Shōtenrō Taishi

翔天狼大士
Shōtenrō Taishi
Personal information
Born Nyamsuren Dagdandorj
January 31, 1982 (1982-01-31) (age 30)
Mongolia
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 12 in)
Weight 146 kg (320 lb; 23.0 st)
Career
Heya Fujishima
Current rank see below
Debut March, 2001
Highest rank Maegashira 2 (July, 2009)
Yūshō 2 (jūryō)
Sanshō Fighting Spirit (1)
Kinboshi 1 (Hakuhō)
* Career information is correct as of Nov 2011.

Shōtenrō Taishi (born 31 January 1982 as Nyamsuren Dagdandorj) is a sumo wrestler from Khovd Province, Mongolia. He joined professional sumo in 2001 and was known as Musashiryu Taishi until 2007. He made the top makuuchi division for the first time in 2009 and his highest rank has been maegashira 2. He wrestles for Fujishima stable (formerly Musashigawa stable).

Contents

Early life and entry into sumo

It has been reported that in his childhood in Ulan Bator he lived in the same apartment complex as future sumo contemporary Mōkonami, though they never met in person. As an amateur, Dagdandorj took third place in the open weight division in the Junior World Sumo Championships in 2000.[1] He began his professional career in March 2001, at the same time as Hakuhō. He was given the shikona of Musashiryu, the prefix being a common one at Musashigawa stable.

Career

His rise through the ranks was relatively smooth until he reached the third highest makushita division in January 2003, where an early injury put him out of action and dropped him back to the sandanme division. He continued to struggle with his own sumo and injuries in the these two divisions for the next five years, changing his shikona to Shotenro in 2007 in a bid to improve his fortunes. When he finally found his stride again, his steady rise to the top division was a stark contrast to his previous struggles; he reached makuuchi after winning two consecutive jūryō division championships, only the third post-war wrestler after Kushimaumi and Miyabiyama to achieve this feat. All in all, it had taken him 48 tournaments from his professional debut to reach the top makuuchi division, the third slowest at the time amongst foreign born wrestlers. In July 2009 he was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize for his record of eleven wins and four losses. In the September tournament he won his first kinboshi, becoming the first maegashira in a year to defeat Hakuhō, but could win only one other match. A 9-6 score in the following tournament in November seemed to steady him, but he suffered a surprising slump in January 2010 and a poor 3-12 record saw him demoted to jūryō. He returned to the top division for the July 2010 tournament, and after slipping back to jūryō in September won promotion again for November 2010.

In 2011 he was one of several wrestlers investigated by the Sumo Association after his name was mentioned in a text message about match-fixing. The text, dating from May 2010, was sent by low ranker Enatsukasa, an alleged go-between, to juryo wrestler Chiyohakuho and said, "the match with Shotenro is for real", implying that bouts with other wrestlers were being fixed.[2] Shotenro vehemently denied any involvement in bout-rigging, and in April 2011 was found not guilty by the investigative panel.[3]

He missed the start of the November 2011 tournament after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, and was unable to return, meaning he will drop to the juryo division in January.

Fighting style

He is an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. He is however also capable of fighting on the mawashi or belt, where he prefers a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip. His most common winning move is oshi dashi (push out), followed by yori kiri (force out).

Top division record

                                                                                                                               

Shōtenrō Taishi[4]


year in sumo January
Hatsu basho, Tokyo
March
Haru basho, Osaka
May
Natsu basho, Tokyo
July
Nagoya basho, Nagoya
September
Aki basho, Tokyo
November
Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
2001 x (Maezumo) East Jonokuchi #26
6–1
 
East Jonidan #68
5–2
 
East Jonidan #26
5–2
 
West Sandanme #91
4–3
 
2002 West Sandanme #72
3–4
 
West Sandanme #89
4–3
 
West Sandanme #70
5–2
 
East Sandanme #39
1–6
 
East Sandanme #74
6–1
 
East Sandanme #18
5–2
 
2003 East Makushita #53
1–2–4
 
East Sandanme #25
6–1
 
East Makushita #45
3–4
 
West Makushita #54
2–3–2
 
East Sandanme #16
4–3
 
East Sandanme #4
4–3
 
2004 West Makushita #49
5–2
 
East Makushita #29
4–3
 
East Makushita #24
0–7
 
East Sandanme #1
4–3
 
East Makushita #51
6–1
 
East Makushita #22
5–2
 
2005 East Makushita #12
4–3
 
West Makushita #10
3–4
 
East Makushita #16
4–3
 
West Makushita #11
4–3
 
West Makushita #9
2–5
 
West Makushita #20
5–2
 
2006 West Makushita #10
1–2–4
 
West Makushita #28
0–0–7
 
West Sandanme #8
4–3
 
East Makushita #58
6–1
 
West Makushita #27
5–2
 
East Makushita #15
4–3
 
2007 East Makushita #13
6–1
 
West Makushita #3
1–6
 
West Makushita #26
6–1
 
West Makushita #9
4–3
 
East Makushita #8
1–6
 
East Makushita #23
6–1
 
2008 West Makushita #8
5–2
 
West Makushita #3
3–4
 
West Makushita #6
5–2
 
East Makushita #4
4–3
 
West Makushita #1
4–3
 
West Jūryō #9
12–3
Champion

 
2009 East Jūryō #1
11–4–P
Champion

 
West Maegashira #12
7–8
 
East Maegashira #15
8–7
 
East Maegashira #10
11–4
F
East Maegashira #2
2–13
East Maegashira #12
9–6
 
2010 West Maegashira #9
3–12
 
East Jūryō #1
7–8
 
East Jūryō #2
8–7
 
West Maegashira #16
5–10
 
East Jūryō #5
9–6
 
East Maegashira #16
9–6
 
2011 East Maegashira #11
8–7
 
West Maegashira #8
Tournament Cancelled
0–0–0
West Maegashira #8
4–11
 
West Maegashira #13
7–8
 
West Maegashira #14
9–6
 
East Maegashira #8
Sat out due to injury
0–0–15
2012 East Jūryō #5

 
x x x x x
Record given as win-loss-absent    Top Division Champion Retired Lower Divisions

Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique     Also shown: =Kinboshi(s) P=Playoff(s)
Divisions: MakuuchiJūryōMakushitaSandanmeJonidanJonokuchi

Makuuchi ranks: YokozunaŌzekiSekiwakeKomusubiMaegashira

See also

References

External links