Kaloyan Mahlyanov, the Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu (琴欧洲), won the Summer Tournament today with the Emperor’s Cup clinching quick win over the always tricky Mongolian sekiwake Ama. Congratulations!
Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu defeated Mongolian sekiwake Ama to claim the title at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Saturday to enter the history books as the first European wrestler to win an Emperor’s Cup. Kotooshu won his first career title with a record of 13-1 at the 15-day meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Kotooshu came flying out of the crouch, getting both arms wrapped around Ama’s mawashi before tackling his opponent from behind. ‘‘I have no words to express. I am so happy. I finally did it,’’ said Kotooshu, who took 34 tournaments from his sumo debut to win the Emperor’s Cup.
Along the way he won convincingly over both Mongolian yokozunas Hakuho and Asasoryu, but was tripped up by Aminishiki on day 13 when ‘Oshu seemed to have become too nervous. Here’s the video of Kotooshu’s day 11 win over Asashoryu.
Here’s a visual history of Kotooshu since he entered the world of sumo over 5 years ago.
Japan, Hockey, Baseball, etc. 