[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Newcomer Asahifuji- for real?

[Jeff A]

Moti

Best regards,
Jeffrey Anderson
Gaijingai
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Newcomer Asahifuji- for real?
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Newcomer Jonokuchi 19 Asahifuji - is he for real? The title of "the
strongest new deshi in history" is not a lie. Mongolian-born Asahifuji (23,
Isegahama), whose real name is Battsetseghe Ochirsaikhan, inherited his
shikona from the 63rd Yokozuna and made his sumo debut at the Kyushu Basho.
He showed his presence at a heya sekitori keiko session on the 27th, - a
public training session at his heya in Tokyo in preparation for Hatsu
Basho  Asahifuji participated in the sekitori session, going 16-8 . He
faced four Maegashira rikishi : Yoshinofuji, Hakunofuji, Atamifuji, and
Midorifuji, all of whom he beat in terms of number of matches, number of
wins, and winning percentage. At first he attempted to join the Makushita
keiko session, but Isegahama Oyakata (former yokozuna Terunofuji), told
him, "You're too fast." He was fully prepared to take part in the Makuuchi
session and immediately won three straight matches. He threw Atamifuji with
a left-handed uwatedashinage, pushed out Midorifuji via oshidashi, and then
finished Atamifuji off again with a tsukidashi.. His well-proportioned,
185cm, 150kg body was muscular and powerful, combining power and speed. He
was once defeated by Hakunofuji, but was called out by Atamifuji to return
to the dohyo, where he had 10 consecutive matches, winning 7 and losing 3,
leaving an impression of outstanding stamina.

Following Asahifuji was Yoshinofuji with 13 wins and 8 losses. The center
of the session was a Jonokuchi rikishi (Asahifuji), and while it may seem
the other sekitori seemed to be overshadowed by him, his abilities are
recognized by everyone in the stable. The rule is that a heya can only have
one foreign-born rikishi, and because his current Oyakata was still active
until this year's Hatsu basho, it took him four and a half years to take
the shin-dehi kensa, during which time he made remarkable progress. Even
so, Asahifuji's ranking is still Jonokuchi, and the heya's policy is that
he is not yet fully-fledged, so he was not available for interviews.

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