Sumo wrestler Asashoryu’s boss confirms injury delay

TOKYO—The stablemaster of troubled sumo star Asashoryu confirmed Thursday that the grand champion’s return from Mongolia had been delayed by injury.
The 27-year-old Asashoryu returned to his home country in late August for treatment of stress after being suspended for skipping an exhibition tour with a dubious foot problem.
He had been expected to return to Japan before the end of this month to wait out the rest of his ban, which expires after the next regular tournament in November.
But stablemaster Takasago said Asashoryu would stay in Mongolia while he recovers from an ankle sprain and a niggling left elbow problem.
“I heard he has sprained his left ankle. He’d better come back after completely recovering from both of his injuries,” Takasago said, confirming earlier reports of a delay.
He added the champion was “moving in the right direction” as he was already training while undergoing treatment in Mongolia.
Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, was suspended after he was caught on camera playing a charity football game in Mongolia despite skipping a non-competition tour of provincial Japan citing injuries.
The stablemaster said he hoped to have the wrestler ready for another provincial tour in December.
Despite being the fifth-ranked wrestler in sumo history, Asashoryu has long struggled to win over Japanese fans who have seen him as too ostentatious for the heavily ritualised sport.
The centuries-old sumo world has also been rocked by another scandal: the death of an apprentice wrestler who had been beaten with a beer bottle by his stablemaster.—Agencies