Asashōryū Akinori: Difference between revisions
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==Criticism== |
==Criticism== |
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Asashoryu has been criticized for being a mongolian. |
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Asashoryu has been criticized for infractions of the strict code of conduct expected of top sumo wrestlers. When he decided to miss the 2007 regional summer tour of [[Tohoku]] and [[Hokkaidō]] due to injury, the Chairman of the [[Japan Sumo Association]], [[Kitanoumi]], expressed confusion as to why the ''yokozuna'' would then participate in a soccer match for charity with [[Hidetoshi Nakata]] in his homeland of Mongolia. The medical forms Asashoryu had submitted to the Association indicated that injuries to his left elbow and a stress fracture in his lower back would require six weeks of rest to heal.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Sumo association avenges years of 'misbehavior'| publisher=Daily Yomiuri Online | language=English | url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070802TDY20004.htm| date=2nd August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref> According to [[The Japan Times]], Asashoryu allegedly took part in the soccer event at the request of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the Mongolian government.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Soccer match draws JSA's ire | publisher=[[Japan Times]] | language=English | url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ss20070727a1.html| date=27th July 2007 | accessdate=2007-07-27}}</ref>However, the suggestion that he had exaggerated the extent of his injuries to avoid his duties on the exhibition tour caused a media storm in Japan. On July 30th Asashoryu was ordered to return from Mongolia to explain his actions. He apologised, saying he would "reflect on what he had done" and do his best in the upcoming September tournament.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Asashoryu returns, apologizes| publisher=Daily Yomiuri Online | language=English | url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070731TDY22005.htm| date=31st July 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-01}}</ref>However, on August 1st 2007, the Sumo Association suspended Asashoryu for that tournament as well as the next one in November, the first time in the sport's history that an active ''yokozuna'' has been suspended from a main tournament. They also announced that Asashoryu and his stablemaster [[Asashio Tarō IV|Takasago]] would have their salaries cut by 30% for the next four months.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Yokozuna Asashoryu suspended for playing soccer | publisher=Mainichi Daily News | language=English | url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/sports/news/20070801p2a00m0sp021000c.html| date=1st August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-01}}</ref> Isenoumi, a Director of the Sumo Association, called Asashoryu's behaviour "a serious indiscretion. Given that a yokozuna should act as a good example for the other wrestlers, this punishment for his action is appropriate."<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Sumo association suspends Asashoryu from two tourneys | publisher=[[International Herald Tribune]] | language=English | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/01/sports/AS-SPT-SUM-Asashoryu-Suspended.php| date=1st August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-01}}</ref> Asashoryu responded by saying he would get his injuries treated and prepare for the winter regional tour and the January 2008 tournment.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Asashoryu suspended for two tournaments, given 30% pay cut for playing soccer in Mongolia |
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| publisher=Japan Today | language=English | url=http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/413876| date=1st August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-01}}</ref> He has been instructed to restrict his movements to his home, his stable, and the hospital.<ref name="traumatized">{{cite web | author= | title=Asashoryu traumatized by suspension, says stablemaster |
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| publisher=Japan Today | language=English | url=http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/414120| date=3rd August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref> His stablemaster reported that Asashoryu was finding the severity of the punishment difficult to deal with.<ref name="traumatized">{{cite web | author= | title=Asashoryu traumatized by suspension, says stablemaster |
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| publisher=Japan Today | language=English | url=http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/414120| date=3rd August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref>A psychiatrist from the Sumo Association diagnosed Asashoryu as suffering from [[acute stress disorder]].<ref>{{cite web | author= | title= |
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Sumo association doctor says Asashoryu on the brink |
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| publisher=Daily Yomiuri Online | language=English | url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070808TDY24002.htm| date=8th August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-08}}</ref> |
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Until this incident, the most severe of his transgressions was his disqualification in the July tournament in 2003. He inadvertantly pulled on Kyokushuzan's ''mage'' (traditional Japanese top knot) during their bout on Day 5 of the tournament, resulting in an immediate ''hansoku-make'', or disqualification.<ref name "McCurry">{{cite web | author= McCurry, Justin| title=Big In Japan| publisher=[[The Guardian]]|language=English|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1145139,00.html| date=11th February 2004 | accessdate=2007-06-04}}</ref> He was the first ''yokozuna'' to be disqualified from a bout. This caused a furor among Japanese fans, who already had a distaste for the foreign ''yokozuna''.<ref name "McCurry">{{cite web | author= McCurry, Justin| title=Big In Japan| publisher=[[The Guardian]]|language=English|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,,1145139,00.html| date=11th February 2004 | accessdate=2007-06-04}}</ref> Some irate fans even called him a cheat ("hansoku") during the weeks and months following this act.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} His other divergences from the norm include being photographed in a suit (instead of a traditional Japanese costume), complaining to judges after losing a decision, and refusing to adopt Japanese citizenship.<ref>{{cite web | author= McNeill, David| title= The sumo champion, the sickie and the story that shook Japan| publisher=[[The Independent]]|language=English|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2841344.ece| date=7th August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-08}}</ref> He has also been accused of breaking the mirror of a rival's car. <ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Sumo-"Tsar" Roho throws tantrum after defeat | publisher=Mail & Guardian Online | language=English | url=http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=277654&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__sport| date=16th July 2006 | accessdate=2007-06-04}}</ref> |
