E o vencedor foi, pela primeira vez na sua carreira, ABI
Focused Abi completes redemption arc in Fukuoka
In August of 2020 the incident-filled career of sumo trickster Abi appeared to be over.
Following a series of run-ins with the sport’s governing body, the then-26-year-old was found to have visited several hostess bars in contravention of the Japan Sumo Association-imposed COVID-19 countermeasures, and subsequently lied to investigators about the extent of those transgressions.
Precedent seemed to indicate that a letter of resignation submitted by Abi on Aug. 4 would be accepted, and that the career of another promising young up-and-comer would meet a self-inflicted end.
To the shock of many, the JSA decided on suspension rather than expulsion, and forced Abi to sit out the following three tournaments — resulting in a fall to the unpaid lower divisions.
Now, 2½ years later, the Saitama native has completed a return to grace and emerged as a surprise winner of the Emperor’s Cup following a playoff in the just completed Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.
By many accounts, Abi is a changed man these days, and a long way from the rule-flouting mischief-maker who once told journalists he had slept through a JSA lecture, and whose prank tying-up and filming of Wakamotoharu led to a blanket ban on social media use by all wrestlers.
The Shikoroyama stable man is certainly a lot more subdued than he once was, with the customary morning-after news conference in Kyushu taking place at a much lower key than normal.
A lot of the credit for that change has to go to a stablemaster who went to bat for Abi two years ago, and who has been guiding him closely ever since.
Shikoroyama oyakata (popular former sekiwake Terao) is currently being treated for health issues at a Tokyo hospital but has already been in touch with his protege.
Speaking to reporters via Zoom from his stable in Fukuoka, Abi said, “Yesterday a message came from the stablemaster saying ‘when (you) have time tomorrow let’s talk.’ I will call him later today. I want to tell him how grateful I am. I have caused him to worry a lot in the past, and I’m relieved I was able to do something to make him happy.”
Abi’s wife and young child were also on his mind.
“I want to meet my family as soon as possible,” he said. “I have caused my wife to worry, so I’m glad I was able to provide her with some reassurance.”
Abi sat out the September tournament but said everything was fine heading into the November meet, and credits his success there to being worry-free and able to focus on one bout at a time.
So intensely did he concentrate on only his next bout that Abi claimed he wasn’t even conscious of the championship race until after he had defeated Takayasu and returned to the dressing room following their regulation matchup on the final day.
Abi also revealed that a near-miss runner-up performance at the same venue a year ago — as well as in the tournament that followed — aided in his title quest.
“I was able to experience (being in the title race) before, so that helped me do it this time,” he said.
Abi’s win over Takayasu — followed by Takakeisho’s subsequent Day 15 victory — triggered sumo’s first multi-way playoff in 25 years, as all three men finished with 12-3 records.
Going into the final day’s action, Takayasu had the advantage and seemed set to finally achieve a long-awaited breakthrough.
As he has done on numerous occasions in the past, however, the former ozekicrumbled under the pressure, losing to Abi both in regulation, and again in the first round of the playoff.
Abi told reporters that he too was feeling a kind of pressure, saying: “I was tense, but it was a good kind of tension. I was fired up and in a good state.”
The 28-year-old had won all seven of his previous bouts against Takayasu and Takakeisho, but playoffs bring a much higher level of intensity.
Asked how he managed to remain focused and handle the pressure, Abi replied: “First of all, it was the stablemaster’s words, telling me to go all out for the people that had supported me. He messaged me every day saying that.”
Once the title was assured, however, that concentration went out the window.
“I thought, ‘Oh! Did I win?’ My mind went blank,” Abi said. “When getting down from the ring I had to ask the yobidashi where I should go. My mind really went blank.”
After regaining his composure, Abi said his first thoughts turned to whether Shikoroyama was smiling. Then the reality of what he had achieved soon sunk in.
“When I got back to the stable everyone was asking to take photos,” Abi recalled. “I thought ‘Ah, so this is what it’s like,’ and became happier and happier. I received so many congratulatory messages. There were 200. I was delighted.”
A quick return to the sanyaku ranks with the possibility of ozeki promotion in the near future is on the cards, but as with the current tournament, Abi is focused only on what’s in front of him and isn’t looking too far ahead.
“If I do well, rising up the rankings will naturally follow. Now the thing I’m focused on most is my own growth.”
When pressed on potential rivals for glory, Abi was reluctant to talk about other wrestlers, instead saying his main priority is to pay back those close to him by doing good sumo.
Following a period of turbulence and uncertainty, the completion of Abi’s redemption arc gives sumo a feel-good story to close out the year, and the tantalizing potential of a young hope coming good and rising to the top in 2023.
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