SUMO WRESTLING (WIKIPEDIA)
EXPLANATION OF SUMO RANKING SYSTEM (WIKIPEDIA)
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JANUARY 26, 2025
3 WAY PLAYOFF BETWEEN HOSHORYU (OZEKI 1 WEST), OHO (MAEGASHIRA 3 WEST), AND KINBOZAN (MAEGASHIRA 14 WEST) (SUMO REFERENCE)
Each rikishi (wrestler) finished the tournament with a 12-3 record. 3 way playoffs are won by the first rikishi to win 2 consecutive matches in the playoff.
PLAYOFFS
HOSHORYU DEFEATED KINBOZAN BY YORIKIRI (FRONTAL FORCE OUT)
HOSHORYU DEFEATED OHO BY YORITAOSHI (FRONTAL CRUSH OUT)
FULL MATCH VIDEO OF BOTH MATCHES (JAPAN SUMO ASSOCIATION YOUTUBE) (HOSHORYU IS ON THE RIGHT [WEST] SIDE OF THE RING IN BOTH MATCHES)
POST MATCH (JSAY) (Japanese)
FULL MATCH VIDEO OF EACH OF HOSHORYU'S 15 MATCHES (NHK SUMO PRIME TIME YOUTUBE) (ENGLISH)
ALL RESULTS FOR 2025 HATSU (NEW YEAR'S TOURNAMENT) (approximaterly 1,500 matches in 6 divisions) (SUMO REFERENCE)
This Tournament marked a changing of the guard in Sumo. TERUNOFUJI, 73rd Yokozuna (Grand Champion--10 championships), retired mid tournament as chronic knee and ankle injuries, as well as diabetes, forced him to end his career. He was the only Yokozuna for the last 3 1/2 years, after the retirement of HAKUHO (69th Yokozuna), the greatest Sumo wrestler of all time (45 tournament wins, 63 consecutive wins). Terunofuji had earlier reached Ozeki rank, but serious knee injuries forced him to sit out. In Sumo, if a wrestler sits out, he loses rank. Terunofuji fought his way back from Jonidan (5th tier out of 6, no salary, just room and board) to reach Yokozuna in one of the greatest comebacks of all time.
TERUNOFUJI RETIREMENT ARTICLE (KYODO NEWS) (ENGLISH)
After this Tournament, the Sumo Association raised Hoshoryu's rank to that of Yokozuna.
HOSHORYU'S YOKOZUNA INDUCTION CEREMONY (JSAY) (JAPANESE)
PROMOTION ARTICLE (KYODO NEWS) (ENGLISH)
LIST OF ALL YOKOZUNA (1749-PRESENT) (SUMO REFERENCE)