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Asashoryu was criticized for injuring [[Toyonoshima Daiki|Toyonoshima]]<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Sumo association avenges years of 'misbehavior'| publisher=Daily Yomiuri Online | language=English | url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070802TDY20004.htm| date=2nd August 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref> who suffered notable injuries at the hands of some intense practice (''keiko'') with Asashoryu in 2007. Since Asashoryu is known to occasionally injure other wrestlers during practice, some other high-profile wrestlers avoid training with him to avoid injury.<ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Smallish Asashoryu having super-size effect on sumo| publisher=Honolulu Advertiser | language=English | url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jun/05/sp/FP706050360.html| date=5th June 2007 | accessdate=2007-08-03}}</ref> |
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==Family== |
==Family== |
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Revision as of 03:07, 20 August 2007
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2007) |
| Asashōryū Akinori | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | [undue weight? ] |
| Career | |
| Stable | Takasago |
| Current rank | Yokozuna |
| Record | 539-137-17 |
| Debut | January, 1999 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna (March, 2003) |
| Championships | 21 (Makuuchi) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Sandanme) 1 (Jonidan) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (3) |
| Gold Stars | 1 (Musashimaru) |
| * Up to date as of July 2007. | |
Asashoryu Akinori (朝青龍 明徳, Asashōryū Akinori), born as Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj (Долгорсүрэн Дагвадорж) on September 27, 1980, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is the first sumo wrestler (rikishi) from Mongolia to reach the rank of yokozuna, the highest sumo rank. He is one of the most successful sumo wrestlers in history[1]. In August 2007, he also became the first yokozuna in history to be suspended from competition.[2]
Rise to the top
Asashoryu originally came to Japan as an exchange student at Meitoku Gijuku High School in Kochi Prefecture. He made his professional debut in January 1999, joining Wakamatsu stable (now Takasago stable). At that time fellow Mongolians Kyokushuzan and Kyokutenho were in the top division and stars back in their home country, but Asashoryu was quickly to overtake them both. He reached sekitori status in September 2000 by winning promotion to the juryo division. He reached the top makuuchi division just two tournaments later in January 2001. In May 2001, he made his sanyaku debut at komusubi rank and earned his first sansho award, for Outstanding Performance. In 2002, he put together back to back records of 11-4, 11-4 and 12-3 and was promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki. In November 2002, he took his first top division tournament championship with a 14-1 record. It took Asashoryu only 24 tournaments from his professional debut to win his first top division title. In January 2003 he won his second straight championship and on January 30, 2003 Asashoryu was granted the title of yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo.
Yokozuna career
While his first tournament as yokozuna ended in a disappointing 10-5 record, he has since won a total of nineteen tournaments. Combined with his two yusho as an ozeki, he has twenty-one career championships in the top division. This already puts him in fifth place on the all time list, behind only Taiho, Chiyonofuji, Kitanoumi and Takanohana.[3]
2003
Asashoryu nominally shared the yokozuna rank with Musashimaru, but in fact his rival only fought a handful of bouts in 2003 due to injury. The two did not meet in competition all year. Asashoryu won his first championship as a yokozuna in May 2003 and came back from an injury sustained in the July tournament to win his third title of the year in September.
2004
Asashoryu began 2004 with one of the highlights of his career to date-- two consecutive perfect 15-0 tournament wins (zensho yusho) in January and March with a streak of 35 unbeaten bouts in total. Nobody had attained zensho yusho since 1996; yet Asashoryu has gone on to add three more such titles since 2004, for an impressive career total of five. On November 27, 2004, Asashoryu became the first wrestler to win five tournaments in a year since Chiyonofuji achieved the feat in 1986, and won his ninth Emperor's Cup. It has been speculated that one reason for Asashoryu's relatively disappointing performance in the Autumn basho of 2004, the only one he did not win, was his marriage to his Mongolian fiancée for which the official ceremony was later held in August 2004 (although he actually married her in December 2002). The hectic social round that inevitably follows Japanese weddings may well have affected his pre-tournament preparations.
2005
He continued to dominate Sumo in 2005, winning all six honbasho (sumo tournaments) and losing only six bouts all year (0-1-0-2-2-1). One of those rare losses came on September 11, 2005 at the start of the Aki Basho when he dropped his first Shonichi (Day 1) bout during his tenure as yokozuna. On November 26, 2005 a visibly emotional Asashoryu wept after winning his eighty-third bout of the year (a new record) and clinching the tournament at the same time. The six victories of 2005 combined with his victory from the final tournament of 2004 has set a new record run of seven consecutive tournament victories, including two more 15-0 wins in January and May of 2005. The great yokozuna Taihō Koki achieved the feat of six consecutive tournament victories twice, but never in a calendar year. Asashoryu now stands alone with seven, cementing his place as one of the best ever.
Some are calling the Kyushu November 2005 Basho the "Triple Crown" of sumo, for the three records set.[4]
- Seven straight tournaments entered, seven tournaments won.
