Ōnokatsu Kazuhiro

) is a professional sumo wrestler from Mongolia. His highest rank is 8.

Early life

Choijilsüren comes from Uvs Province, a region known as Mongolia's "wrestling capital". At elementary school, he played football. When he was in junior high school, he won a mathematical olympiads in his hometown. He also practiced freestyle wrestling and '' bökh'' for only one year before coming to Japan. In November 2015, he took part in an amateur sumo tournament in Ulaanbaatar and was noticed by teachers who came to scout promising talents. They then invited him to come to Japan as part of a school exchange in spring 2016. At the time, he was one of the very first international students welcomed by the school. By his own admission, he wasn't interested in practicing sumo, but on his father's advice he nevertheless decided to go. Choijilsüren attended Niina Gakuen Asahigaoka High School in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he was classmate with Ōshima stable's Kyokukaiyū.

Choijilsüren had a prolific amateur career, winning the Kantō openweight championship. He also helped his team to second place in the national high school team competition, a first for a Kanagawa school. At the end of high school, he decided to become a professional and joined the Nippon Sport Science University. There, he was classmates with future-professional wrestlers Ōnosato and Shirokuma, and his team captain was future Asakōryū. At this university, he won the East Japan Rookie Championship during his first year and reached the quarter-finals of the National Tournament in his second year. In his third year he won the Open Weight Student Weight Class Championship. In 2022, during his last competition, Choijilsüren won the hundredth edition of the National University Championship, defeating fellow Nittaidai student Daiki Nakamura. Choijilsüren hence became a student and was guaranted the rank of 15 in his professional debut. Noticed by Ōnomatsu stable, he was training in that stable since December 2022. Since he turned professional in November 2023, Ōnokatsu was the last wrestler to be promoted to 15 due to his amateur prowess, the system for promotion to the top of the division having been abolished in September 2023.

During his student days, he remembered the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing him to remain isolated in his dormitory for half a year, all training having also been cancelled by his school.

Career

Early career

Logically recruited by Ōnomatsu stable, he was given the , or ring name, ; inheriting the combination of in reference to his stable, combined with the kanji meaning 'to endure' or 'to overcome' (), inspired by the adage . His first name is also a pseudonym, inspired by the kanji in the names of his two masters at high school and Nittaidai University.

Ōnokatsu began his professional career at the November 2023 tournament, becoming the last wrestler to be able to match the record promotion to status in one tournament of Hakuōhō (then known as Ochiai) achieved at the January 2023 tournament. However, he finished his first tournament with a score of , also losing his first match, missing the promotion.

At the March 2024 tournament, he secured his promotion to the division, notably scoring a fourth victory over future- . During his first tournament as a , Ōnokatsu narrowly failed to win his division's championship, ending just behind former Wakatakakage. His score of , however, propelled him to the top of the jūryō rankings. His remarkable performance attracted comments about the possible emergence of a golden generation with the good performances of generation Z wrestlers (like Ōnosato or Hiradoumi).

promotion

After a good performance in the July 2024 tournament, Ōnokatsu was promoted to , professional sumo's top division. After promotion to the highest professional division, Ōnokatsu stagnated for a while, failing to win more than ten victories in his first three tournaments.

Fighting style

Ōnokatsu specializes in grabbing the front of his opponent's (). The wrestler from whom he draws inspiration for his style is former Kakuryū.

Personal life

Ōnokatsu's favorite dish is curry, a preference he developed during his high school years as curry dishes were common after training. He cites the town of Odawara as a second hometown, being particularly grateful for the support of the locals. The city also offered him his first when he was promoted in , the appron bearing a design of the Odawara Castle. His Japanese has been described by the press as very academic. His favorite song is by Eigo Kawashima.

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of active sumo wrestlers

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ōnokatsu, Kazuhiro
2000 births
Living people
Mongolian sumo wrestlers
People from Uvs Province
Nippon Sport Science University alumni