Ryuo Noboru
Encyclopedia
Ryūō Noboru is a professional sumo
wrestler from Ulan-Bator, Mongolia
. His highest rank has been maegashira 8.
division in May 2007, producing a 10-5 record at maegashira 14. However he could manage only five wins in the next tournament and was demoted back to the second division after a 3-12 score in September 2007. An 8-7 mark at the rank of Jūryō 2 in January 2008 was enough to return him to the top division but he could not manage a winning score and so was demoted once again. In May 2008 he turned in a disappointing 5-10 score at Jūryō 5. In July he recovered from a poor 1-6 start to finish 8-7. However a 4-11 mark at Jūryō 10 in November 2008 saw him fall back to the unsalaried makushita division for the January 2009 tournament. He withdrew from that tournament with an injury after recording only one win and two losses, and produced another losing score of 3-4 in March 2009. He has remained firmly stuck in the mid-to-lower makushita ranks, without even coming close to a return to jūryō.
Ryūō is from the same stable as Yokozuna Hakuhō
, and as he is the only other wrestler with sekitori
experience in the stable, he is Hakuhō's main training partner. Since losing sekitori status he has also served as the yokozuna's personal attendant or tsukebito.
and he is noted for his strong tachi-ai
, or opening charge at the beginning of matches. Like many pusher-thrusters, however, he is vulnerable to throws by opponents more skilled on the mawashi
if he is unable to win in the first few seconds.
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
wrestler from Ulan-Bator, Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. His highest rank has been maegashira 8.
Career
He joined sumo in March 2000, shortly before his 17th birthday, making him young by the standards of most foreign recruits. He took part in a seven way play-off for the title in the third makushita division in January 2003, but his progress was slowed by a neck injury that forced him to sit out the November 2003 tournament. After a year of steady progress he won promotion to the second highest jūryō division in July 2006. He entered the top makuuchiMakuuchi
or is the top division of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers , ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments....
division in May 2007, producing a 10-5 record at maegashira 14. However he could manage only five wins in the next tournament and was demoted back to the second division after a 3-12 score in September 2007. An 8-7 mark at the rank of Jūryō 2 in January 2008 was enough to return him to the top division but he could not manage a winning score and so was demoted once again. In May 2008 he turned in a disappointing 5-10 score at Jūryō 5. In July he recovered from a poor 1-6 start to finish 8-7. However a 4-11 mark at Jūryō 10 in November 2008 saw him fall back to the unsalaried makushita division for the January 2009 tournament. He withdrew from that tournament with an injury after recording only one win and two losses, and produced another losing score of 3-4 in March 2009. He has remained firmly stuck in the mid-to-lower makushita ranks, without even coming close to a return to jūryō.
Ryūō is from the same stable as Yokozuna Hakuhō
Hakuho Sho
is a professional sumo wrestler from Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. On May 30, 2007 at the age of 22 he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo,...
, and as he is the only other wrestler with sekitori
Sekitori
A sekitori is a sumo wrestler who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: makuuchi and juryo.Currently there are 70 rikishi in these divisions...
experience in the stable, he is Hakuhō's main training partner. Since losing sekitori status he has also served as the yokozuna's personal attendant or tsukebito.
Fighting style
Unlike most of his Mongolian compatriots, Ryūō specialises in pushing rather than throwing techniquesKimarite
Kimarite are winning techniques in a sumo bout. For each bout in a Grand Sumo tournament , a sumo referee, or gyoji, will decide and announce the type of kimarite used by the winner...
and he is noted for his strong tachi-ai
Tachi-ai
The tachi-ai is the initial charge between two sumo wrestlers at the beginning of a bout.There are several common techniques that wrestlers use at the tachi-ai, with the aim of getting a decisive advantage in the bout:...
, or opening charge at the beginning of matches. Like many pusher-thrusters, however, he is vulnerable to throws by opponents more skilled on the mawashi
Mawashi
In sumo, a mawashi is the belt that the rikishi wears during training or in competition. Upper ranked professional wrestlers wear a keshō-mawashi as part of the ring entry ceremony or dohyo-iri.-Mawashi:...
if he is unable to win in the first few seconds.