Sumo: Retired former ozeki Takakeisho "burned out" at 28

KYODO
September 21, 2024

Retired former ozeki Takakeisho said Saturday he could not steel himself to get back in the ring after dealing with nagging neck issues that ended his bid to return to the sport's second-highest rank at the ongoing Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.

The stocky, 28-year-old pusher-thruster, who stands 175 centimeters and weighs 165 kilograms, captured four Emperor's Cups with his high-intensity wrestling style, but it came at the cost of repeated injuries that curtailed his career.

"I'm burned out. I've run out of physical and mental energy to go for yokozuna (promotion)," a tearful Takakeisho said during a press conference at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, a day after announcing his retirement.

"I've reached for it as much as I could, but I couldn't get myself to be a yokozuna. I felt it was about time to quit."

Retired former ozeki Takakeisho speaks during a press conference at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 21, 2024. (Kyodo)

After missing the majority of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament in May with a cervical disc hernia and failing to secure a winning record at the ensuing Nagoya meet in July, Takakeisho dropped from ozeki for the second time ahead of this month's meet.

He could have returned to ozeki with 10 wins but admitted he "had decided inside" to call it a day after pulling out with a 0-3 record and made the final decision Thursday.

The Hyogo Prefecture native debuted in September 2014 out of Takanohana stable and won his first top-tier makuuchi championship as komusubi at the Kyushu meet in November 2018.

After getting promoted to ozeki ahead of the Summer meet in May 2019 at age 22, Takakeisho was demoted to sekiwake for the Autumn meet in September following a knee injury but earned re-promotion with a strong performance in the subsequent meet.

Retired former ozeki Takakeisho (R) receives applause from fans while appearing at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan during the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 21, 2024. (Kyodo)

He won his second championship in 2020 and added two more in 2023, while twice losing in playoffs, but also found himself as a demotion-threatened kadoban nine times during his 30 meets as ozeki, as knee and foot injuries, as well as the neck issues, set him back.

"I've always prepared myself 100 percent for tournaments, but I hadn't been able to do the things I needed before going into bouts, leaving me frustrated," he said.

Since the start of the Showa era in 1925, Takakeisho is the second-youngest to retire among wrestlers whose highest rank was ozeki. He will transition to coaching younger members of his Hitachiyama stable as sumo elder Minatogawa.

"I've been wrestling with the spirit of samurai, to stay modest after winning and to not sulk after losing," Takakeisho said. "That is one belief that I've always carried inside me."