Wakanohana Masaru
| Personal data | |
|---|---|
| real name | Hanada Masaru |
| Born | 20th January 1971 |
| place of birth | Tokyo |
| size | 1.80 m |
| Weight | 134 kg |
| Career | |
| Heya | Futagoyama |
| Career record | 573-286-124 |
| debut | March 1988 |
| Highest rank | Yokozuna |
| Tournament victories | 5 |
| resignation | March 2000 |
Wakanohana Masaru ( Japanese 若 乃 花 勝 , proper Hanada Masaru , Japanese 花田 勝 ; born January 20, 1971 in Tokyo ) is a former yokozuna and the older son of the late sumo wrestler Takanohana Kenshi .
Wakanohana is a member of the famous Hanada sumo family and, like his brother Takanohana, was trained in his father's heya . Like Takanohana, Wakanohana made his debut in March 1988. At the same time, the Hawaiian Akebono began his rise.
Due to the success of the two in the highest sumo league, the brother team soon became known as Waka-Taka. Wakanohana climbed the sumo ladder much more slowly than his brother. He was significantly smaller and lighter than Takanohana, but was able to compensate for physical disadvantages due to his excellent fighting technique. So he finally also reached the highest ranks in sumo: in 1993 he was promoted to Ōzeki , in 1998 he was promoted to yokozuna , the highest rank in sumo that his brother already held. During his time as grandmaster, however, he was hapless and could not always meet the demands placed on a yokozuna in terms of match statistics. He ended his career in 2000 without having won a single tournament as a yokozuna. But it was partly due to the fact that he had to end several tournaments prematurely due to injury or was unable to take part in them at all.
Until 1993 Wakanohana was known as Wakahanada, then he took over the fighting name of his uncle, the 45th yokozuna Wakanohana Kanji I. Wakanohana is 1.80 m tall and had a fighting weight of about 134 kg during his active time. He was particularly specialized in evasion and counter techniques such as B. Hatakikomi , Tsukiotoshi or Hikiotoshi . However, his range of techniques was very wide, so that he was one of the most accomplished fighters in the Makuuchi Division.
So far, he has only played once against his younger brother Takanohana, in a playoff for the tournament victory of the November tournament in Fukuoka 1995 which Wakanohana was able to win. Like sumo wrestlers from the same wrestling team ("heya"), brothers don't usually compete against each other. Exceptions are play-offs for tournament victory, if necessary.
After his career as a wrestler he left the sumo association and tried his hand at the entertainment industry and even American football , which he said was a long-cherished wish. However , he could not start his job as a player with the AFL team Arizona Rattlers because the US authorities refused him a work visa.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wakanohana, Masaru |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hanada Masaru; Wakahanada Masaru; 花田 勝 (Japanese); 若 乃 花 勝 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese sumo wrestler and 66th yokozuna |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 20th January 1971 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tokyo |