Rohō Yukio (born March 9, 1980, as Soslan Feliksovich Boradzov, , in
Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...
,
Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in the
Russian Federation
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
) 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 th ...
wrestler. The highest rank he achieved was ''
komusubi
, 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 ...
''. His younger brother is also a former sumo wrestler, under the name of
Hakurozan. In September
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
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The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
both were banned from the sport for life after testing positive for
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
.
Career
Rohō began wrestling at the age of 16. At 18 he won the world junior freestyle championship. As his weight increased beyond 130 kg he was unable to continue wrestling, so he took up sumo at the age of 20. In 2001 he came third in the heavyweight class in the
Sumo World Championships, and won the European championship.

He came to Japan in February 2002 with his brother, joining the stable of 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 o ...
''
Taihō (since transferred to Taihō's son-in-law, the former
Takatōriki, and renamed
Ōtake stable). His first appearance was in May 2002, and he won his first 19 bouts. He was promoted to ''
jūryō'' in January 2004, then ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, 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 ...
'' for the September 2004 tournament. His result was 10–5 in this tournament, earning him the
Fighting Spirit prize. He also achieved 10 wins in the November 2004 tournament, and by May 2005 reached ''
maegashira'' 1, but suffered a losing tournament and so failed to reach ''
sanyaku''. In the next tournament, as a result of a leg injury, he only achieved 3 wins, with 8 losses and 4 absences. He won 8 bouts in the September tournament, then 10 in November (the same as his brother Hakurozan). In January 2006, ranked ''maegashira'' 2, he won 9 bouts and achieved promotion to east ''komusubi'', the first Russian to reach this rank. In March of the same year he won only 4 bouts.
By the end of the sixth day of the July tournament he had achieved 4 wins and 2 losses. On the seventh day following a loss to
Chiyotaikai, the two glared at each other and exchanged angry words. He later smashed a glass door of the bathroom and received a strong warning, but later assaulted two cameramen and was punished by suspension for three days. He returned on the 11th day to beat
Kotoshōgiku, and went on to achieve a satisfactory 8–5–2 record for the tournament. In the next tournament, as M1, he achieved a good result of 10–5, returning to ''komusubi'' for November. Unusually, there were four ''komusubi'' in that tournament, as
Aminishiki had achieved 11 wins in September, and
Kisenosato
is a Japanese sumo elder from Ibaraki Prefecture, Ibaraki. As a wrestler, he made his professional debut in 2002 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 2004 at the age of just 18. After many years in the junior ''san'yaku'' ranks, he reac ...
and
Kokkai had both achieved
kachi-koshi.

After a poor 3–12 showing in January 2007 Rohō was demoted from ''komusubi''. Back in the mid-''maegashira'' ranks for March, he surprisingly failed to achieve a winning tournament, falling to his eighth defeat on the final day. Controversy continued to follow Rohō into the 2007 May tournament, where after a day one loss against
Miyabiyama, Rohō claimed that he was not ready to start the bout and that it should have been declared a false start. However, neither the
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...
nor the
judges intervened at the time and the result stood. In an interview after the match, Rohō questioned the referee's judgement. After criticism from the
Sumo Association that such behaviour was not appropriate for a sumo wrestler, Rohō apologised. He ended the tournament with a solid 10–5 record. In July 2007, after winning his first three bouts, he injured his back and had to withdraw from the tournament. He remained in the middle ''maegashira'' ranks after that, and did not look like returning to ''sanyaku''. He had to withdraw from the May 2008 tournament after injuring his back once again, but he had already attained eight wins.
He is a fan of Russian wrestler
Fedor Emelianenko, and his interests include
Russian cinema and music.
Fighting style
Roho was a yotsu-sumo specialist, who preferred a ''migi-yotsu'', or left hand outside, right hand inside grip on his opponent's ''
mawashi''. His favourite
techniques were ''yorikiri'' (force out) and ''uwatenage'' (overarm throw), although he also relied heavily on ''
henka
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
'' (side stepping) and pull-downs. ''Hataki-komi'', the slap-down, was his second most commonly used technique after ''yorikiri''. ''Henka'' in particular is looked down upon by sumo purists, and Roho believed that his failure to receive a special prize from the Sumo Association in the March 2005 tournament, despite winning eleven bouts, was due to use of ''henka'' in his victory over
Kotomitsuki.
Cannabis scandal and dismissal
On September 2, 2008, he and his brother
Hakurozan had a positive test result for
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. This test occurred less than two weeks after fellow Russian
Wakanohō was sacked after being arrested for cannabis possession, and the surprise inspection was taken on 69 ''jūryō'' and higher ranked wrestlers, including the two ''yokozuna''. Although the
Metropolitan Police Department questioned the two wrestlers and searched their rooms, no further legal action was taken because it is not illegal to fail a drug test under Japanese law.
On September 6, Roho and Hakurozan failed a second, more detailed set of doping tests, and he announced that he would not accept the outcome of a second positive reading for drug use on the next day.
On September 8, the
Japan Sumo Association
The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...
held a meeting of the board of directors and decided on the dismissals of Rohō and Hakurozan. Both wrestlers moved out of their respective stables but remained in Japan on short term visas and continued to deny any wrongdoing. However it was reported by the Sumo Association that the brothers had admitted to officials at the testing that they had smoked cannabis whilst on a tour of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in June.
On October 28, the brothers filed a lawsuit with the
Tokyo District Court seeking to revoke their dismissals, arguing that the tests were administered incorrectly. They also sought 100 million
yen in damages. Their demands were rejected by the court in March
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, the judge saying "“It is recognisable that the two used marijuana...and the use of marijuana was an act to damage trust of the association."
The lawyer for the brothers indicated that they would appeal the ruling.
They reappeared in court on June 29, 2009, testifying for two and a half hours and once again criticised the conduct of the tests. Cross examination of witnesses began on August 31, with
Isenoumi Oyakata,
Tomozuna Oyakata and Otake Oyakata called to the stand. Otake said he was promised by Isenoumi that Roho would not be dismissed if he agreed to take the more detailed tests. Isenoumi responded that Otake's testimony was "regrettable." Former Sumo Association chairman
Kitanoumi testified on December 21, saying it was the supposed admission by the brothers that they had smoked on the LA tour that tipped the balance in favour of expulsion. Roho was in attendance, still wearing the traditional ''
kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...
'' and ''
mage
Mage most commonly refers to:
* Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources
* Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction
* Mage, a character class in ...
'' of a ''rikishi''.
The Tokyo District Court found in favour of the Sumo Association on April 19, 2010, with the judge saying, "It has been proven that urine samples which showed positive results for marijuana were theirs, and it is unthinkable that they were mixed up with samples of others... the association's decision to dismiss them was adequate given that the use of illegal drugs had become a serious social problem." The court's ruling was upheld by the
Tokyo High Court on November 18, 2010.
Career record
See also
*
*
List of non-Japanese sumo wrestlers
This is a list of foreign-born professional sumo wrestlers by country and/or ethnicity of origin, along with original name, years active in sumo wrestling, and highest rank attained. Names in bold indicate a still-active wrestler.
There are 186 w ...
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
*
List of komusubi
References
External links
*
Rohō's basho results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roho, Yukio
1980 births
2008 sumo cannabis scandal
Living people
Ossetian sumo wrestlers
Sportspeople from Vladikavkaz
Russian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
Komusubi
Sportspeople banned for life