[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Makushita yusho winner Inami

[Jeff A]

Moti


Best regards,
Gaijingai

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 3, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Makushita yusho winner Inami
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Inami, a Mskushita rikishi from Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture, belonging
to Onoe beya, won the Makushita yusho at the Aki Basho.  He is an alumni of
the Nihon University sumo club. Standing 192 cm tall and weighing 162 kg,
Inami turned professional after coming from that renowned powerhouse of
amateur sumo; however, he is an unconventional talent who played badminton
in junior high school. During his time at Sumiyo Junior High—a school with
a total student body of just 15—he played for a local youth baseball team
while also belonging to the badminton club, the school's only sports club.
Although sumo is popular in Amami, his participation was limited to events
like the Hounen-sai (harvest festival) and elementary or junior high school
tournaments. "I didn't like sumo because I couldn't win," he recalls. His
life changed completely when he helped out at a Kyushu high school sumo
tournament held in Amami during his junior high years. By his third year of
junior high, he already was 180 cm and 90 kg; despite having no prior sumo
experience, he was scouted by the sumo club at Kagoshima Commercial High
School (Kasho). He wasn't initially keen on the idea, but he decided to
enroll because he wanted a smartphone: "My father told me he wouldn't buy
me a smartphone if I went to a high school in Amami, but he would if I went
to Kasho." After graduating from Kasho, he had the option of entering the
workforce, but he decided to attend Nihon University upon the strong
recommendation of his coach. "It was nothing but terrifying." He performed
well, placing third in a national weight-class tournament—but after
graduating, he returned to Kagoshima to join the local sports association
and competed in the National Sports Festival (then known as the Kokutai)
held in his home prefecture. It was here that the young man who once
disliked sumo decided to turn professional. He had been eliminated in the
preliminaries of the National Sports Festival. "Despite the tremendous
support I received, I couldn't repay everyone. It was deeply frustrating."
After repeatedly asking himself what he was doing, he found his answer: to
compete in sumo at a higher level and thereby repay his hometown. November
brings the Kyushu Tournament; securing promotion to the Juryo on his home
turf would be the ultimate way to show his gratitude. (Takashi Kishimoto,
Ozumo Reporter)



* Used to be on the celebs list, then I gave up on him..

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