Despite a losing record in September that dropped him to the lowest rung of sumo’s fourth tier (sandanme) for the upcoming Fukuoka grand sumo tournament, Naoki Shiomoto has to be feeling pretty great right now.
A quick glance at the Takasago stable man’s ring name is all that’s needed to see why.
Originally competing as Asashiomoto Naoki, the Osaka native changed his ring name to Asahanshin Torakichi in 2018, with both parts of the new shikona paying homage to his hometown baseball team — the Hanshin Tigers.
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