Azumaryu Tsuyoshi

Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 東龍 強 (born May 12, 1987) is a former Mongolian professional sumo wrestler from Govi-Altai Province. He made his debut in January 2009 and last wrestled for Tamanoi stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2013. His highest rank was maegashira 11 and he retired in January 2024.

## **Early Life**

Todbileg was born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, but later moved to Govi-Altai Province. After being scouted at age 15, Todbileg arrived to Japan and attended Meitoku Gijuku High School, known for its strong sumo club.

In 2006, he enrolled in Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences but left in his third year when an opening became available at Tamanoi stable after the retirement of the Brazilian Takaazuma (sumo rules restrict foreigners to one per stable). The Japan Sumo Association had recently had issues with foreign wrestlers such as Hakurozan and Roho who had been dismissed from sumo after a cannabis scandal but Todbileg's six years in Japan convinced the stable that he had the necessary experience of Japanese culture to be a success. Although he was accepted by the stable in November 2008, he was not able to make his debut on the dohyo until the following tournament in January 2009, because of Sumo Association rules requiring foreigners to have satisfied all their visa requirements and attend sumo education classes.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Todbileg made his debut in January 2009 under the shikona Azumaryu. He breezed through the first three divisions and was even involved in a playoff for the sandanme yusho, however he didn't win. Azumaryu found the makushita division much harder. Azumaryu was stuck in the mid makushita levels for about a year and a half, but he produced a 5-2 record at the rank of makushita 18 which promoted him to the rank of makushita 5. He produced a poor 2-5 record and lost a match against juryo ranked wrestler, Hamanishiki. Azumaryu remained in the upper levels of makushita for about another year. In the November 2012 tournament he produced a 6-1 record at the top of makushita and was promoted to juryo.

### **Juryo Career**

He said upon his promotion that he hoped to emulate his hero Kaio. In his first tournament he produced a lackluster 8-7 kachi-koshi. The following tournament he was on the verge of taking the juryo yusho, but Kyokushuho defeated him on the last day. They were placed in a playoff and in the match, Azumaryu attempted a last minute utchari (backward pivot throw), however his heel was out and he missed out on the juryo yusho. This performance earned him a promotion to the makuuchi division.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his first makuuchi tournament Azumaryu produced a 6–9 record which saw him demoted straight back to juryo, but he returned to the top division after a 10–5 record in January 2014 at juryo 3. In his second makuuchi tournament in March 2014 he was ranked at maegashira 14 (his highest rank to date) and stood at five wins and four losses after nine days, but finished with another 6–9 record. The retirement of Kotooshu after that tournament opened up an extra slot in makuuchi, but Sadanoumi, with 8–7 at juryo 4, was given the extra rank of maegashira 17 over Azumaryu who again was demoted. He won promotion back to makuuchi for the July 2014 tournament, but injured his knee on the 14th day and had to withdraw, losing his scheduled 15th day bout by default. This was the first bout he had missed in his career. His 7–8 record was enough to keep him in makuuchi but his injury kept him out of the following tournament in September 2014, resulting in a fall to juryo. Although he returned in November 2014 two more losing records saw him demoted to the unsalaried makushita division for the March 2015 tournament.

In September 2015 he took part in an eight-way play-off for the makushita championship, and although he was defeated by Chiyoshoma in the semi-final stage his 6–1 record was good enough for a return to juryo. He has remained in juryo since then, and although he was consistent enough to avoid demotion he did not like winning promotion back to the top division until 2019, when a majority of wins at juryo 1 saw him return to makuuchi after 30 tournaments away. This is the second longest gap between top division appearances after Satoyama's 37 tournaments. He managed only a 6–9 record in his makuuchi return and was demoted back to juryo, but an 11–4 record from the top rank of Juryo 1 East ensured his immediate return to the top division. He also won the juryo division championship after a four-way playoff with Ikioi, Kaisei and Kiribayama, his first yusho in any division.

Azumaryu remained in the top division for two tournaments, but was back in juryo for the third tournament of 2020, held in July. He missed the September tournament because of an outbreak of COVID-19 at his stable, but along with all his stablemates did not suffer any drop in rank as a result. After spending the whole of 2021 in juryo, he won promotion back to makuuchi following a 10-5 record at juryo 2 in the March 2022 tournament. He had to withdraw from Day 11 of the July 2022 tournament after another COVID outbreak at Tamanoi stable. He returned to the top division for the November 2022 tournament at maegashira 14, and secured his first top division kachi-koshi in January 2023. In the following tournament in March he lost 11 of his 15 matches and was subsequently demoted back to juryo in May 2023.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

Azumaryu injured his left knee in his opening bout of the November 2023 tournament against Hakuyozan, forcing his withdrawal from competition. Soon after the release of the banzuke on December 25, 2023, Azumaryu, having been demoted out of sekitori status, retired from professional sumo.

## **Fighting Style**

Azumaryu prefers a migi yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) grip on his opponent's mawashi. His favorite kimarite or techniques are yori-kiri (force out) and uwatenage (overarm throw).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 528-522-47/1047 (88 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 462-88-15/149 (11 basho)
* **Juryo:** 355-363-32/716 (50 basho)
* **Makushita:** 88-66/154 (22 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 11-3/14 (2 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Juryo** Championship (November, 2019)

## **Gallery**

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

Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2023 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2019 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2018 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2017 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2016 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2015 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2014 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2013 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2013 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu Tsuyoshi - 2013 (Retrieved from the JSA)Azumaryu's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Azumaryu joins professional sumo (c. 2009)Azumaryu's early career in the unsalaried ranks (c. 2012)Azumaryu after promotion to Juryo (c. 2012)Azumaryu presented with his kesho-mawashi (c. 2013)Azumaryu's Juryo promotion party (c. 2013)Azumaryu after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 2013)Azumaryu battles Masunoyama (c. 2014)Azumaryu prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2015)Azumaryu defeats Chiyoo (c. 2016)Azumaryu defeats Aminishiki (c. 2017)Azumaryu defeats Toyonoshima (c. 2018)Azumaryu defeats Kaisei to win the Juryo Yusho (c. 2019)Azumaryu wins his first Juryo Yusho (c. 2019)Azumaryu defeats Kyokutaisei (c. 2020)Azumaryu throws and defeats Enho (c. 2021)Azumaryu prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2021)Azumaryu defeats Kotokuzan (c. 2022)Azumaryu throws and defeats Hiradoumi (c. 2023)Azumaryu announces his retirement (c. 2023)

## **Sources**

* Azumaryu Tsuyoshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Azumaryu Tsuyoshi Rikishi Information