Aonishiki Caps Chaos in Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament with Playoff Win over Hoshoryu

Sekiwake Aonishiki brought a dramatic end to one of sumo’s most chaotic tournaments in recent memory by winning his first career title, while securing a historic promotion to ozeki in the process.

The 21-year-old Ukrainian walked off with the Emperor’s Cup at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament after winning his final match, then defeating yokozuna Hoshoryu in a championship playoff on Sunday at Fukuoka Kokusai Center.

“I’m always nervous, and I felt the tension, but I stuck with my sumo and I’m glad it worked,” Aonishiki said.

The sumo world was buzzing long before the match with the news in the morning that yokozuna Onosato, who had struggled over the previous four days, would default his match with Hoshoryu, citing a shoulder injury. That eliminated Onosato from contention for the title and assured Hoshoryu either the title outright or a place in a playoff.

It all came down to Aonishiki’s bout with ozeki Kotozakura. A victory and he would finish tied with Hoshoryu at 12-3 to set up the title showdown; a loss and the title was Hoshoryu’s.

Aonishiki, who had beaten the ozeki in both of the last two tournaments, worked in low for a belt hold, while keeping his head squarely placed in Kotozakura’s chest. Then in a odd twist that seemed to fit the theme of a peculiar tournament, Aonishiki made a feint to grab a leg and, when Kotozakura pulled his legs back, his feet slipped out from under him and he plunged helplessly to the dirt.

Aonishiki’s victory over Hoshoryu in the playoff was also far from textbook. Again butting his head into his opponent’s chest, it provided an opening for Aonishiki to execute a duck under like that seen in Olympic wrestling that put him behind Hoshoryu with his hands around his waist. From there, he only had to pressure him down to his knees.

“I thought it would be best to do what I usually do and stay low, and fight as hard as I could,” Aonishiki said.

As he walked out of the arena to the dressing room following the victory, he shared a deep hug with a stablemate. “[The title] was something I was always aiming for, so I was so happy to have done it,” he said.

The 21-year-old Aonishiki has been on an unprecedented rise up the ranks since his pro sumo debut in September 2023. He needed just 13 tournaments — without ever having a losing record — to reach the third highest rank of sekiwake, the fewest ever excluding former amateur stars who started their careers in the makushita rank.

Following Sunday’s action, which gave him an aggregate 34 wins over three tournaments, the Japan Sumo Association said a special meeting has been called to decide on Aonishiki’s promotion to ozeki, which would make him the fastest to reach the second highest rank. The promotion will be made official on Wednesday.

For his efforts, Aonishiki was also awarded both the Outstanding Performance Award and Technique Prize — the fifth tournament in a row in which he has received at least one post-tournament honor.

Throughout the tournament, Hoshoryu had to play catch-up after suffering two losses in the first six days.

Conversely, Onosato reeled off nine straight wins before suddenly hitting a wall that saw him lose three of his next five matches — and his win over Aonishiki on the 13th day was hardly decisive. The slump was a precursor for the bombshell that was dropped on Sunday morning that he would sit out the final match.

Aonishiki’s chances for the title had seemed to end with that loss to Onosato, as it left him one win behind the two yokozuna with two days to go. It looked like the Japan Sumo Association would get its dream ending — two yokozuna fighting on the final day for all of the marbles.

Then fate stepped in and spoiled the scenario, as both Hoshoryu and Onosato were dealt stunning losses on Day 14, with Aonishiki getting back into the picture with his third win over Hoshoryu in three career meetings.

Aonishiki followed that up with his win on the final day over Kotozakura, before knocking off Hoshoryu. It marks the second time that Hoshoryu lost out on a title in a playoff, having fallen to Onosato in September.

Meanwhile, komusubi Takayasu put himself into position for a possible promotion back to sekiwake — a rank the former ozeki last held in January 2023 — when he earned his kachikoshi eighth win by shoving out No. 5 maegashira Yoshinofuji.

Yoshinofuji finished with a 9-6 record that included back-to-back victories over Onosato and Aonishiki, which earned him the Technique Prize.

Former ozeki Kirishima, now at No. 2 maegashira, and No. 8 maegashira Ichiyamamoto both earned the Fighting Spirit Prize after finishing with 11-4 records. Kirishima pushed over No. 3 maegashira Ura, who executed a nice somersault in defeat, while Ichiyamamoto drove out No. 2 maegashira Wakamotoharu.

In a clash of sanyaku wrestlers with losing records, sekiwake Oho forced out komusubi Takanosho to finish at 7-8. Takanosho ended up 5-10.