Ryūō Noboru (born March 11, 1983, as Erkhem-Ochiryn Sanchirbold, ) is a former professional

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 from Ulan-Bator,

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

. 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 ...

'' 8.

Career

He joined sumo in March 2000, shortly before his 17th birthday, making him young by the standards of most foreign recruits. He took part in a seven way play-off for the title in the third ''

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 in January 2003, but his progress was slowed by a neck injury that forced him to sit out the November 2003 tournament. After a year of steady progress he won promotion to the second highest ''

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. Fo ...

'' division in July 2006. He entered the top ''

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 ...

'' division in May 2007, producing a 10–5 record at ''maegashira'' 14. However he could manage only five wins in the next tournament and was demoted back to the second division after a 3–12 score in September 2007. An 8–7 mark at the rank of ''jūryō'' 2 in January 2008 was enough to return him to the top division but he could not manage a winning score and so was demoted once again. In May 2008 he turned in a disappointing 5-10 score at ''jūryō'' 5. In July he recovered from a poor 1-6 start to finish 8–7. However a 4–11 mark at ''jūryō'' 10 in November 2008 saw him fall back to the unsalaried ''makushita'' division for the January 2009 tournament. He withdrew from that tournament with an injury after recording only one win and two losses, and produced another losing score of 3-4 in March 2009. For the rest of his career, he remained firmly stuck in the mid-to-lower ''makushita'' ranks, without even coming close to a return to ''jūryō''. Ryūō was from the same stable as ''

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 ...

'' Hakuhō, and as he was the only other wrestler with ''

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 fr ...

'' experience in the stable, he was Hakuhō's main training partner. After losing ''sekitori'' status he also served as the ''yokozunas personal attendant or '' tsukebito''. In September 2010 he was rebuked by 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 ...

for visiting the locker room of Hakuhō's opponent,

Aran Aran may refer to: Places Azerbaijan Villages and municipalities: * Aran, Aghjabadi * Aran, Lerik * Aran, Shaki * Aran, Tovuz * Aran, Yevlakh Iran * Aran, Alborz, a village in Alborz Province * Aran, Nain, a village in Isfahan Province * Ar ...

, prior to the match.

Retirement from sumo

Ryūō retired from sumo in July 2013. His ''

danpatsu-shiki A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who part ...

'' was held on September 1, 2013. He was presented with a specially-made “ kantosho” trophy by Hakuhō to make up for the fact that he missed out on the Fighting Spirit Award in his top division debut despite ten wins. He has maintained his connection with Hakuhō by working as his personal manager, and marrying the daughter of Hakuhō’s aunt. In August 2023, he opened a

chankonabe Chankonabe (), also known as Chanko or Sumo Stew, is a Japanese stew (a type of nabemono or one-pot dish) commonly eaten in vast quantities by sumo wrestlers while trying to gain weight. Ingredients and consumption The dish contains a '' ...

restaurant called "Chanko Dining Ryū". The restaurant specializes in repurposing wrestlers from

Miyagino stable was a Heya (sumo), stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Isegahama ''Glossary of sumo terms#ichimon, ichimon'' or group of stables. It was founded by the 43rd ''Yokozuna (sumo), yokozuna'' Yoshibayama as ''Yoshibayama dōjō'' while he was still ...

and chanko recipes prepared during the Hakuhō era.

Fighting style

Unlike most of his Mongolian compatriots, Ryūō specialised in pushing rather than throwing techniques and he was noted for his strong ''

tachi-ai The is the initial charge between two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout. It is a combination of two Japanese words that mean “stand” and “meet”. There are several common techniques that wrestlers use at the tachi-ai, with the a ...

'', or opening charge at the beginning of matches. Like many pusher-thrusters, however, he was vulnerable to throws by opponents more skilled on the ''

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 . ''Mawashi'' ''Sekitori'' During competition For top ranked profess ...

'' if he was unable to win in the first few seconds.

Career record

References

External links