forget after notching up multiple early losses, and the sole “grand champion”, Mongolian grappler Terunofuji, pulled out after the first week with a losing record.
Grand sumo tournaments are held once every two months and last 15 days, with each wrestler fighting once a day and aiming at least for a winning record to preserve their rank, which can change after every tournament depending on their performance.
(Writing by Hugh Lawson)
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