Injury-hit
yokozuna Kakuryu s career in the sumo ring inched closer to the precipice Friday, when his stablemaster said he will miss the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament due to lower-back issues.
The Mongolian-born grand champion s withdrawal from the meet starting Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan means he will have pulled out hurt from four straight grand tournaments. In November, he received a stern warning from the Japan Sumo Association over his absences from the ring.
Kakuryu has already missed all or part of 17 of the 39 tournaments since his promotion to sumo s highest rank.
The 15-day grand tournaments are held every two months from January to November. Like fellow yokozuna Hakuho, who was also warned, Kakuryu missed part of the July grand tournament, and all of the last two.
Japan s sumo superstar Hakuho tests positive for Covid-19
By IANS |
Published on
Wed, Jan 6 2021 9:12 IST |
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Japan s sumo superstar Hakuho tests positive for Covid-19 (Credit: Twitter). Image Source: IANS News
Tokyo, Jan 6 : Sumo grand champion Yokozuna Hakuho has become the latest Japanese star sportsman to test positive for coronavirus, the Japanese Sumo Association (JSA) has said.
The JSA said that the 35-year-old sumo superstar felt something wrong with his sense of smell and got tested in a hospital on Monday. The PCR test result proved positive Tuesday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.
JSA communications director Shiba Tayama told the Kyodo news agency that the Mongolian-born Hakuho will be unlikely to compete at the upcoming New Year Grand Sumo tournament to start on Sunday at Tokyo s Ryogoku Kokugikan.