Asashoryu Akinori

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Image:SumoAsashoryu.jpg Asashōryū Akinori (朝青龍明徳), born as Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj (Долгорсүрэн Дагвадорж) on September 27, 1980 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is the first Mongolian sumo wrestler (rikishi) to reach the rank of yokozuna, the highest sumo rank. He is also currently (as of 2006) the only active yokozuna.

Unlike his Hawaiian predecessors Akebono and Musashimaru, Asashoryu was relatively lightweight at 129 kg in 2001, he began bulking up to 131 kg in 2002, 140 kg by 2004, and is now about 145 kg, just below the average. He has successfully relied on speed and technique to compete against his, often much heavier, opponents, though lately he has begun confronting those opponents head on with the intention of out-muscling them. His lightning speed has suffered somewhat with the extra weight though he is still a lot faster than most of his opponents. He famously dumped the 158 kg Kotomitsuki with a "lifting body slam" (tsuriotoshi), a feat of tremendous strength, normally accomplished on much smaller and weaker opponents. After his debut in 1999, it took Asashoryu only 24 tournaments to win his first top division championship, the quickest achievement of this since the sport adopted its current format of six championships a year in 1958.

Because Asashoryu is known to be a dedicated and serious trainer who goes all out, some other high-profile wrestlers avoid training with him for fear of injury. Takamisakari (shoulder) and Kotooshu have both suffered notable injuries at the hands of some intense practice (keiko) with Asashoryu. In fact, on May 18, 2005, Asashoryu's left shoulder met Kotooshu's face at the tachi-ai (initial charge) with such ferocity that it stunned the Bulgarian and he teetered and wobbled out of the dohyo (sumo ring) with little effort from the Yokozuna. In training, he is reported to do multiple repetitions of biceps curls with 30 kg dumb-bells.

On January 30, 2003 Asashoryu was granted the title of yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. While his first championship as yokozuna ended in a disappointing 10-5 record, he has since won a total of fourteen tournaments. Combined with his two yusho as an Ozeki, he has sixteen career championships.

The highlights of his career to date include two consecutive perfect 15-0 wins (zensho yusho) in January and March of 2004 with a streak of 35 unbeaten bouts in total (nobody had won 15-0 since 1996). On November 27, 2004, Asashoryu became the first wrestler to win five tournaments in a year since Chiyonofuji achieved the feat 18 years ago, and won his ninth Emperor's Cup. It has been speculated that one reason for Asashoryu's relatively disappointing performance in the Autumn basho of 2004, the only one he did not win, was his marriage to his Mongolian fiancée for which the official ceremony was later held in August 2004 (although he actually married her in December 2002). The hectic social round that inevitably follows Japanese weddings may well have affected his pre-tournament preparations.

He continued to dominate Sumo in 2005, winning all six honbasho (sumo tournaments) and losing only six bouts all year (0-1-0-2-2-1). One of those rare losses came on September 11, 2005 at the start of the Aki Basho when he dropped his first Shonichi (Day 1) bout during his tenure as Yokozuna. On November 26, 2005 a visibly emotional Asashoryu wept after winning his eighty-third bout of the year (a new record) and clinching the tournament at the same time. The six victories of 2005 combined with his victory from the final tournament of 2004 has set a new record run of seven consecutive tournament victories, including two more 15-0 wins in January and May of 2005. The great Yokozuna Taiho achieved the feat of six consecutive tournament victories twice, but never in a calendar year. Asashoryu now stands alone with seven, cementing his place as one of the best ever.

Some are calling the Kyushu November 2005 Basho the "Triple Crown" of sumo, for the three records set.

Seven straight tournaments entered, seven tournaments won.
90 regulation bouts contested in one year, 84 won.
Grand Slam - winning all six tournaments in a calendar year.

Asashoryu's consecutive basho streak came to an end in January 2006, when Ozeki Tochiazuma took the first tournament championship of the year. Asashoryu's performance in January was a surprisingly poor 11-4 but he successfully rebounded by winning the March tournament. However, he has already lost six bouts in 2006, matching his loss total for all of last year.

Asashoryu has been criticized for infractions of the strict code of conduct expected of top sumo wrestlers. The most severe of his transgressions was his disqualification in the July tournament in 2003. He pulled on Kyokushuzan's mage (traditional Japanese top knot) during their bout on Day 5 of the tournament, resulting in an immediate hansoku-make, or disqualification. This caused a furor among Japanese fans, who already had a distaste for the foreign yokozuna. Some irate fans even called him a cheat ("hansoku") during the weeks and months following this act. His other divergences from the norm include being photographed in a suit (instead of a traditional Japanese costume) and refusing to adopt Japanese citizenship.

Asashoryu's brothers are also active in combat sports: Dolgolsren Sumiyabazar is a mixed martial arts fighter, and Dolgolsren Seljibdee, a professional wrestler, competes in New Japan Pro Wrestling under the name Blue Wolf (after the Mongolian Blue Wolf legend). All Dolgolsren brothers have strong backgrounds in Mongolian wrestling.

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