Sumo Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki earns fastest promotion to sekiwake

The Ukrainian-born sumo wrestler Aonishiki reached a milestone as his promotion to sekiwake was confirmed ahead of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. At just 21 years old and with only 13 tournaments behind him, he became the fastest wrestler since 1958 to climb from the very bottom of the six-tier system to sumo's third-highest rank.



Unlike competitors who enter the professional ranks with special privileges due to elite amateur experience—such as current yokozuna Onosato—Aonishiki began from the lowest division and rose entirely through performance. Having come to Japan three years earlier after fleeing the war in Ukraine, he surpassed the long-standing record of Hawaiian-born former ozeki Konishiki, who had taken 14 tournaments to achieve the same promotion.

Aonishiki, who moved to Japan three years ago to escape the war in Ukraine, broke the mark set by Hawaiian-born former ozeki Konishiki of 14 meets before promotion to sekiwake. The talented grappler will start the Nov. 9-23 tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Centre as the first new sekiwake to never post a losing record on his way up from the sixth-tier jonokuchi division since Akebono at the May 1991 Summer meet. "I never imagined I'd get this far," Aonishiki said. "I'm surprised myself, but I want to aim even higher." Aonishiki was in title contention until late in September's Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, which he finished with 11 wins and four losses, matching the records from his other three meets in the elite makuuchi division.

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