Last year, yokozuna Hakuho overcame a spate of knee, arm and other injuries to win the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament for a record-extending 43rd career championship. When asked to sum up the year in a single kanji character, he said "fuku [return]," adding, "It was a year of comeback."
Both Hakuho, who will turn 35 in March, and fellow yokozuna Kakuryu have been sitting at the pinnacle of the sport for a long time. But recently, they have been feeling the pressure from a new crop of wrestlers looking to knock them off. Whether or not the veteran Mongolians can still meet the challenge will be answered at the New Year tournament, which starts Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
In the 12-plus years that Hakuho has been a yokozuna, since his promotion after the Summer tournament in 2007, he has shouldered the heavy burden that comes with the sport's highest rank.
However, the ensuing years took their toll and, for the first time as a yokozuna, he sat out a tournament when he missed the 2015 Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, which started a series of injuries that still plague his career. Of the 12 tournaments held over the two-year span since 2018, he wrestled the entire 15 days in only five.
And of those five, he won the title three times, which shows how his power of concentration and his ability to prepare for a tournament stand out -- when he is able to compete. But, he has also shown signs of a decline in his tenacity.
At the official training session before the Yokozuna Deliberation Council at the beginning of the year, Hakuho drew a few raised eyebrows with his rough handling of komusubi Daieisho, to whom he had lost at the previous tournament. The fact that Hakuho won the sparring, even using an elbow to the chest and other techniques regarded as unworthy of a yokozuna, showed his determination.
As with Hakuho, an indisputable drop in physical strength can also be seen in 34-year-old Kakuryu.
On the morning of the opening day of the Kyushu tournament in November, he suffered a relapse of back pain and suddenly withdrew from the competition. He was also at less than full strength in the lead-up to the New Year tournament, during which he continued to receive intravenous injections while training.
"The championship is always my goal at every tournament," Kakuryu said. "More than just being a role model to younger wrestlers, first I have to win the battle with myself."
The big thing is how well he can prepare physically as he strives to win his first title in three tournaments.
On the first day, Hakuho will face 26-year-old Daieisho, while Kakuryu's second-day opponent will be 25-year-old komusubi Abi. Looking at the year ahead, how they fare in the early matches against younger wrestlers will hold great significance.
Leading the way among the new generation is 23-year-old ozeki Takakeisho, who occupies the prestigious East slot for the first time in the rankings.
"Winning is the only way to get to the last place [yokozuna] in the rankings," said Takakeisho, who aims to become the first ozeki to win a tournament title since Kisenosato at the 2017 New Year tournament.
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