[i]Grand champion Asashoryu stunned by top rival and US sumo support
Sat Oct 8, 1:24 PM ET
LAS VEGAS, United States (AFP) - Sumo grand champion Asashoryu was shocked by top rival Tochiazuma and stunned at how much Americans loved Japan’s national sport in the first elite sumo event on US soil in 20 years.
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Japan’s Tochiazuma used an overarm throw to defeat Mongolian star Asashoryu in the first-day final at the Grand Sumo Las Vegas, where a crowd of 7,000 watched the world’s finest sumo “rikishi” in a rare tournament outside Japan.
“All the American people were really excited to see the sumo. I didn’t think they would be so excited,” Asashoryu said. “I was very surprised. I was very moved by the American audience.”
Asahoryu, the first Mongolian to hold sumo’s supreme “Yokozuna” rank, won his record-tying sixth tournament in a row at Tokyo on September 25, two days before his 25th birthday. He blamed himself for losing on the US stage.
“I choked,” Asashoryu said. “Of course I expected to win. But I lost. I’m going to do my best so it won’t go again like tonight. I’ll have more motivation. Tomorrow - winner.”
Tochiazuma, whose “ozeki” rank is just below Asashoryu, threw the grand champion off balance at the start of the final and after fighting off a rally bid, hurled him over the clay ring’s rice-straw bales boundary for the victory.
“I’m very happy. There was a little scary part during the match but I prevailed,” Tochiazuma said. “I didn’t know how the American public would react to sumo but I was surprised and I was very moved.”
Sumo’s first US exposure since a 1985 event at New York was only the 13th event staged beyond Japan’s borders. China and South Korea hosted 2004 events that were the first outside Japan since 1998 in Canada and 1997 in Australia.
The three-day format will match daily winners on Sunday for an overall champion, much different from the 15-day round-robin affairs in Japan as it forces wrestlers to win five times in a day rather than rewarding endurance.
“There’s nothing really different about what I’m doing here,” Tochiazuma said. “I try to exercise and prepare my body. I’m just trying my best to win the matches.”
Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, has matched sumo legend Taiho’s record six tournament win streak, achieved in 1963 and 1967, and joined American Akebono, and Samoan Musashimaru as the only non-Japanese Yokozuna.
He will try to break the mark in November at the Japanese sumo season ender.
The Mongolian wore a gold mawashi, or silk loincloth. It was the same color he wore the last time he was beaten by Tochiazuma. But Asashoryu was willing to risk the jinx to make his mark in the neon glow of the US gambling capital.
“It was Vegas. I wanted to be glamourous,” he said. “It’s a glamourous color.”
Just before the final, when wrestlers toss salt as a purification ritual for cleansing the ring, Asashoryu hurled a huge spray of salt, a show for the US fans that brought the cheers he was seeking.
“It was for the American fans, for them to be excited with my presentation,” he said. “I was very moved by the American people being very excited.”
Sumo’s ceremony and tradition provided a stark contrast to boxing mecca Las Vegas, America’s “Sin City”. Sumos played slot machines, sumo-themed blackjack tables and were shown on giant neon billboards outside the host hotel.
Sumo stars took their place alongside such boxing legends as Muhammad Ali, magicians like David Copperfield, singers like Frank Sinatra and entertainers such as Sigfried and Roy in the long history of Vegas showmen.
“It’s my honor to be able to do sumo in this arena where all the big sports have been held,” Tochiazuma said.[/i]
Original article and picture at link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051008/sp_wl_afp/sumousajpnmgl_051008172240%3B_ylt=A9FJqa9xbUhDhqgALgHFOrgF%3B_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl
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