Former ozeki Terunofuji's amazing comeback story added another chapter when the Mongolian rose from the bottom of the maegashira ranks to the top, a reward for his stunning victory at the July Grand Sumo Tournament.
Terunofuji was inserted at No. 1 maegashira in the rankings announced Monday by the Japan Sumo Association for the Autumn Grand Tournament starting Sept. 13 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
"My first impression was that it was a bigger rise than I expected," Terunofuji said in an online press conference. "I think they gave me a big promotion because of what they expect I can do."
Terunofuji returned to the uppermost makuuchi division for the July tournament and won the title as a No. 17 maegashira. Injuries and illness had seen Terunofuji sink to the fifth-tier jonidan division before he worked his way back up the ladder.
Terunofuji returned to training about a week after the end of the previous tournament and immediately turned the switch back on amid the hoopla of congratulations and encouragement from well-wishers.
"Given all of the attention, I need to step up for the next tournament," he said.
Meanwhile, Daieisho was promoted from komusubi to sekiwake after chalking up 11 wins at the July tournament, meaning there will be three wrestlers in the third-highest rank for the first time since 2017.
Mongolian Hoshoryu, the 21-year-old nephew of former yokozuna Asashoryu, will make his makuuchi division debut as a No. 16 maegashira.
Another debutante will be Tobizaru, the younger brother of former makuuchi wrestler and current juryo Hidenoumi. That makes the siblings the 11th brothers to have reached the top division.
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