Goeido, who was in line to be demoted to sekiwake from ozeki at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in March after having gone 5-10 at the New Year tournament in January, is now retired.
It is the first time in 8-1/2 years that an ozeki has retired while still at his rank since Kaio stepped away halfway through the Nagoya tournament in July 2011. In recent years, a small number of wrestlers have continued their careers in the ring even after being demoted from ozeki.
An ozeki who is under threat of demotion if he suffers a makekoshi of eight or more losses is called a kadoban ozeki. The New Year tournament was the ninth basho for the 33-year-old Goeido under kadoban status as an ozeki.
In the past few years, Goeido has gone into his bouts with a resolution that he "would retire from sumo if demoted from ozeki."
The spring tournament will be held in his hometown of Osaka. He left the sumo world without taking on the challenge of using a special exception in which an ozeki demoted to sekiwake can be promoted to ozeki again if he earns at least 10 wins at the following tournament.
But the way he has left sumo has been looked upon favorably as a "graceful decision" among those in the sumo world and fans.
There have been just four wrestlers who were promoted to ozeki since Kaio's retirement and remain active after being demoted from the rank: 36-year-old Kotoshogiku, Terunofuji, 28, Takayasu, 29, and 32-year-old Tochinoshin.
Kotoshogiku held his ozeki rank for 32 tournaments. At the New Year tournament, which marked three years since he suffered a demotion from ozeki, he went 7-8 as a No. 13 maegashira on the east side, but said he has not lost his motivation to wrestle.
The way a wrestler can steadily continue his career, even after demotion, is by attracting sympathy from sumo fans.
Terunofuji, who has been demoted from ozeki to as far down as the jonidan, is on the path to returning to the top makuuchi division at the spring tournament after two years' hiatus because of his championship in the juryo division at the New Year tournament.
This might be a changing of the guard as veterans such as the yokozuna pair of Hakuho and Kakuryu give way to younger wrestlers. Under those circumstances, the experienced wrestlers seem to provide an abundance of drama in the dohyo in the process.
-- Miki is a sumo expert.
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