Kadoban Ozeki Aonishiki

[Moti Dichne]

Ozeki Aonishiki (22, Ajigawa beya), who will be facing his first ever kadoban basho held an open keiko session at his heya in Koto Ward, Tokyo, on the 29th. On this day, he focused on basic exercises such as shiko and suriashi  and towards the end, he engaged in butsugari with rikishi from  Hidenoyama beya who had come to train with him. He was also seen giving advice to Zadoroznoi Anatoly, an Estonian from the same heya who was showing off his powerful throwing techniques. Although he did not reveal the details, he expressed his gratitude, saying, "It gets the younger rikishi in the heya fired up, and it creates an atmosphere that is close to honbasho so it's nothing but a plus. I'm very grateful for that (the Hidenoyama beya) came." Anatoly, a trainee, joined the heya in August 2026. If he makes his debut, he will be the third rikishi from Estonia, following former Ozeki Baruto.

As for his condition (toe injury) although he has not yet resumed sumo training, he emphasized that he is recovering well and expressed his eagerness to participate in the coming basho.  He showed no signs of favoring the injured area. "I'm getting proper treatment, so I'm getting better little by little. I've been coming down to the keiko-ba to adjust from time to time, so I want to do my best to aim to enter."