SUMO/ Onosato wins fall tourney in Tokyo,copa del rey handing him ozeki status

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

September 21, 2024 at 19:02 JST

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Onosato, left, wins the Fall Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 21. (Ikuro Aiba)

Onosato won the Fall Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo with a 13-1 record on Sept. 21, ensuring his promotion to the rank of ozeki.

The victory makes the 24-year-old the fastest rikishi to be promoted to ozeki since the Showa Era that ended in 1989.

His record on Sept. 21 meant that the tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in the capital’s Sumida Ward did not have to go into a final 15th day.

It was Onosato’s ninth tournament appearance since he made his debut in summer of last year. It was also his second win since the summer tournament in May.

On Sept. 20, Onosato notched up his 12th win, reaching the “33 wins in three consecutive tournaments as a ‘san-yaku,’” the standard for promotion to ozeki.

His number of wins went up to 34 on Sept. 21.

This will be the first time since 1958, when the six-tournament-a-year system was established, that a rikishi has won the championship twice in the last three tournaments to be promoted to ozeki.

Onosato hails from Ishikawa Prefecture, which is now experiencing severe flooding with reports of people missing.

He belongs to the Nishonoseki stable.

The Japan Sumo Association’s referees office, which is pushing for the promotion, will request that JSA chairman Hakkaku convenes an extraordinary meeting of the board of trustees before the end of the tournament.

If approved, an extraordinary meeting of the board of trustees and a banzuke ranking conference will be held on Sept. 25, and a new ozeki will be born.