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BSN: Resource Details: Hiroyuki Aburatani biotechsciencenews.com |
Kaiō Hiroyuki (born July 24, 1972 as Hiroyuki Koga) is a professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan. He made his debut in 1988, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1993. He has held the second highest rank of ōzeki or champion since 2000, and is the second longest-serving ozeki of all time in terms of number of tournaments fought. In his career to date he has won five top division yusho or tournament championships, the last coming in 2004. This is the modern record for someone who has not ultimately made the top rank of yokozuna. He has been a runner-up in eleven other tournaments, and has also won the second highest number of top division bouts ever, and the third most sanshō or special prizes. In November 2009 he broke the record previously held by Takamiyama for the most tournaments ranked in the top division.
[edit] Early careerKoga did karate for two years in elementary school, and judo in his second year of junior high school. He had not shown much interest in sumo but was asked by his parents to take part in sumo competitions.[1] It was at one such competition in Fukuoka that he was spotted by the wrestler Kaiki, later Tomozuna Oyakata. After being introduced to him by a mutual acquaintance in Nōgata, the young Koga was recruited to Tomozuna stable upon graduation from junior high.[2] The move had been set up by others around him, and having not ever had the ambition to be a rikishi himself, he initially had doubts that he would be able to succeed in sumo.[1] He made his professional debut in March 1988, at the same time as former yokozuna Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana, who all made the top division faster than him but who had all retired by 2003. Initially fighting under his own surname, he reached the makushita division in September 1990 after winning the sandanme championship with a perfect 7-0 record. He won the makushita tournament in July 1991 and in November 1991, in his hometown tournament in Kyushu, he earned promotion to the sekitori ranks - a performance he later recalled as one of his most memorable ever.[1] Upon making his debut in second highest jūryō division in January 1992 he adopted the shikona of Kaiō. After a few injury problems he worked his way up the jūryō division and reached the top makuuchi division for the first time in May 1993. He fell back to jūryō after a 4-11 score in his makuuchi debut but returned to the top division in November 1993, and he has remained there ever since. After defeating his first yokozuna and winning his first special prize in March 1994, he was promoted to a sanyaku rank for the first time for the following tournament in May 1994, at komusubi. He made sekiwake rank in January 1995, and came through with a winning record and another prize in his sekiwake debut. In the earlier part of his top division career Kaiō's lack of consistency, and injury problems, denied him the major promotion to ōzeki that his ability merited. He set records for both the number of tournaments spent at sekiwake (21) and for the longest run being consecutively ranked in the junior sanyaku ranks without making ōzeki (14). He also accumulated a record equalling ten Shukun-sho, or Outstanding Performance Prizes. Together with his five Kanto-sho, or Fighting Spirit awards, he has 15 special prizes in total, placing him third behind Akinoshima and Kotonishiki. He also earned six kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna when ranked as a maegashira. He twice took part in playoffs for the championship, in November 1996 (with four other wrestlers, won by Musashimaru) and in March 1997 (with three others, won by Takanohana). In May 1997 injuries to his left leg sustained in a match with Takanonami caused him to miss tournaments and took over a year to fully heal. He could not win more than eight bouts in a tourney during 1998, but he was runner-up in two more tournaments in 1999, in May and November. [edit] Ozeki careerKaiō won his first top division tournament championship in May 2000 from the komusubi rank, defeating yokozuna Takanohana and three ozeki and losing just one bout to Akebono. It was the first top division yusho by a wrestler from Tomozuna stable since Tachiyama in 1916. Set a target of eleven wins by the Japan Sumo Association for promotion to ōzeki in the following tournament in July 2000, he achieved the necessary total on the final day and his promotion was confirmed a few days later. He was 28 years of age, and the 44 tournaments it took him to reach ozeki from his top division debut was the second slowest ever.[3] Nevertheless, he has maintained the rank ever since. In 2007 Kaiō became the oldest active ōzeki since World War II, surpassing Kotogahama's record.[4] He is also the second longest serving ōzeki in history, in terms of tournaments, behind only Chiyotaikai.  Kaiō has won four more championships and come close to yokozuna promotion on a number of occasions. In 2001 he won two tournaments in March and July, but in each case had to withdraw with from the following tournament because of sciatica in his lower back, a chronic problem which continues to restrict his mobility to this day. He was three times a runner-up in 2002, and then after finishing runner up in consecutive tournaments in March and May 2003, he took the July championship for his fourth yusho.[5] However, after injuring himself in training he could win only seven bouts in the following tournament. In 2004, a year in which he was injury-free, he was runner-up in March, won the September tourney and then finished runner-up with twelve wins in November, just one win short of the thirteen deemed necessary by the Sumo Association for promotion.[6] He was set another target of thirteen wins in the following January 2005 tourney,[7] but pulled out with a shoulder injury on the 9th day.[8] This has proved to be his final attempt at yokozuna promotion. Due to his injuries he has been kadoban (in danger of demotion from ōzeki) a total of twelve times, a record second only to Chiyotaikai. Kaiō has not figured in the race for the championship since his runner-up performance in November 2004, and has not produced a score in double figures since May 2007, leading some commentators to suggest his retirement is overdue.[9] However, he continues to set records. His 8-7 mark in January 2008 was his 64th kachi-koshi (majority of wins against losses) in the top division, breaking the record previously held by Kitanoumi. In May 2008 he became only the fourth man, after Kitanoumi, Oshio and Chiyonofuji, to reach 900 career wins, and in July 2008, on his 36th birthday, he moved ahead of Taihō into third place on the all-time list of top division wins, behind only Chiyonofuji and Kitanoumi. In September 2009 he won his 965th career match, moving past Oshio into second place on career wins. The November 2009 tournament was Kaiō's 98th ranked in the top division, breaking the 25-year-old record held by Takamiyama. During this tournament he overtook Kitanoumi to move into second place on top division wins, just one behind Chiyonofuji on 806. He also became the first rikishi to post six successive 8-7 scores in a calendar year. [edit] Fighting style Kaiō is solidly yotsu-sumo wrestler, favouring a right hand outside, left hand inside grip (hidari-yotsu) on his opponent's mawashi or belt.[10] He is well known for his power in the hidari-yotsu position, which even yokozuna Takanohana at his peak had trouble countering.[11] His most common winning technique is a straightforward yori-kiri or force out, which has accounted for a third of his career victories, followed by oshi-dashi or push out.[12] He often uses his right hand outer grip to win by uwatenage (the overarm throw), which is his most common throwing move. More controversially, he is also known for employing kotenage, (the armlock throw), a technique that can sometimes injure the opponent.[13] Kaiō has unintentionally caused a number of injuries with this technique over the years, including Kotoryu in March 2001, who suffered a broken arm, and Toyonoshima in January 2009, who had torn elbow ligaments.[14] [edit] Family lifeKaiō was married in June 1999, to Mitsuko Nishiwaki, a former professional wrestler.[15] The wedding reception in a hotel in Tokyo was attended by some 570 guests, including Takanohana. [edit] Top division record
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