- 90 regulation bouts contested in one year, 84 won.
- Grand Slam - winning all six tournaments in a calendar year.
2006
Asashoryu's consecutive basho streak came to an end in January 2006, when ozeki Tochiazuma took the first tournament championship of the year. Asashoryu's performance in January was a surprisingly poor 11-4 but he successfully rebounded by winning the March tournament. However, his six losses in those tournaments matched his loss total for all of 2005. In the May tournament, he sustained an injury to the ligaments in his elbow on the second day falling off of the dohyo in a surprising loss to Wakanosato and was visibly slow to rise from the ground. He was absent from the tournament the next day and later released a statement confirming he was withdrawing from the tournament. Doctors told him he would not be able to compete for two months, which meant he would miss the July tournament as well. [5] However, Asashoryu was ready by the start of the July tournament and won with a 14-1 record. In the following tournament, Asashoryu won his eighteenth career title with a 13-2 record, along with his 400th career bout in the upper-division. He also won the final tournament of 2006 for his nineteenth career title, the fifth he has won with a perfect 15-0 record.
2007
In January 2007, Asashoryu posted a 14-1 record, capturing his 20th career title, and fourth straight since returning from injury. In March, he dropped his first two bouts but then won thirteen in a row for a 13-2 score. However, this was not enough to win the title-- he lost a playoff for the first time in his career, to fellow Mongolian Hakuho. In May he turned in a below par 10-5 record, losing to all four ozeki and maegashira Aminishiki (although he appeared to be carrying an injury). Hakuho won this tournament as well and has now joined Asashoryu at the rank of yokozuna. Asashoryu had been the sole yokozuna for a total of 21 tournaments since the retirement of Musashimaru in November 2003-- the longest in sumo history. In July he lost to Aminishiki once again on the opening day but rallied to win the next fourteen bouts, taking his 21st title with a 14-1 record.[6] He is just one title away from equalling Takanohana's haul of 22 tournament wins.
Fighting Style
Unlike his Hawaiian predecessors Akebono and Musashimaru, Asashoryu was a relative lightweight earlier in his career. He was just 129 kg in 2001, but he began bulking up to 131 kg in 2002, 140 kg by 2004, and is now about 148 kg (326 pounds), right on average. He has successfully relied on speed and technique to compete against his often much heavier opponents, though lately he has begun confronting those opponents head on with the intention of out-muscling them. His lightning speed has suffered somewhat with the extra weight though he is still much faster than most of his opponents. He famously dumped the 158 kg Kotomitsuki with a "lifting body slam" (tsuriotoshi), a feat of tremendous strength, normally accomplished on much smaller and weaker opponents. In training, he is reported to do multiple repetitions of biceps curls with 30 kg dumb-bells.
Criticism
Asashoryu has been criticized for being a mongolian.
Family
Asashoryu's brothers are also active in combat sports: Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar is a mixed martial arts fighter, and Dolgorsuren Serjbudee, a professional wrestler, competes in New Japan Pro Wrestling under the name Blue Wolf (after the Mongolian Blue Wolf legend). All Dolgorsuren brothers have strong backgrounds in Mongolian wrestling.
Top Division Record
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | West Maegashira #12 9–6 |
East Maegashira #6 9–6 |
West Komusubi 8–7 O |
East Komusubi 7–8 |
West Maegashira #1 10–5 F★ |
East Komusubi 10–5 F |
| 2002 | West Sekiwake #1 8–7 |
West Sekiwake 11–4 O |
West Sekiwake 11–4 F |
East Sekiwake 12–3 O |
East Ōzeki #3 10–5 |
East Ōzeki #2 14–1 |
| 2003 | East Ōzeki #1 14–1 |
West Yokozuna 10–5 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 5–5–5 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 12–3 |
| 2004 | East Yokozuna 15–0 |
East Yokozuna 15–0 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 9–6 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
| 2005 | East Yokozuna 15–0 |
East Yokozuna 14–1 |
East Yokozuna 15–0 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 14–1 |
| 2006 | East Yokozuna 11–4 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 1–2–11 |
East Yokozuna 14–1 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 15–0 |
| 2007 | East Yokozuna 14–1 |
East Yokozuna 13–2 |
East Yokozuna 10–5 |
East Yokozuna 14–1 |
x | x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absencies Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) |
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References
- ^ Kuroda, Joe (February 2006). "A Shot At the Impossible-Yokozuna Comparison Through The Ages". sumofanmag.com. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ "Asashoryu suspended for two tournaments, given 30% pay cut for playing soccer in Mongolia". Japan Today. 1st August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Buckton, Mark (23rd January 2007). "Numbers break records, character creates legends". Japan Times. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Japan's top 2005 stories: Asashoryu's record-breaking dominance of sumo". Mainichi Daily News. 25th December 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Hakuho tied for lead as Asashoryu withdraws". Taipei Times. 10th May 2006. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Asashoryu wins battle of yokozuna, 21st title". Japan Times. 23rd July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Rikishi in Juryo and Makunouchi". szumo.hu. Retrieved 2007-06-07.