Takarafuji Daisuke

Takarafuji Daisuke
宝富士 大輔
Personal information
Born Daisuke Sugiyama
(1987-02-18) February 18, 1987
Nakadomari, Aomori, Japan
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight 162 kg (357 lb)
Career
Stable Isegahama
University Kinki University
Current rank see below
Debut January, 2009
Highest rank Sekiwake (Sept, 2016)
Championships 1 (Sandanme)
Special Prizes Fighting Spirit (1)
Gold Stars 2 (Kakuryū, Hakuhō)
* Up to date as of Nov 27, 2016.

Takarafuji Daisuke (宝富士 大輔) (born February 18, 1987 as Daisuke Sugiyama) is a sumo wrestler from Nakadomari, Aomori, Japan. He is a sandanme division champion. The highest rank he has reached is sekiwake.

Early life and sumo background

From the third grade of elementary school, Sugiyama began practicing at a sumo dōjō near his home and began participating in national amateur sumo tournaments in junior high school. This exposure soon had him being scouted by several sumo stables. He chose to first finish high school and went on to university. He graduated from Kinki University in Osaka.

Career

Takarafuji at the Kyushu tournament in November 2011

Upon his graduation, the former yokozuna Asahifuji, who had previously attended the same high school and university as Sugiyama, invited him to join Isegahama stable of which Asahifuji was head coach. Sugiyama's professional sumo career began in January 2009. He took the ring name of Takarafuji from the beginning, following the practice at Isegahama of wrestlers taking a ring name at the beginning rather than waiting for a promotion opportunity as most stables do. He advanced quickly through the lower ranks. He narrowly lost the jonokuchi championship in his debut, losing in a playoff. He then posted an impressive 6-1 in his jonidan division debut in the next tournament. In the following July 2009 tournament, he won the sandanme division championship with a perfect record and a playoff win. His progress slowed only slightly on entering the tougher makushita division. Through to July 2010 he posted only one losing tournament, and was promoted to the jūryō second division in September 2010. His promotion from makushita 2 to jūryō 12 was higher than normal due to seven other wrestlers being suspended for gambling on baseball. Regardless of being put at a higher rank than his record had yet warranted, he excelled, posting four consecutive winning records and advancing to the top-tier makuuchi division in July 2011 at maegashira 10.

His debut in the division would turn out to be the same tournament that his stablemate, ōzeki Harumafuji would win the championship. This auspicious debut did little for his record, and an unimpressive 4-11 record had him demoted. For four tournaments, he alternated between losing records in makuuchi that bounced him down to jūryō where he would post an impressive enough record to achieve top-tier promotion again. Though he only posted a 6-9 record at maegashira 14 in the March 2012 tournament, unimpressive performances by many wrestlers in nearby ranks allowed him to stay in the makuuchi division at the bottom maegashira 16 rank for the May 2012 tournament. In this tournament he would finally post his first winning record, being in the championship race until late in the tournament before several consecutive losses knocked him out of the running. Since this time, he has been a managed to stay in the top division for the better part of three years, posting roughly alternating winning and losing tournaments, and was only demoted to jūryō once in November 2012 before bouncing right back into the top division.

He earned his first kinboshi or gold star for defeating yokozuna Kakuryū in the January 2015 tournament, but he missed out on a first special prize and promotion to the san'yaku ranks after he failed to win on the final day and ended with a make-koshi 7-8 record. Winning records in March and May saw him promoted to komusubi for the first time but a 4-11 result in July saw him return to the rank and file. He managed only four wins in September but returned to form with ten wins in November and a winning record in January 2016 led to him being made komusubi again for the March tournament. In this tournament he defeated Hakuhō on the opening day,[1] his first win over the yokozuna in eleven attempts. He beat Hakuhō again on the 5th day of the July tournament in Nagoya, ending the yokozuna's 33 bout winning streak.[2] He ended the tournament with a 10-5 record and was awarded the special prize for Fighting Spirit.[3]

Fighting style

Takarafuji is a yotsu–sumo wrestler who prefers a hidari–yotsu, or right hand outside and left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite are the two most popular techniques in sumo, yorikiri or force out, and oshidashi or push out.

Personal

On his promotion to the top division, his passing resemblance to the celebrity Matsuko Deluxe was noted by the Japanese media.[4]

Career record

Takarafuji Daisuke[5]
Year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2009 (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #25
6–1
 		 West Jonidan #58
6–1
 		 East Sandanme #91
7–0
Champion
 		 East Makushita #58
6–1
 		 East Makushita #28
5–2
 
2010 East Makushita #20
5–2
 		 West Makushita #12
6–1
 		 West Makushita #2
3–4
 		 West Makushita #5
5–2
 		 West Jūryō #12
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #7
9–6
 
2011 East Jūryō #5
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #3
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 East Jūryō #3
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #10
4–11
 		 West Jūryō #1
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #14
5–10
 
2012 East Jūryō #2
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #14
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #16
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #10
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #12
5–10
 		 West Jūryō #1
9–6
 
2013 West Maegashira #14
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #10
11–4
 		 East Maegashira #3
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #7
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #3
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #8
8–7
 
2014 East Maegashira #7
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #8
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #2
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #9
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #4
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #2
8–7
 
2015 East Maegashira #1
7–8
★		 West Maegashira #2
8–7
 		 East Maegashira #1
9–6
 		 East Komusubi #1
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #4
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #8
10–5
 
2016 East Maegashira #2
8–7
 		 West Komusubi #1
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #1
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #2
10–5
F★		 West Sekiwake #1
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #5
9–6
 
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kotoshogiku starts strong as Hakuho falters on opening day". Japan Times. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Yokozuna Hakuho's 33-match win streak ends; Kisenosato handed first defeat in Nagoya". Japan Times. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Harumafuji captures title at Nagoya Basho". Japan Times. July 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ Miki, Shuji (1 September 2016). "SUMO ABC (35) / High expectations for newly promoted sekiwake duo". The Japan News. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Takarafuji Daisuke Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 2012-05-22.
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