Bulgarian Kotooshu becomes first European to win sumo's Emperor's Cup
TOKYO: Bulgarian Kotooshu made history in Japan's ancient sport of sumo Saturday as he became the first European to win an Emperor's Cup.
The 25-year-old Bulgarian star needed only one win from his weekend bouts to claim the title. He crashed into opponent Ama's chest, getting both arms wrapped around the Mongolian sekiwake's "mawashi" belt to bulldoze him to the edge of the straw ring.
Kotooshu then tackled him from behind, throwing himself on top of the opponent who went smashing down to the dirt surface at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.
The victory lifted Kotooshu, whose real name is Kaloyan Mahlyanov, to a 13-1 record, claiming the title with a bout to spare.
It was the first tournament win in a six-year-long sumo career for the 6-foot-7-inch (202-centimeter) Bulgarian, who switched to sumo having been an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler in his homeland.
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His father Stefanov stood with cheering crowd, waving a Bulgarian flag to celebrate his son's victory, which took him 34 tournaments since his sumo debut in 2002.
"I'm too overwhelmed to say anything," a beaming Kotooshu said in a televised interview. "I'm so happy. I finally did it."
Kotooshu entered the tournament with the modest goal of getting more wins than losses to maintain his ozeki rank. But he conquered both grand champions Hakuho and Asashoryu and matched his previous best winning streak of 12 bouts.
"Today I was able to wrestle my sumo, and I was really moved," said Kotooshu, after a firm handshake with his trainer Sadogatake.
Kotooshu was all smiles when he returned to his locker room, where he got his topknot fixed by a hair stylist.
"I still can't believe it," he said, then hugged his father.
Overall, Kotooshu is the seventh foreign wrestler to win a tournament title, after retired Hawaiian grand champions Akebono and Musashimaru, as well as Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu and Hakuho.
Bulgarian Ambassador Blagovest Sendov hailed Kotooshu's victory, calling him "a national pride."
"We Bulgarians, as well as Kotooshu, learned from sumo the importance of patience and endeavor," Sendov was quoted by Kyodo News agency as saying in a statement. "I'm certain that the victory would further deepen relations between Japan and Bulgaria."
Hakuho moved to an 11-3 record in this tournament when he shoved out ozeki Kaio, while Asashoryu slammed down ozeki Kotomitsuki, improving his record to 10-4.