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Asasekiryū Tarō

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Asasekiryū Tarō (born August 7, 1981, as Badarchiin Dashnyam (Mongolian: Бадарчийн Дашням)) is a former sumo wrestler. He made his debut in January 2000, reaching the top makuuchi division in March 2003. He won four special prizes, and spent a total of five tournaments in the titled san'yaku ranks. The highest rank was sekiwake. He was a runner-up in two tournaments in 2004 and 2007. After 2013 he was mainly ranked in the lower jūryō and makushita divisions. He acquired Japanese citizenship in April 2017 and retired from active competition the following month. He became a coach at Takasago stable under the elder name Nishikijima Oyakata. In November 2020 he became head coach of Takasago stable.

Asasekiryū Tarō
朝赤龍 太郎
Tarō in 2008
Personal information
BornBadarchiin Dashnyam
(1981-08-07) August 7, 1981 (age 43)
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Weight148 kg (326 lb; 23.3 st)
Career
StableWakamatsu → Takasago
Record687-679-36
DebutJanuary, 2000
Highest rankSekiwake (September, 2007)
RetiredMay, 2017
Elder nameTakasago
Championships1 (Jūryō)
1 (Jonidan)
Special PrizesOutstanding Performance (1)
Fighting Spirit (1)
Technique (2)
* Up to date as of May 12, 2017.

Early life and sumo background

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Dashnyam was the second son of a successful Mongolian wrestler who achieved a level roughly equivalent to sumo's komusubi. From the ages of six to twelve he attended the Naadam festival, where he was also schooled in horse training. He did not continue his training, however, and in 1997 chose to accompany his friend, future yokozuna Asashōryū who was moving to Japan to attend high school. It was understood it was largely to keep his friend from becoming homesick. They were accepted by Meitoku Gijuku high school, known for its strong sumo program. They were seniors to later stars Kotoshōgiku and Tochiōzan.

Career

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After high school he followed his friend Asashōryū to Wakamatsu stable (now Takasago stable) and fought his first professional sumo bout in January 2000. In later years Asasekiryū would often serve as a tachimochi or sword bearer during Asashōryū's yokozuna dohyō-iri or ring entering ceremony. His shikona or fighting name literally means morning red dragon, very similar to Asashoryu's morning blue dragon (in both cases, the Asa character is taken from his stablemaster's fighting name of Asashio, who was a classmate at Kinki University of Asashōryū and Asasekiryū's high school sumo coach).

Asasekiryū won the tournament championship or yūshō in the jonidan division in May 2000 with a perfect 7-0 record. He earned promotion to the jūryō (second division) in July 2002, and to the top makuuchi division in March 2003, following his 11-4 score which won the jūryō championship.

He made little impact in the top division until March 2004, when he won his first twelve bouts, including a defeat of ōzeki Kaiō. He finished as tournament runner-up with a 13-2 record and earned two special prizes for Technique and Outstanding Performance. In May 2006 he scored ten wins at maegashira 2 and won the Fighting Spirit prize. He was promoted to komusubi for the July 2006 tournament, but was forced to withdraw partway through this tournament due to injury and had some mixed results after that.

In May 2007, fighting from the mid maegashira ranks, he produced an outstanding 12-3 record. This gave him runner-up honours once again, and his second Technique prize. In July 2007 Asasekiryū had his first chance to fight a yokozuna and earn a gold star when he met new yokozuna Hakuhō, as sumo rules prevented him from being matched against his stablemate Asashōryū. He lost, but the eight wins he managed in this tournament at maegashira 1 were enough to earn him promotion to sekiwake for September, which was to be his highest career rank. He had a winning record in that tournament, but after a disappointing 3-12 score in November 2007, he was demoted back to the maegashira ranks for the January 2008 tournament.

