TOKYO (AP) — Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki has become the first from his country to win an elite-level sumo championship.
Even more impressive: he defeated Hoshoryu on Sunday in the deciding match in the Kyushu tournament in western Japan.
Hoshoryu was born in Mongolia and is one of the top-ranked wrestlers in Japan’s national sport.
The other is Japan-born Onosato.
Born Danilo Yavhushyshyn, he left Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years ago just after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of his country.
He is only 21, has risen very quickly and wrestles under the ring name of Aonishiki Arata.
Non-Japanese sumo wrestlers have excelled in different periods in Japan.
They have included Mongolians, Hawaiians and now a Ukrainian.
Aonishiki said he came to Japan after striking up a friendship with a Japanese wrestler at a tournament in 2019.
Ukraine has a very strong tradition in Olympic wrestling.
Its last gold-medal winner was Zhan Beleniuk in the Greco-Roman category at the Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 by the pandemic.