Society

Sumo: Hakuho wants to reward himself for making history again

Sep 25 (Kyodo) - Mongolian grand champion Hakuho said Monday he wants to give himself a treat for the feats he accomplished at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.

A day after the 15-day tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan came to an end, the yokozuna said it felt impossible at first to claim his record 41st championship with a perfect 15-0 record or win his 1,000th bout in the sport's top division.

"Considering my condition before the tournament, it was literally just a dream," the 33-year-old Miyagino stable wrestler told a traditional morning-after press conference.

"(On winning 1,000 bouts) I thought children who hope to take up the sport in the future will work very hard if they have a goal," he said. "I want to give myself a treat for this."

Hakuho won his first championship in a year that has seen him struggle with injuries. He withdrew from three of the five meets held this year, his 12th in the sport's highest rank.

Perhaps the bout that attracted the most attention came on the 13th day against grand champion Kisenosato, who was fighting for his career after withdrawing due to injury from a record eight-straight grand tournaments.

Hakuho improved his record to 44-16 against Kisenosato, the first Japan-born yokozuna in 19 years. In their 60th career meeting on Friday, Hakuho took control at the outset and muscled Kisenosato to the straw and shoved him out.

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