Asanowaka Takehiko

Sumo wrestler infobox
wrestlername =朝乃若武彦 Asanowaka Takehiko


birthname =Takehiko Adachi
dateofbirth =birthdate and age|1969|12|11
placeofbirth =Aichi, Japan
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
height =height|meters=1.76
weight =convert|144|kg|lb|abbr=on
heya =Wakamatsu, Takasago
rank =
record =547-598-0
debut =March, 1992
retireddate =May, 2005
highestrank =Maegashira 1
yushos =1 (Juryo) 1 (Makushita)
prizes =
goldstars =
blogurl =
weburl =
email =
update =May, 2008

Asanowaka Takehiko (born 11 December 1969 as Takehiko Adachi) is a former sumo wrestler from Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. His highest rank was "maegashira" 1. He is now a sumo coach.

Career

A former amateur sumo champion at Kinki University, he was recruited by ex-"ozeki" Asashio (himself a former collegiate competitor) and joined Wakamatsu stable (later Takasago stable) in March 1992. He began as a "makushita tsukedashi," meaning he could make his debut at the bottom of the third "makushita" division. He was promoted to the second "juryo" division in January 1993 and captured the tournament championship in that division in November 1993 with a score of 11-4. Following a 9-6 in January 1994 he was promoted to the top "makuuchi" division in March of that year.

Asanowaka was of a short build for a sumo wrestler and had limited technique, relying heavily on slap-downs and sidestepping. He never managed to reach the titled "sanyaku" ranks or win a special prize. He was also unable to defeat any "Yokozuna" and had only one win against an "ozeki" (Takanonami in May 1997). Nevertheless, he fought in the top division off and on for ten years and his record of 346 wins there is the best amongst "maegashira" only wrestlers. [cite web|title=Makuuchi Win Leaders|url=http://sumodb.sumogames.com/Rikishi_stat.aspx?list=2|publisher=Sumo Reference|accessdate=2008-05-05] He was also very popular with tournament crowds. At the peak of his career he wore an outlandish bright yellow "mawashi" and would enliven the preliminaries by throwing the purifying salt in a manner that resembled a American football player scoring a touchdown.Cite book |author=Panek, Mark |title=Gaijin Yokozuna|publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=2006 |id=ISBN 0-8248-3043-1|pages=220] He would also crouch extremely low to the ground when doing the warm up or "shikiri". Eventually he was instructed by the Japan Sumo Association to tone these antics down and in his later years on the "dohyo" wore a black "mawashi" and was much more subdued.

Retirement from sumo

By 2004 Asanowaka was no longer able to hold his own in the top division, and after a disastrous 1-14 score in the "juryo" division in March 2005, he announced his retirement the following month. He had not missed a single bout in his career. [cite web|author=|title=Asanowaka calls it a day in sumo|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ss20050430a1.html|publisher=Japan Times|date=2005-04-30|accessdate=2008-05-01] He has remained in the sumo world as an elder, affiliated to the Takasago stable, and is now known as Wakamatsu Oyakata.

Top division record

Sumo record box start|Asanowaka Takehiko [cite web | author= | title=Rikishi in Juryo and Makunouchi | publisher=szumo.hu | language=English | url=http://www.szumo.hu/sekitori/Asanowaka.html | date= | accessdate=2008-05-01]


Sumo record year start|1994 Basho Basho|m|15|e|9|6 Basho|m|11|e|8|7 Basho|m|5|w|6|9 Basho|m|9|w|7|8 Basho|m|12|w|8|7 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|1995 Basho|m|10|w|9|6 Basho|m|2|w|6|9 Basho|m|5|w|5|10 Basho|m|10|w|8|7 Basho|m|3|w|4|11 Basho|m|9|w|7|8 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|1996 Basho|m|12|w|8|7 Basho|m|5|e|4|11 Basho|m|12|e|9|6 Basho|m|9|w|8|7 Basho|m|5|e|4|11 Basho|m|11|e|9|6 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|1997 Basho|m|5|e|5|10 Basho|m|9|e|8|7 Basho|m|4|e|5|10 Basho|m|8|e|7|8 Basho|m|10|e|7|8 Basho|m|13|w|8|7 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|1998 Basho|m|12|e|7|8 Basho|m|15|w|8|7 Basho|m|13|e|7|8 Basho|m|16|e|8|7 Basho|m|12|w|7|8 Basho|m|15|e|6|9 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|1999 Basho|JURYO Basho|m|13|e|6|9 Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Basho|m|14|w|9|6 Basho|m|9|e|9|6 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2000 Basho|m|2|w|3|12 Basho|m|8|e|8|7 Basho|m|1|w|5|10 Basho|m|3|w|5|10 Basho|m|8|w|6|9 Basho|m|11|w|6|9 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2001 Basho|m|14|e|8|7 Basho|m|10|w|7|8 Basho|m|11|w|7|8 Basho|m|13|e|5|10 Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2002 Basho|m|12|w|3|12 Basho|JURYO Basho|m|15|w|6|9 Basho|JURYO Basho|m|13|w|7|8 Basho|m|15|e|5|10 Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2003 Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Basho|m|15|e|8|7 Basho|m|11|e|6|9 Basho|m|14|e|6|9 Basho|JURYO Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2004 Basho|m|16|e|10|5 Basho|m|11|e|5|10 Basho|m|14|w|4|11 Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Sumo record year end Sumo record year start|2005 Basho|JURYO Basho|JURYO Basho|INTAI|rank=Ma|win=0|loss=0|absent=7 Basho| Basho| Basho| Sumo record year end

References

ee also

*Glossary of sumo terms
*List of past sumo wrestlers

External links

* [http://sumo.goo.ne.jp/eng/ozumo_meikan/rikishi_joho/rikishi.php?A=14 Japan Sumo Association profile]