 
Asasekiryū in May 2009

Asasekiryū produced two good performances in the first two tournaments of 2008. In January he scored ten wins and in March he defeated two ōzeki, and tournament runner-up Baruto to finish 8-7. This performance returned him to the titled san'yaku ranks for the May 2008 tournament, at komusubi. However he was unable to maintain his ranking, only scoring six wins against nine losses. He was again ranked at komusubi in September 2008, but turned in a poor 4-11 record. He became his stable's top rikishi in February 2010, following the retirement of Asashōryū. Asasekiryū expressed his shock and sadness at the sudden retirement of a friend he had known since the age of 11. He continued to move up and down the division, reaching maegashira 1 in July 2010 but falling back to maegashira 9 by May 2011. In the May 2012 tournament, ranked at maegashira 14, he stood at only 3–7 after ten days, and although he rallied somewhat to finish on 6–9, this was not enough to prevent demotion back to jūryō for the first time. He returned to makuuchi in September after just one tournament away, but then was injured on just the second day of the November 2012 tournament and had to withdraw, resulting in another demotion to jūryō. He became somewhat of a second division regular, doing enough to maintain sekitori status while never achieving enough success for repromotion. A 10-5 record in July 2015 however, saw his promotion to makuuchi after a near three-year hiatus. He maintained his position in the top division despite a 7-8 record in September 2015 but was relegated after recording only 3 wins in November. His run of 86 consecutive tournaments ranked as a sekitori ended in November 2016 when he could score only 4-11 at jūryō 9. This result left the Takasago stable without any wrestlers in the top two divisions for the first time since it was founded in 1878, a situation for which Asasekiryū expressed his regret.

Retirement from sumo

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He acquired Japanese citizenship in April 2017. This allowed him to stay in the sumo world after retirement as an elder of the Japan Sumo Association.[1] He announced he was retiring on May 12, 2017. He became Nishikijima Oyakata, an elder name which had been thought to be owned by the active wrestler Toyonoshima, but Asasekiryū is listed in an owner's position rather than a borrower's at the Sumo Association. In his retirement press conference he said his most memorable honbasho was his 13–2 runner-up performance in March 2004, the same tournament in which his stablemate Asashōryū won with a perfect 15–0 record. His danpatsu-shiki (retirement ceremony) was held at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan on February 4, 2018, with around 250 guests taking part in the hair-cutting ritual.[2] His four-year-old son was scheduled to appear with him but began crying and was excused.

In November 2020 he took over as head coach of Takasago stable and the Takasago ichimon. He is the first foreign born coach to head an ichimon.[3]

Asasekiryū was handed a 20% salary cut for three months in June 2021 after then-ōzeki Asanoyama was issued a one-year suspension from sumo for violating COVID-19 protocols.[4]

Family

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Asasekiryū has known his wife, a Mongolian national, since 2006 when he visited Mongolia after reaching a san'yaku rank. They began a relationship in 2012 and had a child together in 2013, but they delayed their wedding reception as Asasekiryū wanted to wait until he was promoted back to the top makuuchi division, which did not happen until September 2015. Although he soon fell to jūryō again, the reception went ahead on February 14, 2016. They have a son and a daughter.[5]

Asasekiryū graduated from the National University of Mongolia in June 2010 after studying by correspondence for six years. His thesis was in the history and culture of sumo in Japan.

Fighting style

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Asasekiryū was a yotsu-sumo (grappling) wrestler, preferring a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip on his opponent's mawashi or belt. His most common winning technique was a straightforward yorikiri or force out. He was also fond of throws, most often employing uwatenage (outer arm throw) and uwatedashinage (pulling outer arm throw).[6]

Career record

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Asasekiryū Tarō[7]
Year January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo		 March
Haru basho, Osaka		 May
Natsu basho, Tokyo		 July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya		 September
Aki basho, Tokyo		 November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2000 (Maezumo) West Jonokuchi #34
6–1
 		 East Jonidan #80
7–0–P
Champion
 		 East Sandanme #72
5–2
 		 East Sandanme #45
6–1
 		 East Makushita #56
4–3
 
