Ukrainian’s Danylo Yavhusishyn shocked to win first title

Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn said Monday that he had surprised even himself by becoming the first from his country to win a tournament in the ancient Japanese sport.

The 21-year-old, who fled the war in Ukraine three years ago, is set to be promoted to sumo’s second-highest rank this week after winning the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.

The victory earned Yavhusishyn, who is known by his ring name Aonishiki, his first title in only his 14th tournament. He did it by beating Mongolian grand champion Hoshoryu on Sunday.

“To be quite honest, I wanted to win the tournament, but I didn’t really think that I could,” he told reporters in Fukuoka. “I’m really happy.”

Yavhusishyn was born in central Ukraine and took up sumo at the age of seven, becoming a national champion at 17.

His age meant he narrowly avoided Ukraine’s military draft for men aged 18 and older after Russia invaded, and he sought refuge in Germany before moving to Japan.

His parents stayed in Germany, and he arrived in Japan knowing nothing of the language.

Danylo Yavhusishyn said he spoke to his parents after winning the tournament and that he had also received messages from friends in Ukraine.

“I’ve had lots, but I haven’t been able to reply to them all yet,” he said. “It will take time to reply to them all, but I’ll start doing them one by one after this.”

Yavhusishyn became the second Ukraine-born professional sumo wrestler when he made his debut in July 2023, following in the footsteps of Serhii Sokolovskyi, better known as Shishi.

Yavhusishyn’s promotion to sumo’s upper divisions was the fifth fastest since the current system of six tournaments a year was introduced in 1958.

He kept his title hopes alive at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament by beating Hoshoryu on the penultimate day, then triumphed over the Mongolian again to clinch the title.

“It was the last tournament of the year, so I wanted to give a good account of myself so that I wouldn’t end the year with any regrets,” said Yavhusishyn.