Sumo: Yokozuna retires!

For those of you who understand the sport of Sumo, then you know that the top rank in the sport is Yokozuna. And today, one of the two wrestlers at that rank, has announced his retirement at the age of 29, after 25 tournament wins, and a very chequered career!

Am am referring to the Yokozuna Asashoryu.

Asashoryu hails from Mongolia, and is really named Dolgorsurengiin Dagvadorj. He came to Japan first as an exchange student, and trained at a local Sumo stable. He comes from a family that has a long pedigree in wrestling, and it has shown. He also trained in Judo back in Mongolia.

He was recruited by the former Ozeki Asashio of the Wakamatsu stable (now Takasago) and made his début in 1999. Within a year he was climbing the ranks, and broke into the elite Sekitori ranks. In January 2001 he was up to the Makuuchi division, and then by 2003, he was awarded the title of Yokozuna. At pretty much the same time Takanohana retired. Takanohana was the Japanese-born Yokozuna.

He then moved on to win 23 more tournaments, tie that with the 2 he won at lower ranks, and he has 25. Putting him at 3rd on the all-time list. And in 2005, he became the first wrestler to win all 6 Honbasho (Sumo tournaments).

In 2006, he fell awkwardly off the dohyo (mound) , and was subsequently out of action for 2 months. In 2007, he lost a few rounds, including to an up-coming star, Hakuho. Another Mongolian. Very quickly after, Hakuho was promoted to Yokozuna.

In 2008, the wheels began to fall off the cart here. His performances where not up to the standards of before, and in July, after a lacklustre start, he pulled out of the tournament, citing elbow pain. The September tournament followed a similar pattern, with him pulling out of the competition with a medical certificate detailing elbow pain. Shortly after, he returned to Mongolia to recuperate, and did not enter the October competition stating he did not want to have to pull out. This did lead to a 2 tournament suspension from the Japan Sumo Association!

Upon his return in January 2009, Suo saw an increase in TV numbers and ticket sales as Asashoryu rolled on declaring himself "To be back!" He suffered a bruised chest, and damaged knee ligaments. Despite all this, he won more tournaments and climbed to 3rd on the all-time list.

His final tournament win came in January 2010. Despite a a 13-2 record, he had the wins to claim the January Tokyo tournament.

Asashoryu has had an amazing and storied career, however, he has been dogged by controversy along the way. He has been tied to a match-fixing scandal by the Shukan Gendai newspaper which claimed he was paying wrestlers about $10,000 a time to throw fights. Not surprisingly, Japan Sumo Association took the paper to court. And for the first time, a Yokozuna appeared to give evidence. The JSA won, and the court was ordered to the paper to pay well over 40 million yen in damages.

Back in 2007, with his injuries, he returned to Mongolia. However, whilst in Mongolia, he was videoed as he played in a charity football match. This proved too much for the JSA as he was supposed to be recuperating from injuries that should have prevented him from playing. He was ordered back to Japan, and told to go through his rehabilitation by limiting himself to his home, the stable, and the hospital. This punishment proved tough for Asashoryu, and he was then diagnosed with an acute stress disorder. After some more treatment, and a lot of time in an onsen, he came back, and apologised in public.

Back in 2003, he committed one of the major no-no's in Sumo. He pulled another wrestlers "mage" or top-knot. This resulted in the first ever disqualification of a Yokozuna. To make things worse, he reportedly then brawled with the other wrestler in the bath after.

In 2004, he had a row with his stablemaster over the plans for his wedding. The end result was a public display of drunkenness. This may not sound a lot, but Japan has a lot of social rules, and these are especially tight for Sumo, and then even more so for Yokozuna.

Another few issues for him have been wearing a suit (remember those strict rules? They have to wear traditional clothing, not suits!) Sumo wrestlers are also expected to take Japanese citizenship, something he refused to do. Also, he has challenged the referees, as well as not showing due deference to his stablemaster.

Many of his stable-mates also refuse to train with him after he ended up injuring Toyonoshima during an intense training bout.

He has also been criticised for his in-ring performances as well. Shoving opponents out of the ring after he has won the match, as well as celebrating. Rather than remaining calm in victory, he has been punching the air.

Another issue has been his training regime. He has become famous for training hard, when he wants to. And for pursuing contracts outside Sumo, where he ended up taking a contract with Fanta, and performed as a "schoolboy" in a series of commercials.

The final moment came when, during the January 2010 basho, he went out with his manager and got very drunk. It was initially reported that he got so drunk he punched his manager. It later turned out that Asashoryu punched a restaurant employee and broke his nose. There where no charges, and everything got settled. However, Asashoryu did ultimately decide to retire and try to calm things down by "falling on his sword."

So, Asashoryu. The bad-boy of Sumo. Causing endless headaches for the JSA. His out of the ring activities flew in the face of all current Sumo traditions. However, rather than allowing the JSA the opportunity to quietly shuffle him away, the man had the skills to take him to the top. It drove the JSA crazy, as well as the fans. A man loved and hated in equal measure.