Following two good displays in the March Spring Tournament and winning the recent Summer Tournament with a 15-0 performance Hakuho was promoted to the rank of yokozuna late last week.
He becomes the 69th yokozuna, the top sumo rank and the first promotion since 2003.The last wrestler promoted was fellow Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu whom he beat on his way to winning the Emperors Cup and securing his promotion bid. Barely 22 years old,he becomes the third youngest yokozuna after making his debut in March 2001.
His promotion augurs well for the upcoming tournament in Nagoya.I havent seen two yokozuna since the days of Takanohana,Akebono and Masashimaru back in 2002-2003.
Asashoryu will be fighting to show his 10 win 5 loss record in the last basho was a glitch while Hakuho will be trying to show he is worthy of the top rank.
I'll also be hoping to see Baruto on the comeback trail after injury and Kaio the veteran ozeki who downed Asashoryu on the way to keeping a winning record last time out.
3 comments:
Does this mean Asashoryu isn't the top wrestler anymore!?
Hi Kwok.Hakuhos promotion doesnt mean that Asashoryu isnt the top wrestler anymore.It just means that there are now two top ranked wrestlers at yokozuna level.Despite his 10-5 record last tournament many still regard Asa as "the top" wrestler.Hakuhos promotion makes things more competitive and interesting.Bring on the July basho in Nagoya.
It's about time Asa got some real competition. He's been cruising for the past few years I thought.
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