Yokozuna Promotion Likely This Week

In the final match of the Hatsu basho, Kisenosato overcame a vigorous challenge from Yokozuna Hakuho with a masterful sukuinage (belt less arm throw) at the edge of the ring. While Kisenosato had already locked up the tournament victory on day 14, this defeat of Hakuho is a fitting punctuation to a fantastic effort by Kisenosato this January.

Kisenosato entered the world of sumo in 2002 at the age of 16, and has dedicated his life to everything sumo.

There are already strong indications that the Japanese sumo fans will be finally given a native Yokozuna. The Yokozuna Deliberation Committee will meet early this week, and any announcement is expected to take place Wednesday. if this happens, shin-Yokozuna Kisenosato will do his first dohyo-iri a few days later at a local shrine. I would expect the celebrations will be epic. It is also quite likely that the popularity of Sumo will increase dramatically among the Japanese public, as many did not have passion about the sport due to Mongolian dominance.