Hotheaded Sumo Wrestler Turns to Gardening
After years of being highlighted in the news for obnoxious behavior, Japan’s most hotheaded sumo wrestler has desired to quit wrestling and turn to gardening instead.
29-year-old Asashoryu Akinori, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, is a beast of a man. Weighing over 330 pounds, the 6-foot giant has won over 650 sumo matches, 25 of which earned him an Emperor’s cup. Added to that, he holds the rank of yokuzuna—a title given only to the highest-ranking wrestlers in the industry.
According to CNN, in fact, Asashoryu is the third most successful wrestler in sumo’s 2,000-year history. Unfortunately, he is also the most controversial.
Ever since 2003, when he officially rose to the status of yokuzuna, Asashoryu has been popping up in the news for countless violations, not to mention inappropriate behavior. In 2003, he was disqualified from a fight after deliberately pulling his opponent’s chonmage, or top knot, loose.
Four years later, he was suspended after pulling out of a tournament on account of a supposed injury, only to be seen later that day on television participating in a charity football/soccer match in his homeland of Mongolia.
Asashoryu’s off-color behavior finally hit the fan in January 2010 when, prior to a bout that he went on to win, he brutally assaulted a man, leaving the victim with “a broken noise, a split lip and heavy facial bruising.” (Guardian) Fed up with Asashoryu’s behavior, the Japan Sumo Association sought to permanently ban him from the sport. But before they finalized the decision, Asashoryu publicly announced his official resignation.
Fast forward two months to April, and we find Asashoryu designing a garden boutique that he calls Kazahana, which according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency means “a light snow flurry from a cloudless sky.” Ever since his resignation, Asashoryu has been working with Kazuyuki Ishihara, a world-renowned Japanese gardener, in preparation for the Chelsea Flower Show in London. A source who spoke with AFP said, “He has dreams of creating forests in Mongolia.”
Asashoryu has gone from becoming a world-renowned sumo wrestler to beating people up, and now preparing flowers. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is exactly what can happen without some good old-fashioned anger management therapy!
For a glimpse into Asashoryu’s life prior to resignation, take a peek at the video below.
By V Saxena on 29-04-2010
