Koryu Tadaharu

Koryu Tadaharu - 光龍 忠晴 (born February 4, 1984) is a former Mongolian professional sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar. He made his debut in November 2000 and wrestled for Hanakago stable. He reached the makuuchi division in July 2008. His highest rank was maegashira 11 and he retired in May 2011.

## **Early Life**

Munkh-Orgil Erdene's father was a motocross rider, and he followed in his footsteps by participating in the sport from ages 10–16. He was also active in basketball and his team won the national high school first and second years' championship. Later, the Hakkaku stable coach, former yokozuna Hokutoumi came to Mongolia looking for new wrestlers. A competition was held and Erdene did sufficiently well, along with two other tryouts, later wrestlers Hoshihikari and Hoshizakura to gain acceptance into the stable. However, at the time, each stable was limited to two foreign wrestlers each, so the other two went to Hakkaku stable and Erdene was allowed to enter another stable, Hanakago. He came to Japan to join this stable and entered professional sumo in November 2000. The first character of his shikona or ring name was at the behest of his coach, who on his first visit to Mongolia, found the sun of the high plains of Mongolia bright and glorious.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Koryu had a very gradual rise through the lower divisions of sumo. He spent a year in jonidan before earning a spot in sandanme for the January 2002 tournament. He spent two years in sandanme before earning a spot in makushita for the November 2003 tournament. Koryu reached the rank of makushita 5 in May 2005, but he was injured in the fifth day and had to withdraw from the tournament. In November 2006, he was ranked at makushita 3 and he produced a 4-3 record which was good enough for promotion to the juryo division.

### **Juryo Career**

He was the first member of his stable to reach sumo's second highest division since it was re-established by the former sekiwake Daijuyama in 1992. In his juryo debut he posted a decent 8-7 record. After four steady, but not spectacular tournaments, Koryu produced a 10-5 record in November 2007 which boosted him up to the top of juryo. However, he could only finish with a 7-8 and followed with a 5-10. Koryu immediately bounced back by producing a 12-3 record which earned him a spot in the top makuuchi division.

### **Makuuchi Career**

Koryu produced a disastrous 3-12 record in his makuuchi debut and fell back down to juryo. He produced a 10-5 record in his tournament back in juryo and was promoted to a career-best maegashira 11 for the following tournament. However, after two more losing records Koryu was demoted back to juryo. He remained in juryo for around a year and was promoted to makuuchi on two different occasions, but he could not establish myself in the division. Koryu produced his first winning-record in makuuchi in November 2010, and followed with another 8-7 in January 2011.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Koryu was one of 23 wrestlers found guilty of fixing the result of bouts after an investigation by the Japan Sumo Association, and he was forced to retire in April 2011. On May 29th, 2011, his danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held in Tokyo. He currently works as an office worker (salaryman).

## **Personal Life**

Koryu was married in 2010, with the reception taking place in January 2011. The couple have a daughter, born in April 2010. His mother's brother in law is the uncle of fellow Mongolian wrestler Shotenro.

Koryu's hobbies are basketball and cycling.

## **Fighting Style**

Koryu was an oshi-sumo specialist, preferring pushing and thrusting techniques. The Sumo Association lists tsuppari, a series of rapid thrusts to the chest, as his favorite. His most common winning kimarite was oshidashi, or push out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 331-292-4/623 (62 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 44-76/120 (8 basho)
* **Juryo:** 139-116/255 (17 basho)
* **Makushita:** 77-52-4/129 (19 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 45-32/77 (11 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 22-13/35 (5 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 4-3/7 (1 basho)

## **Gallery**

### **JSA Profile Pictures and Tegata**

Koryu Tadaharu - 2007 (Retrieved from the JSA)Koryu Tadaharu - 2007 (Retrieved from the JSA)Koryu's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Koryu after promotion to Juryo (c. 2006)Koryu (c. 2008)Koryu after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 2008)Koryu during the dohyo-iriKoryu during a joint sumo training programKoryu after being found guilty of match-fixing (c. 2011)Koryu interviewed after being found guilty of match-fixing (c. 2011)

## **Sources**

* Koryu Tadaharu Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Koryu Tadaharu Rikishi Information