Kirishima news

[Moti Dichne]

Maegashira 2 Kirishima  who was demoted from san'yaku  after five tournaments, showed his strong desire to return to sanyaku with a vigorous keiko session. On the 3rd, he participated in the Tokitsukaze beya rengo keiko in Shimemachi, Fukuoka. He went 14 -7 in 21 bouts, the most among all sekitori, showing off his excellent condition. After the keiko, he declared with confidence, "I'm only thinking about returning to Sanyaku in one basho." Five bashos ago, he was the West Maegashira 1. The last time Kirishima was ranked as low as Maegashira 2 was three and a half years ago in the 2022 Natsu basho, when he was also East Maegashira 2, before starting his Ozeki run and being promoted to Ozeki. Even after being demoted from Ozeki, he consistently maintained a record that warranted re-promotion. Above all, his strong desire to be promoted again led him to fight six consecutive matches today against Maegashira Wakamotoharu and Daieishou. Even after losing and being forced to give up his spot to another rikishi, he stayed behind, saying "just one more time," and continued to train hard in pursuit of his goal.

When asked why he put in so much training, he said, "There was something I wasn't satisfied with. I got angry at myself for the first time in a while," and he continued training until his body forgot the movements that he was dissatisfied with. He said that his chronically injured neck "has been fine since the last tournament," and that his wrist, which he injured in the last tournament, "is no problem," emphasizing that even before he started training, his physical condition was improving.