Eighteen months ago, in the face of rising COVID-19 numbers and under a nationwide state of emergency, the Japan Sumo Association decided to cancel its annual summer tournament.
That move delayed — by two months — the top-division return of a former ozeki who, due to injury and illness, had previously plummeted to a historically low rank for a wrestler of his status.
Terunofuji’s 10-5 record in the 2020 spring meet at the rank of juryo 4 east fortunately coincided with several poor performances in the top tier, and earned the giant Mongolian, along with four other men, promotion to the sport’s highest division.
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