Sumo: Rebel champ elected to the board

Former sumo champion Takanohana leaves a press conference of the sumo association’s board members in Tokyo yesterday after he was elected as a new board member.

A former sumo champion who has pledged to shake up Japan’s scandal tainted 2,000-year-old national sport took a seat on its governing board after a surprise election win yesterday.
Takanohana, now a stable master, pledged to help revitalise the sport, which has seen its fan base wither in the face of the rising popularity of baseball and football, and to campaign to have sumo taught in schools.
“I don’t know whether I have caused a stir or not,” the 37-year-old said when asked about his campaign to challenge the sport’s establishment, which led to the first board election in the sumo association in eight years.
“But I want to be more active in developing young talent and in reflecting their views in the process,” he said.
“The world of sumo is a prestigious society with great importance for traditional culture. It is an urgent task to keep sumo fans attracted.”
Takanohana, joined by six other stable masters, last month pushed to have board members elected rather than chosen behind closed doors by powerful members of the group that includes stable masters, top athletes and judges.
Sumo, a male-only martial art based on ancient Shinto rituals, has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent years, including one fighter’s arrest for illegal drug use and allegations of match-fixing.
Many Japanese were shocked by the 2007 case of a stable master, now in jail, who ordered the brutal “toughening up”, or hazing, of a 17-year-old wrestler who died after being beaten with a beer bottle and baseball bat.
There has also been disquiet over the rising dominance of foreign fighters, mainly from Mongolia and Eastern Europe but as far as Brazil and Tonga.
Sumo has not had a Japanese-born champion in more than three years, and in recent tournaments more than one third of competitors have been foreigners.
In the latest scandal the controversial sumo grand champion, Mongolian Asashoryu, has come under fire after he reportedly punched a worker at a Tokyo night club, breaking his nose, in a drunken assault in January.
Police may question the 29-year-old, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, on possible charges of assault and battery resulting in injury.
“These are crucial times,” said Musashigawa, who was re-elected as chairman of the Japan Sumo Association. “We have seen a series of scandals.
“And what should not have happened has happened again. The association for its part feels responsible for the incidents. I want to cooperate with the board members in seeking ways to prevent their recurrence.”