[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Houshouryuu (temporary?) woes

[Jeff A]

Moti


Best regards,
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: Fri, Sep 4, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Houshouryuu (temporary?) woes
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Veteran Sanspo Sumo reporter Maki Atsushi's report:

The Aki basho will be Houshouryuu's 10th tournament as a Yokozuna, but it
is certain that he will be absent. When he spoke to reporters after the
rikishi-kai on September 1st, he expressed his desire to participate but
said, "I won't know until the very last minute." He underwent surgery on
July 29th after the Nagoya tournament to repair the medial collateral
ligament of his right knee, and said, "I've lost a lot of muscle, so I need
to get it back." In that condition, there is no need for him to force
himself to compete. Just before his promotion to Yokozuna, his record of 8
wins, 13 wins, and 12 wins (championship) was far from impressive, leading
to concerns that his promotion was too lenient. In the nine tournaments
after his promotion, he tied for the yusho twice, but he also suffered many
injuries and withdrew from four tournaments midway through. He won the
yusho twice as a Sekiwake and Ozeki, but has not won a single yusho since
becoming a Yokozuna.

Since the yusho system was established in 1909, nine rikishi have failed to
win a yusho while holding the rank of Yokozuna, but of those, only two,
Futahaguro (8 tournaments as Yokozuna) and Wakanohana (3rd generation, 11
tournaments), were promoted after 1958 when the six-tournament-a-year
system was implemented. Futahaguro is an exception as he retired at the age
of 24 due to a scandal, and Wakanohana, who was relatively light with a
maximum weight of around 130 kg, also suffered many injuries even during
his time as an Ozeki. Even after becoming a Yokozuna, he suffered a series
of leg injuries, missing six out of 11 tournaments and even experiencing a
"real" makekoshi, ultimately forcing him to retire at the age of 29.

27-year-old Houshouryuu also weighs 148 kg, which is less than the average
for Makuuchi (157.8 kg), so competing against larger rikishi will likely
put a great strain on his body. He has been plagued by injuries to his
elbows, knees, and hamstrings. His Oyakata Tatsunami has expressed concern,
saying, "If he doesn't return to the basho in perfect condition, there will
be calls for retirement. I've told him that if he doesn't win the next
tournament, things will be tough." Many Yokozuna from Mongolia have
achieved their first yusho within three tournaments of their promotion,
with the slowest being Kakuryuu, who took nine bashos. Houshouryuu has now
surpassed that. While all of his past absences were mid-basho withdrawals,
this basho comes after surgery, so as his Oyakata says, he is expected to
fully recover before returning as a Yokozuna. There are also Yokozuna like
Asashio and Kashiwado who finally lifted the Emperor's Cup in their 12th
tournament after being promoted.

-- 

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Sumo Newsletter2" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to sumo-newsletter2+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/f56421f0-d2a7-46b4-af1f-9cfe5073d40en%40googlegroups.com
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/f56421f0-d2a7-46b4-af1f-9cfe5073d40en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://server.webtrek.com/pipermail/sumo/attachments/20260904/681d3090/attachment.html>