Grand champion Hakuho wants to see sumo opened up to more foreign wrestlers and hopes Japan’s ancient sport will someday be included in the Olympics.
“I’d like to see more foreign wrestlers allowed in, but it’s not my decision,” Hakuho, a Mongolian, said yesterday at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. “I think it would be good for the sport.”
Hakuho is one of nine Mongolians wrestling in sumo’s top division and one of 15 foreign wrestlers in the elite class.
PHOTO: AP
Some sumo traditionalists worry that Japan is being left behind in its own national sport. There hasn’t been a Japanese grand champion since Takanohana retired in January 2003.
There is a move by some in sumo to restrict the number of foreign participants, but Hakuho, whose real name is Munkhbat Davaajargal, does not agree.
“The fans should be allowed to see the best in the world,” said Hakuho, who won his 10th Emperor’s Cup at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament last month.
While the rules are not clearly defined, each sumo stable is allowed one foreign wrestler and there are 53 stables.
Hakuho and his compatriot Asashoryu, who has won 23 titles, have dominated sumo in recent years.
There hasn’t been a Japanese winner of a title since January 2006, when Tochiazuma lifted the Emperor’s Cup.
Hakuho is the fourth foreign wrestler to be promoted to sumo’s highest rank following Asashoryu and Hawaiians Akebono and Musashimaru.
As for the Olympics, Hakuho would love to see sumo on the Olympic program, but knows its an uphill battle.
“I’d be really happy if it became an Olympic sport and would try to do better than my father,” he said.
Hakuho’s father won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The International Sumo Federation has been pushing to get sumo in the Olympics, but its not on the list of sports under consideration for inclusion on the 2016 Olympic program.
Sumo has been rocked by recent drug scandals involving wrestlers being caught with marijuana, but Hakuho doesn’t see it becoming a bigger problem.
“It was an unfortunate incident, but most people in sumo are working hard to maintain the traditions of the sport,” the grand champion said.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Steve Smith yesterday announced his retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two ICC World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for T20 internationals and Test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so
RSS