Kōryū Tadaharu (光龍忠晴, born 4 February 1984) is a Mongolian former sumo wrestler from

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north cen ...

. His highest rank was ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' 11. He was forced to retire from sumo in 2011 after being found guilty of

match-fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

Early life and sumo background

Munkh-Orgil Erdene's father was a

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

rider, and he followed in his footsteps by participating in the sport from ages 10–16. He was also active in basketball and his team won the national high school first and second years' championship. Later, the

Hakkaku stable is a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was established in September 1993 by former ''yokozuna'' Hokutoumi, who took with him four wrestlers from Kokonoe stable. The stable has so far produced nine ...

coach, former ''

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

Hokutoumi is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Hokkaidō. He was the sport's 61st ''yokozuna'' and won eight top division championships. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable, as did Chiyonofuji, and the two were the first ''yokozuna'' stablemat ...

came to Mongolia looking for new wrestlers. A competition was held and Erdene did sufficiently well, along with two other tryouts, later wrestlers Hoshihikari and Hoshizakura to gain acceptance into the stable. However, at the time, each stable was limited to two foreign wrestlers each, so the other two went to Hakkaku stable and Erdene was allowed to enter another stable, Hanakago. He came to Japan to join this stable and entered professional sumo in November 2000. The first character of his ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the ''rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' co ...

'' or ring name was at the behest of his coach, who on his first visit to Mongolia, found the sun of the high plains of Mongolia bright and glorious.

Career

He did not manage to achieve ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a ''rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: ''makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fract ...

'' promotion to ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. For ...

'' until January 2007. He was the first member of his stable to reach sumo's second highest division since it was re-established by the former ''

sekiwake , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

Daijuyama Daijuyama Tadaaki (太寿山忠明, born 8 April 1959 as ) is a former sumo wrestler from Niitsu, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1975, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1980. He was ranked in makuuchi for 64 tou ...

in 1992. After about a year and a half in ''jūryō'', he gained promotion to ''makuuchi,'' but was demoted the next tournament after winning only three bouts. A convincing 10-5 record at ''jūryō'' #5 in the next tournament put him right back in the top division, where he would last two tournaments. After about a year in ''jūryō'', his reappearance in ''makuuchi'' in January 2010 following another 10-5 performance was his third promotion to the top division. However, a poor 3-12 record saw him demoted to ''jūryō'' once again for March. He returned to ''makuuchi'' after an 11-4 record which included a playoff for the ''jūryō'' championship, but his fifth attempt at a winning score in the top division in the May tournament proved unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he was back in ''makuuchi'' once again in September 2010. In the following November tournament he finally managed a winning record in his sixth tournament in the top division.

Retirement from sumo

Koryu was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of fixing the result of bouts after an investigation by the

Japan Sumo Association The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active ...

, and he was forced to retire in April 2011.

Fighting style

Koryu was an ''oshi-sumo'' specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. The Sumo Association lists ''tsuppari'', a series of rapid thrusts to the chest, as his favourite. His most common winning ''

kimarite ''Kimarite'' ( ja, 決まり手) is the technique used in sumo by a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) to win a match. It is officially decided or announced by the ''gyōji'' (referee) at the end of the match, though judges can modify this decision. The rec ...

'' was ''oshidashi'', or push out.

Family

Kōryū was married in 2010, with the reception taking place in January 2011. The couple have a daughter, born in April 2010. His mother's brother in law is the uncle of fellow Mongolian wrestler Shōtenrō.

Career record

References

External links

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Complete biography and basho results (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koryu Tadaharu 1984 births Living people Mongolian sumo wrestlers Sportspeople from Ulaanbaatar Sportspeople banned for life