Seirō Takeshi

), lead=yes is a Mongolian former professional sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in July 2005. After a decade of competing in the lower ranks of sumo he reached the top division for the first time in 2015. His highest rank was '' maegashira'' 14. He wrestled for Shikoroyama stable. He retired in July 2020.

Early life and sumo background

Amgaa Unubold was born on 18 August 1988 in Ulan Bator, Mongolian People's Republic. His father was a successful Mongolian wrestler with a rank the equivalent of '' sekiwake.'' Then-'' yokozuna'' Asashōryū noticed his talent and word got to the head of Shikoroyama stable, the former Terao, who had come scouting to Mongolia. Unubold accepted an invitation to come to Japan to enter sumo and while still a teenager he joined said Shikoroyama stable, taking the ring name ''( shikona)'' Seirō, meaning "blue wolf".

Career

Seirō made his debut as a 17-year-old in September 2005 when he won five of his seven bouts in the lowest '' jonokuchi'' division and was immediately promoted to '' jonidan''. He competed in ''jonidan'' for the next ten tournaments, recording more wins than losses ''( kachi-koshi)'' on six occasions before being promoted to the '' sandanme'' division for the July tournament in Nagoya in July 2007. After four consecutive ''kachi-koshi'' he was promoted to the '' makushita'' division in March 2008 but dropped to ''sandanme'' after losing four of his seven bouts. In the May tournament of 2009 he was unbeaten in seven contests, taking the championship in that division, securing his second promotion to ''makushita''. Injury problems in early 2010 saw him relegated briefly to ''sandanme'' but he returned to ''makushita'' for the Nagoya tournament in July. After another three years in the division, Seiro was promoted to ''jūryō'' rank in July 2013. In the May 2014, he took part in a four-man playoff for the ''jūryō'' championship which would eventually go to Ichinojō. He became the top wrestler in his stable, and the only '' sekitori,'' in January 2015 upon the retirement of former '' komusubi'' Hōmashō.

In the first three tournaments of 2015, Seirō made ''kachi-koshi'', recording nine wins in January, eight in March and eight in May to earn him promotion to the '' makuuchi'' division. In his first appearance in sumo's top division he was ranked '' maegashira'' 15 for the Nagoya tournament in July 2015. On his ''makuuchi'' debut Seirō won seven of his first thirteen bouts but lost to Yoshikaze and Homarefuji on the last two days to end with a losing record ''( make-koshi)'' of 7–8, which nevertheless enabled him to maintain his place in the top division. He again recorded a 7–8 result in September – although he won seven of his twelve matches against ''makuuchi'' opposition he lost all three of his contests against ''jūryō'' wrestlers. After two losing records he was demoted to ''jūryō'' for November and recorded eight wins to maintain a position near the top of the second division. In January he won his first five matches to head the ''jūryō'' division, but won only two of his subsequent bouts to end the tournament on 7–8. In March he was more consistent, recording a 9–6 score including a top-division win over Satoyama on the final day to all but ensure his promotion back to ''makuuchi''. Seirō was given a career high ranking of ''maegashira'' 14 in May but his second spell in the top division lasted only one tournament. He recorded wins over Gagamaru and Endō but ended with a 5–10 record and was immediately relegated. An 8–7 record in July kept him in contention for promotion but a disappointing performance in September saw him drop to the lower reaches of the second division. He returned to form in November with eleven wins to finish runner-up behind Satō and return to the upper ranks of ''jūryō''. He continued to compete in the second tier throughout 2017, but was never in serious promotion contention.

After an injury in the September 2018 tournament he was demoted to ''makushita'' for November, breaking a run of 32 straight tournaments as a ''sekitori'' since his ''jūryō'' debut. He was promoted back to the ''jūryō'' division after the March 2019 tournament. A losing record saw him return to ''makushita'' after the May tournament, but he once again earned a promotion to ''jūryō'' after the July tournament. However his return to ''jūryō'' was short-lived as he withdrew from the September 2019 tournament with only two wins.

Retirement from sumo

Seirō announced his retirement before the July 2020 tournament, citing a number of health problems including meningitis.

Seirō's '' danpatsu-shiki'' (retirement ceremony) was held in Tokyo on 20 August 2022.

Fighting style

Seirō favoured a left hand outside, right hand inside (''migi-yotsu'') grip on his opponent's belt. He employed a wide variety of winning techniques ('' kimarite'') but his most common was ''yorikiri'' or force-out which accounted for more than 30% of his wins. He also made frequent use of ''uwatenage'' (outer arm throw) and ''yoritaoshi'' (front crush-out).

Personal life

On 14 May 2018 Seiro declared that he had been married since December 2016 to a Mongolian woman. Their wedding reception was held on 10 June 2018 with 250 guests in attendance most notable of which being Shikoroyama-oyakata, Hakuhō, and Kakuryū.

Career record

See also

* :Glossary of sumo terms
* :List of past sumo wrestlers
*List of non-Japanese sumo wrestlers

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seira, Takeshi
1988 births
Living people
Mongolian sumo wrestlers
Sumo people from Ulaanbaatar