Sumo great Hakuho demoted over protege's bullying

A photo from July 2021 showing Mongolian-born sumo wrestler Hakuho at an awards ceremony. His protege, 22-year-old Hokuseiho, was alleged to have punched his lower-ranked stable mates and stolen money from them. - AFP

TOKYO: Sumo's greatest champion, Hakuho, has been demoted from his role as stablemaster over a failure to supervise a protege and prevent him from physically abusing other wrestlers, Japanese media said.

Hakuho, who won a record 45 tournaments before retiring in 2021, was fined and downgraded to the lowest rank of sumo elders for failing to control the behaviour of prized pupil Hokuseiho, the reports said.