(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed. Tochinoshin will compete as an Ozeki for the first time in Nagoya next month, where he hopes to record another double-digit number of wins at the 15-day tournament. "I was surprised to hear him even joke in Japanese," he said, recalling a telephone conversation after Tochinoshin's maiden championship win in January. Munakata, meanwhile, is delighted to see his "little brother" improving on his language skills. "I will follow what my stablemaster teaches me and work hard to be a role model for other sumo wrestlers," Tochinoshin said. On May 30, Tochinoshin made a speech to mark his promotion in Japanese when he received an official notice from a Japan Sumo Association representative. "Once he acquainted himself with greetings, everything went fine," Munakata added, describing his protege as "warm-hearted". Buy Sumo Wrestler Tochinoshin Rikishi Georgia Tee Shirt, Long Sleeve, Sweatshirt, Hoodie 0 Black: Shop top fashion brands Hoodies at FREE.
Munakata taught him unique greetings and other expressions used by sumo wrestlers, one at a time, taking half a year for Tochinoshin to get used to the traditional salutations. "Without Munakata, I would have gone back to Georgia," said Tochinoshin, who won his first Emperor's Cup in January and earned promotion to Ozeki by winning 23 of his next 30 bouts across the next two tournaments. The senior wrestler he credits with convincing him to stay was Hiromitsu Munakata, who was assigned to take care of the teenager with the pair forming a bond that remains as strong as ever today.
"My family told me that I could come home, but I was able to stick it out because senior wrestlers in my stable were kind," the Asahi Shimbun quoted Tochinoshin as saying on Wednesday. Tochinoshin, born Levan Gorgadze, arrived in Japan at the age of 17 to join the Kasugano stable armed with a basic Japanese language book that enabled him to pick up a few phrases in a new country where he felt isolated.Īs he continued to struggle with the language barrier and could only really communicate with Gagamaru, a Georgian wrestler at a nearby stable, a frustrated Tochinoshin admitted he was on the brink of giving it all up and returning home. When Georgia's Tochinoshin became the first sumo wrestler from his country to be promoted to the sport's second-highest rank of Ozeki last month, the 30-year-old completed a rise that almost ended before it began as a homesick teenager in 2005. Unlike many successful foreign-born wrestlers, Gorgadze has not acquired Japanese citizenship, a prerequisite for remaining within the Japan Sumo Association as a sumo elder, and will leave the sport.Reuters | Updated: 27-06-2018 09:05 IST | Created: 27-06-2018 09:05 IST Munakata, meanwhile, is delighted to see his "little brother" improving on his language skills. "When I fell from the makuuchi division to the (third-tier) makushita, my way of thinking about sumo changed." "It's like I was able to really give my all after I was hurt," Gorgadze said.
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"I'm grateful for being able to come to Japan and to be able to be a part of sumo."Īnd though his career was sidetracked by a serious knee injury, Gorgadze skillfully made use of his size and exceptional physical strength to rise to a spot among the sport's elite, becoming the third European ozeki, and the first from his homeland. With the retirement of former ozeki Tochinoshin this week, the curtain has fallen on 22 years of Georgian involvement in professional sumo. "I arrived from Georgia knowing nothing, and the Kasugano stable nurtured me," he said. Having competed in judo before entering Japanese sumo in 2006, Gorgadze needed only two years to reach the elite makuuchi division. Gorgadze won one grand sumo tournament, in January 2018, and wrestled as an ozeki in seven meets between July 2018 and September 2019.
"I've been unable to generate any power," said Gorgadze, whose left shoulder, injured in January, has only gotten worse. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Sumo Association)(Kyodo)
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