Asashoryu Akinori

Asashōryū Akinori (朝青龍 明徳), born as Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj (Долгорсүрэн Дагвадорж) on September 27, 1980 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is the first Mongolian sumo wrestler to reach the rank of yokozuna. He is also currently (as of May 2005) the only active yokozuna.

Unlike his Hawaiian predecessors Akebono and Musashimaru, Asashoryu was relatively lightweight at 129kg in 2001, he began bulking up to 131kg in 2002, 140 kilograms by 2004, and now is about 145kg just below the average. He has successfully relied on speed and technique to compete against his, often much heavier, opponents, though lately he has begun confronting those opponents head on with the intention of out-muscling them. His lightning speed has suffered somewhat with the extra weight though he is still a lot faster than most of his opponents. He famously dumped the 158kg Kotomitsuki with a "lifting body slam" (tsuriotoshi), a feat of tremendous strength, normally accomplished on much smaller and weaker opponents. After his debut in 1999, it took Asashoryu only 24 tournaments to win his first top division championship, the quickest achievement of this since the sport adopted its current format of six championships a year in 1958.

Asashoryu is a known to be a dedicated and serious trainer who goes all out, some other high profile Rikishi (wrestlers) avoid training with him for fear of injury. Takamisakari (shoulder) and Kotooshu have both suffered notable injuries at the hands of some intense keiko (practice) with Asashoryu. In fact, on 2005-05-18, Asashoryu's left shoulder met Kotooshu's face at the tachi-ai (initial charge) with such ferocity that it stunned the Bulgarian and he teetered and wobbled out of the dohyo (sumo ring) with little effort from the Yokozuna. In training, he is reported to do multiple repetitions of bicep curls with 30kg dumb-bells.

On January 30, 2003 Asashoryu was granted the title of yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. While his first championship as yokozuna ended in a disappointing 10-5 record, he has since won a total of 12 tournaments (including the first two which he won as an Ozeki). The highlight of his career to date is a run of four consecutive tournament victories from January to July 2004. This included two consecutive perfect 15-0 wins (zensho yusho) in January and March of that year, and a streak of 35 unbeaten bouts in total. On November 27, 2004, Asashoryu became the first wrestler to win five tournaments in a year since Chiyonofuji achieved the feat 18 years ago, and won his ninth Emperor's Cup.

Asashoryu married his Mongolian fiancée in December 2002. An official ceremony was later held in August 2004. The hectic social round that inevitably follows Japanese weddings may explain his disappointing performance in the Autumn basho.

Asashoryu has been criticized for infractions of the strict code of conduct expected of top sumo wrestlers. The most severe of his transgressions was his disqualification in the July tournament in 2003. He pulled on Kyokushuzan's mage (traditional Japanese top knot) during their bout on Day 5 of the tournament, resulting in an immediate hansoku-make, or disqualification. This caused a furor among Japanese fans, who already had a distaste for the foreign yokozuna. Some irate fans even called him "Hansoku" during the weeks and months following this act. His other divergences from the norm include being photographed in a suit (instead of a traditional Japanese costume) and refusing to adopt Japanese citizenship.it:Asashoryu ja:朝青龍明徳

External websites

Nihon Sumo Kyokai - Biography (http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/ozumo_meikan/rikishi_joho/rikishi_100.html)