2001 West Makushita #47
5–2
 		 West Makushita #32
3–4
 		 East Makushita #41
5–2
 		 East Makushita #27
6–1
 		 East Makushita #10
4–3
 		 East Makushita #7
3–4
 
2002 East Makushita #12
5–2
 		 East Makushita #6
5–2
 		 West Makushita #1
5–2
 		 West Jūryō #11
6–9
 		 East Jūryō #13
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #8
10–5
 
2003 West Jūryō #1
11–4–P
Champion
 		 East Maegashira #10
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #13
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #9
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #4
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #4
3–12
 
2004 East Maegashira #12
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #12
13–2
OT		 East Maegashira #2
3–12
 		 West Maegashira #10
11–4
 		 East Maegashira #4
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #10
7–8
 
2005 East Maegashira #11
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #9
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #8
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #7
6–7–2
 		 East Maegashira #10
6–2–7
 		 West Maegashira #12
9–6
 
2006 West Maegashira #4
5–10
 		 West Maegashira #8
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #2
10–5
F		 East Komusubi #1
1–2–12
 		 West Maegashira #9
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #9
10–5
 
2007 East Maegashira #6
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #2
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #8
12–3
T		 West Maegashira #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
8–7
 		 West Sekiwake #1
3–12
 
2008 West Maegashira #4
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #1
8–7
 		 West Komusubi #1
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #2
8–7
 		 West Komusubi #1
4–11
 		 East Maegashira #5
5–10
 
2009 East Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #11
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #7
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #12
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #6
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #10
8–7
 
2010 West Maegashira #8
6–9
 		 East Maegashira #11
10–5
 		 West Maegashira #4
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #1
4–11
 		 West Maegashira #6
9–6
 		 West Maegashira #2
6–9
 
2011 West Maegashira #5
6–9
 
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0		 West Maegashira #9
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #9
6–9
 		 West Maegashira #12
7–8
 		 West Maegashira #13
6–9
 
2012 East Maegashira #15
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #11
5–10
 		 East Maegashira #14
6–9
 		 East Jūryō #1
9–6
 		 East Maegashira #13
8–7
 		 West Maegashira #9
0–3–12
 
2013 West Jūryō #6
5–7–3
 		 West Jūryō #11
10–5
 		 East Jūryō #4
5–10
 		 East Jūryō #8
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #5
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #4
6–9
 
2014 East Jūryō #7
9–6
 		 West Jūryō #3
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #4
6–9
 		 West Jūryō #6
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #7
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #7
9–6
 
2015 East Jūryō #2
5–10
 		 West Jūryō #5
8–7
 		 East Jūryō #3
7–8
 		 East Jūryō #4
10–5
 		 East Maegashira #15
7–8
 		 East Maegashira #16
3–12
 
2016 East Jūryō #8
9–6
 		 East Jūryō #2
4–11
 		 West Jūryō #8
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #10
8–7
 		 West Jūryō #7
7–8
 		 West Jūryō #9
4–11
 
2017 West Makushita #1
2–5
 		 West Makushita #9
3–4
 		 West Makushita #14
Retired
–		 x x x
Record given as wins–losses–absences    Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation

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

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "朝赤龍が日本国籍取得＝大相撲" (in Japanese). jiji.com. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  2. ^ "元関脇朝赤龍が引退相撲　断髪式では白鵬らがはさみ". Sanspo. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  3. ^ "外国出身者、初の「一門」本家継承 大相撲：朝日新聞デジタル". Asahi Shimbun. 27 November 2020.
  4. ^ "朝乃山６場所出場停止で三段目以下陥落へ　緊急事態宣言下キャバクラ処分" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. ^ "朝赤龍が結婚披露宴、大関琴奨菊ら400人から祝福" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Asasekiryu bouts by kimarite". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Asasekiryū Tarō Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
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