Tokusegawa Masano (德瀬川正直, born August 6, 1983, as Badamsambuu Ganbold) is a former

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

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 ce ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

. Joining the professional sport in 2003, he entered the top division for the first time in March 2010, and rose to the top of the ''maegashira'' ranks. He was forced to retire 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 ...

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, ...

Career

Tokusegawa's debut tournament in ''

maezumo The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' was considered a rather ignominious one, as he was cautioned by judges for cursing in Mongolian at a fellow Mongolian wrestler and slapping the wrestler's chest just after losing to him. He soon went on to distinguish himself though, steadily rising through the ranks. Except for a period in early 2005 where he suffered three consecutive losing tournaments while struggling in the ''

sandanme 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 ...

'' division, he never had two consecutive losing tournaments. He took the ''sandanme'' championship in the November 2006 tournament with a 7–0 perfect record. His sumo became even more consistent and after a slow but steady rise to the upper ranks of the ''

makushita 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. Fo ...

'' division, he took the championship in the May 2009 tournament. As a result, he became the first wrestler from his stable to be promoted to the elite ''

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 fra ...

'' ranks. It took him only four tournaments to make his way through the second ''

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. F ...

'' division, in which he suffered only one losing tournament. He came through with winning records in his first three top ''

makuuchi , 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 o ...

'' division tournaments before recording his first ''

make-koshi The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan. A B C D E F G H ...

'' at ''maegashira'' 4 in September 2010. He responded with scores of 8–7 in November (which included a win over '' ozeki'' Kotooshu) and 9–6 in January 2011. After the January 2011 tournament Tokusegawa's

Kiriyama stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Tatsunami ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It was set up in January 1995 by the former ''komusubi'' Kurosegawa, who branched out from the now defunct Isegahama stable and took with him the remaining mem ...

shut down and he moved with his stablemaster to the affiliated

Asahiyama stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Isegahama '' ichimon'' or group of stables. It had a long history. It closed its doors in January 2015, and its staff and wrestlers transferred to other stables. History In its active period, Asahiya ...

Retirement from sumo

In April 2011 Tokusegawa was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of

after an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association (JSA), and he was forced to retire from sumo. He responded, "I can't accept (this punishment). But what am I supposed to do if I oppose the JSA's decision?" He would have reached a new highest rank of ''maegashira'' 1 in the May 2011 tournament. Following his retirement Tokusegawa returned to his native country and participated in

Mongolian wrestling Mongolian wrestling, known as Bökh (Mongolian script: ; Mongolian Cyrillic: Бөх or Үндэсний бөх), is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions where touching the ground with anything other th ...

, winning the Western Region Danshig Nadaam tournament in 2012.

Fighting style

Tokusegawa was a ''yotsu-sumo'' specialist, preferring grappling techniques. His favoured grip on his opponent's ''

mawashi In sumo, a is the loincloth that (sumo wrestlers) wear during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a as part of the ring entry ceremony or . For top ranked professional , it is made of silk and comes in a v ...

'' was ''migi-yotsu'' (left hand outside, right hand inside) and 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 r ...

'' were ''yori-kiri'' and ''yori-taoshi'' (force out and down). He also regularly used ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw).

Career record

References

External links