💾 Archived View for sdf.org › stug › phlog › 2021 › 20210523.txt captured on 2023-01-29 at 05:10:55.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
23 May 2021 Today was the final day of the current sumo tournament. It was a 3 way possible tie at the start and then everything aligned to make it almost the most thrilling it could be. However, it was won by Terunofuji and rightfully so. Terunofuji was once at the second highest rank until he suffered a terrible injury to his knees. He took a bold decision to sit out until he had been operated on and healed. Sumo is fairly brutal in that everytime you are not participating, it counts as a loss. Often, wrestlers fail to take the time to heal. However, Terunofuji did. He fell very very far down the divisions. Sumo has a hierarchy where salaries are only paid for the top 2 divisions and wrestlers in the lower divisions are expected to do lots of jobs around the stable like cooking and serving higher ranked wrestlers. Within 2 years, Terunofuji fought hard to get back into the top division. He then won 3 tournaments, an achievement which is most impressive. These happened in the past year and the most recent wins were in a row. Terunofuji has regained his previous rank as Ozeki. To gain the highest rank, Yokuzuna, Terunofuji has to win 2 yusho in a row at Ozeki. He has proven he can do 2 in a row. It will be truely amazing if he manages to pull this off. Stories like this make sumo fantastic to follow. The next tournament happens in July and we have an interesting clash. Hakuho, the only current Yokuzuna and winner of the most yushos in history, should be returning from injury. He intends to finish after a final tournament and he will want to get his 45th yusho. Terunofuji will be looking for a second yusho as an Ozeki so he can be promoted. This alone will create a great tension. Throw in Takakeisho looking for revenge and we have the makings of an exciting tournament. If you want to join in the excitement, I recommend reading the great work from tachiai.org and watching using the NHK's Grand Sumo highlights programme. Youtube can be helpful as well if the NHK's offering is not on demand soon enough for you.