[sumo] Asashoryu heading home for treatment

[Patrick Bal]

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007


Kyodo News

Mongolian-born yokozuna Asashoryu will return to his homeland as early as
Wednesday for treatment of a mental disorder after the Japan Sumo
Association approved his departure on Tuesday.

 
Takasago, stable master of Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu, speaks to reporters
after the Japan Sumo Association's executive committee meeting in Tokyo on
Tuesday. AP PHOTO 
 

The JSA executive committee members gave the green light to Asashoryu's
return to Mongolia in an hourlong emergency meeting nearly a month after
they suspended the grand champion from the next two tournaments and his
illness subsequently surfaced.

The JSA said the decision was made "unanimously" despite earlier press
reports that some senior officials were adamant that Asashoryu should
receive treatment in Japan.

JSA Chairman Kitanoumi said the latest action by sumo's governing body was
taken out of respect for the doctor's opinion.

"We placed a great deal of importance on the diagnosis and unanimously made
this decision," Kitanoumi said. "The stable master will accompany him
(Asashoryu) on his way to and from Mongolia and is responsible for
everything involved.

"It is hard for him (Asashoryu) to regain the strength and competitiveness
required to wrestle again and a tough test will await him before his return
for the tournament in January," Kitanoumi added.

Kitanoumi had hinted last week that he would like to permit Asashoryu to
return to Mongolia based on advice from chief JSA doctor Hiroyuki Yoshida,
who attended Tuesday's meeting along with the yokozuna's personal doctor,
Shuichiro Takagi.

On Monday, the JSA announced a decision to call up the JSA executives to
complete the procedural red tape.

Asashoryu's stable master Takasago apologized for his failure to properly
handle the matter, which has not only rocked sumo circles over the past
month but has begun to take on the nature of a social problem surrounding
Japan's ancient national sport.

"I apologize for making such a stir," Takasago said as he bowed deeply in
front of reporters.

"I will assume all the responsibility for whatever happens from now on,"
Takasago said as he suggested that he would check up on the environment in
Mongolia where Asashoryu is to receive treatment.

At an Aug. 1 executive meeting, the JSA barred Asashoryu from tournaments in
September and November after it was discovered that he had played in a
charity soccer match in Mongolia despite having been permitted to skip a
regional training tour due to injuries.

Asashoryu was diagnosed with a mental disorder shortly after he was handed
the unprecedented, severe punishment for a yokozuna.