Asanowaka Takehiko

朝 乃 若 武 彦
Asanowaka Takehiko

Personal data
real name	Adachi Takehiko
Born	December 11, 1969
place of birth	Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture
size	1.76 m
Weight	144 kg
Career
Heya	Takasago
Career record	547-598
debut	March 1992
Highest rank	Maegashira 1w
Tournament victories	1 (Juryo) 1 (Makushita)
resignation	May 2005

Asanowaka Takehiko ( Japanese 朝 乃 若 武 彦 ; born December 11, 1969 in Ichinomiya , Aichi Prefecture as Adachi Takehiko ( 足 立 武 彦 )) is a former Japanese sumo wrestler .

Asanowaka was a sumo wrestler from an early age and stayed loyal to the sport later in school and as a rikishi (sumo wrestler) at the Kinki University of Osaka , even if he could not win any special titles. In 1992 he moved from college sports as Makushita Tsukedashi (a special rank for lateral entrants from the university sumo ) to the professional camp . In 1993 he joined the juryo division and changed his fight name from Wakaadachi to Asanowaka. Just one year later, after winning the November tournament, he was promoted to maegashira , the rank in which he would spend by far the greater part of the remaining eleven years of his career. For sanyaku he was however never, the highest ranking of his career was the first maegashira (West) suffered in May 2000. The descent into juryo had Asanowaka contrast, from 1999 several times, but managed well as regularly the resurgence. In 2005 he ended his active career.

Fighting style

Asanowaka had good reflexes and was able to develop considerable pressure through footwork, with which he often catapulted his opponents out of the ring with Oshi Sumo . But he was also known for the use of evasion techniques. It is noteworthy that, unlike many higher-ranking rikishi, Asanowaka was never injured or missed a tournament - he played 1,145 fights in a row. He was also known to many viewers for his eccentric appearances before fights.

After his career

After retiring from wrestling, he acquired a share of the sumo association and became a wakamatsu oyakata .

Web links

• Info page of the Japanese Sumo Association
• Statistics and Results for Asanowaka

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Asanowaka is the family name, Takehiko the first name.