Chiyoshōma Fujio

), lead=yes is a Mongolian professional sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar. He made his debut in July 2009 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in September 2016. He wrestles for Kokonoe stable. His highest rank is ''maegashira'' 2.

Early life and sumo experience

As a child, Munkhsaihan's father was the equivalent of '' ōzeki'' in Mongolian wrestling. He was at his father's side most everywhere he went, and his father would take him to judo and wrestling practice often. In addition his father and Asashōryū's father were acquaintances. These circumstances naturally led to an interest in the sumo world.Sumo Journal 2014 September pg 97 He met former ''yokozuna'' Chiyonofuji when the elder came to Munkhsaihan's region on a sumo tour and through Chiyonofuji's invitation, he transferred to Meitoku Gijuku High School, a school well-known for its sumo program. He left the school in his second year and joined Chiyonofuji's Kokonoe stable.

Career

He joined at the same time as Aoiyama and the two attended sumo school at the same time and also graduated together. He weighed only a light 87 kilograms when he first stepped into the ring, and there was concern whether or not he could make it on the ''dohyō.'' However, thinking of his father, a popular figure of high rank in Mongolian sumo, made him ashamed at the prospect of quitting early and he resolved to stick it out. From his entry into sumo until he reached the ''sandanme'' division, he took the ''shikona'' . Upon reaching ''sandanme'' in July 2010, as is the custom at his stable, he took the 'Chiyo' part of legendary wrestlers from the stable such as Chiyonofuji and Chiyonoyama, and became Chiyoshōma Fujio. After a little more than a year, in September 2011, he received promotion to the 3rd division known as ''makushita.'' Though he bounced back and forth between ''sandanme'' and ''makushita'' for a period after this, from November 2012 he was re-promoted to ''makushita'' with good enough results to become a ''makushita'' regular. Up until this point he had to serve stablemates Chiyomaru and Chiyo'ō who were the same age as him, so this was incentive for him to train hard and work his way up the ranks. For the next three years he would soldier on in the third division, moving slowly upward. In September 2015 he had a commanding 6–1 record and took the ''yūshō'' for the 3rd division. This put him at ''makushita'' 3 for the next tournament where he achieved another 6–1, guaranteeing his promotion to the salaried ranks of ''jūryō.'' At the press conference for his promotion, he stated that six and a half years had been a long time, and he had hoped to reach the professional ranks in four years. He also said that he still had further to rise and he would do his best. A party to celebrate his promotion was held at a hotel in Tokyo at which his parents brought traditional Mongolian outfits for Chiyonofuji and his wife to try out.

In his first two tournaments in ''jūryō'' starting in January 2016, he attained two winning tournaments. In the following May tournament he only managed a 7–8, but bounced back to a 9–6 record for the July tournament at ''jūryō'' 3, earning him promotion to the top flight ''makuuchi'' division. He made his top division debut in the Aki ''basho'' of September 2016, the first new ''makuuchi'' wrestler from Kokonoe stable since the death of his stablemaster Chiyonofuji on July 31 of that year. Following his entry into ''makuuchi'' Chiyoshōma had two consecutive winning tournaments and he is working his way towards the possibility of being a regular ''makuuchi'' wrestler. His first tournament fighting all the '' ōzeki'' and ''yokozuna'' was in May 2017 from the rank of ''maegashira'' 2 where he fell short with a 5–10 record.

He was reprimanded during the November 2017 tournament for causing three '' matta'' or false starts in his Day 9 match against Hokutofuji by not putting both fists to the ground, and for thrusting at Hokutofuji after the first ''matta'' was called.

His string of 498 consecutive matches from sumo entry was broken on the final day of the July 2018 tournament when he pulled out due to an injury. He lost top division status after the May 2019 tournament, but returned to ''makuuchi'' in November 2020 after eight tournaments in ''jūryō.''

On the day before the scheduled start of the January 2021 tournament, it was announced that Chiyoshōma had tested positive for COVID-19. He, and all of the other members of Kokonoe stable, subsequently withdrew from that tournament.

Fighting style

Chiyoshōma's preferred grip on his opponent's ''mawashi'' or belt is ''hidari-yotsu'', a right hand outside, left hand inside position. He uses both pushing and grappling techniques. His most common winning ''kimarite'' are ''hatakikomi'' (slap down), ''yorikiri'' (force out) and ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw).

Personal life

On 25 December 2018 Chiyoshōma married a fellow Mongolian at the Mongolian embassy, a graduate of Mongolian State University she came to Japan for foreign language studies. They first met in August 2014 and have been in a relationship since January 2016.

Career record

See also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of active sumo wrestlers
*List of non-Japanese sumo wrestlers

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiyoshoma, Fujio
1991 births
Living people
Mongolian sumo wrestlers
Sportspeople from Ulaanbaatar
Kokonoe stable sumo wrestlers