Rookie makes sumo history after winning top tournament in debut season

Japanese sumo wrestler Takerufuji (right) speaks during a press conference in Osaka on March 25, 2024, a day after winning the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. A new sumo star was born on March 24 when the 24-year-old wrestler Takerufuji won his debut top-division tournament after being promoted, becoming the first "rookie" to take the title in 110 years. - AFP

TOKYO (AFP): A sumo star was born in Japan when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in more than a century to win a tournament on his debut in the top division.

Despite suffering an ankle injury the previous day that left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, Takerufuji defeated higher-ranked Gonoyama on Sunday to triumph at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.