Roga Tokiyoshi

Roga Tokiyoshi - 狼雅 外喜義 (born March 2, 1999) is a Russian professional sumo wrestler from Kyzyl, Tuva. He made his debut in September 2018 and currently wrestles for Futagoyama stable. He reached the makuuchi division in November 2023. His highest rank as of 2023 is maegashira 16.

## **Early Life**

Amartuvshin Amarsanaa was born on March 2nd, 1999 to Dranna and Amaltubushin Amarsanaa and is of Buryat descent from his father's side and Tuvan and Russian descent from his mother. He grew up near the border of Mongolia in Kyzyl, Tuva, Russia, and was a keen practitioner of sambo wrestling and judo. Amarsanaa moved to Mongolia at the age of 14 to live with his father and he obtained Mongolian nationality at the age of 15.

During his second and third year of junior high school, he would travel to Japan to participate in yokozuna Hakuho's youth tournament: Hakuho Cup. He achieved good results in the tournament, so yokozuna Hakuho recommended that he practice sumo at the high school level in Japan. As a result, Amarsanaa enrolled at Tottori Johoku High School, which was well known for their strong sumo program. In his third year, he defeated Mongolian Byambasuren (future sekitori Hoshoryu) at the Inter-High School Championships to become the first foreign-born high school yokozuna. After graduation from high school, he was recruited into Futagoyama stable in September 2018.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He was given the shikona "Roga" (狼雅), because it is a combination of the first kanji (雅) from his master's name (former ozeki Miyabiyama) and "wolf" (狼), a symbol of strength coming from his Mongolian roots.The first shikona given name that was given to him, Chikara (力), means "strength". Roga made a strong debut as he won all seven matches in his first tournament to claim the jonokuchi championship. In the following tournament, he remained undefeated and scored a victory against former ozeki Terunofuji, who just made his return in competition, in a playoff to win the jonidan championship. In the following tournament he scored a 5–2 record and was promoted to the makushita division. With four consecutive 5-2 records, he was promoted tp makushita 8 and was close to a juryo promotion. However, due to injury, he achieved mixed results at the top makushita ranks. In March 2022, he changed his shikona first name "Chikara" to "Tokiyoshi". He chose this specific first name as a tribute to the principal of Tottori Johoku High School and president of his sumo club, Tokiyoshi Ishiura. In September 2022, while ranked at the top of makushita, Roga ended the tournament with a 4–3 record and secured a juryo promotion along Tsushimanada for the Kyushu tournament of November.

### **Juryo Career**

Roga became the first sekitori from Futagoyama stable since its establishment in 2018 and the first Russian wrestler to be promoted to juryo since Amuru in 2012. Since his promotion he has secured winning records, reaching the rank of juryo 1 for the September 2023 tournament. During this tournament, Roga managed to score an eighth victory on the final day of the championship over Onosato, beating one of the championship leaders by sukuinage.

During the October 2023 tour, Roga took part for the first time in the joint sekitori training sessions, normally reserved for makuuchi-ranked wrestlers. During this training, along with maegashira Shonannoumi and komusubi Tobizaru, he took part in the largest number of bouts of the day, wrestling 17 matches. It was noted by several observers that he fought on equal terms with the wrestlers in the highest division.

### **Maegashira Career**

At the banzuke unveiling for the November 2023 tournament, it was announced that Roga would be promoted to maegashira 16, making him the first Russian wrestler to reach the makuuchi division in 9 years, after Amuru in November 2014. On the occasion of his promotion, his master, Futagoyama Oyakata, was delighted to see him make his debut in sumo's top division only a year after being promoted to the second-highest: juryo.

## **Personal Life**

* Roga's favorite food is tuna. He dislikes natto (fermented soybeans).
* Roga's grandfather, Araptan Valerie, stands over 2 meters tall (6 ft 7 in) and held the rank equivalent of yokozuna in Khuresh (traditional Tuvan wrestling), which is a similar sport to Mongolian wrestling.

## **Fighting Style**

Roga is a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favors a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). He won most of his bouts with a straightforward yorikiri, or force out. His second most common kimarite in oshidashi, or push out. He is also fond of using different types of throwing techniques.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 153-106/259 (30 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 5-10/15 (1 basho)
* **Juryo:** 51-39/90 (6 basho)
* **Makushita:** 78-55/133 (19 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 5-2/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Jonidan** Championship (March 2019)
* 1 **Jonokuchi** Championship (January 2019)

## **Shikona History**

* Roga Chikara (2018.09 - 2022.03)
* Roga Tokiyoshi (2022.05 - )

## **Gallery**

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

Roga Tokiyoshi - 2023 (Retrieved from the JSA)Roga Tokiyoshi - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Roga Tokiyoshi - 2022 (Retrieved from the JSA)Roga's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Roga gets measured upon joining professional sumo (c. 2018)Roga defeats future Yokozuna Terunofuji (c. 2019)Roga after promotion to Juryo (c. 2022)Roga returns to his high school (c. 2022)Roga presented with his kesho-mawashi (c. 2022)Roga throws and defeats Gonoyama (c. 2022)Roga prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2023)Roga defeats Terutsuyoshi (c. 2023)Roga is promoted to the Makuuchi division (c. 2023)

## **Sources**

* Roga Tokiyoshi Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Roga Tokiyoshi Rikishi Information