INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Kisenosato gave a tearful news conference to announce his retirement
Japan's last remaining home-grown sumo champion has announced his retirement after a string of tournament losses.Kisenosato Yutaka said he
had been struggling with injuries but had wanted to continue wrestling to repay fans for their support
In 2017, he became the first Japan-born wrestler in almost two decades to reach the rank of grand champion, known in Japanese as
"yokozuna".The only two wrestlers left at the elite level are both from Mongolia
"I feel that I did everything I could," a tearful Kisenosato told reporters at a news conference."I was supported by so many people I have
nothing but gratitude."Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Kisenosato performs a ring-entering ceremony at Meiji shrine in
Tokyo
He will be adopting the name of Araiso as a sumo elder
It is expected that he will train younger wrestlers as a coach in his retirement.Kisenosato, whose real name is Yutaka Hagiwara, is from
Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.As a child, Kisenosato was a pitcher in his school's baseball club before he chose to train as a wrestler at a
stable in Tokyo.Image:Kisenosato celebrated his win in 2017 in a traditional way, with a fishThe 32-year old made his professional debut in
2002 and reached Japan's top Makuuchi division in 2004 at the age of 18.After being runner-up on multiple occasions, he finally clinched his
first tournament victory - and thereby his promotion to yokozuna - in January 2017.Kisenosato went on to win his first tournament as a
yokozuna in March that year.However a chest muscle injury kept him out of eight straight tournaments in a row, the longest career pause of
any yokozuna in sumo history.Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Kisenosato (right) has been marred by injury since his
promotion to grand champion
Since competing again in September 2018, Kisenosato has posted eight successive losses, the
worst run of any grand champion since the competition format was introduced in 1949."I was gradually recovering, but I was unable to wrestle
in my own style," said Kisenosato, the first Japanese-born yokozuna to retire in 16 years.Only two active yokozuna now remain in
professional sumo wrestling: Mongolian-born pair Hakuho Sho and Kakuryu Rikisaburo.In recent years, sumo has been hit by falling numbers of
Japanese recruits, partly because it is seen as a tough, highly-regimented life.The last Japanese-born wrestlers to reach the top were
brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana, who made it to yokozuna in 1994 and 1998 respectively.
