Sensho Hideki

Sensho Hideki - 千昇 秀貴 (born October 14, 1983) is a former Mongolian professional sumo wrestler from Ulaanbaatar. He made his debut in March 2001 and last wrestled for Shikihide stable. He reached the juryo division in March 2012. His highest rank was juryo 14 and he retired in January 2015.

## **Early Life**

Bayarbat Enkhbaatar was born on October 14, 1983, in the Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Prior to coming to Japan, he participated in Mongolian Wrestling. In 2000, he participated in Naadam, which is the biggest sports festival in Mongolia.

Enkhbaatar came to Japan in 2000 alongside six other Mongolians (Hakuho, Shotenro, Mokonami, Daiyubu, Daitensho, and Taiga). Initially he was seen as the wrestler with greatest potential out of the six other Mongolians and was thought to be the first to get an offer from a stable. The seven Mongolians first practiced sumo at the Settsu Warehouse sumo club (摂津倉庫) and he got an offer from Shikihide stable. He joined the stable alongside fellow Mongolian Taiga, because at the time two foreigners were allowed per stable.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

Enkhbaatar made his professional debut in March 2001 under the shikona "Sensho" (千昇). Sensho achieved a winning record in his jonokuchi debut, but followed it with a 3-4 record and demotion back to jonokuchi. He bounced back in the following tournament and produced a 6-1 record which qualified him for a six-man playoff, however, he eventually lost in the final round to fellow Mongolian Daishochi. He would spend four tournaments in jonidan and thirteen in sandanme which eventually led him to a promotion to makushita in September 2004.

Sensho immediately became a makushita mainstay and scored two winning records in his first two tournaments. In May 2005, he changed his shikona to "Daisogen" (大想源). As Daisogen, he still rose through the ranks of makushita but produced mixed results. He would revert back to his old shaken of "Sensho" in July 2007. In November 2008, Sensho won all seven matches in makushita and was placed in a playoff against Kotokuni, however, he lost the match. He was still promoted to the rank of makushita 4 rank in January 2009. Sensho was on the verge of promotion as he had a 3-2 record on ninth day, but he was placed against juryo-ranked wrestlers Kitazakura and Asofuji. He would lose to both sekitori and finish with a 3-4 record.

In May 2009, Sensho ruptured a ligament in his right knee in a match against Kasugakuni. He pulled out of the following three tournaments and would return in January 2010 after falling down to the jonidan division. In his first tournament back he scored a 6-1 record and was promoted to sandanme for the March 2010 tournament. In this tournament he defeated 273 kg Orora by sukuinage, or beltless-arm-throw, to earn a 7-0 record on the 13th day, plus the sandanme yusho. He was also promoted back to makushita as result. In November 2011, Sensho won his first six matches, but lost the final match against Tokushinho. As a result, he couldn't immediately clinch the makushita yusho or a juryo promotion and was instead placed in an eight-man playoff for the yusho. He defeated Higonojo in the first round, Shosei in the second round, and Chiyootori in the final round to clinch the makushita yusho. He was promoted to makushita 3 as a result and finished with a 5-2 record which secured him a promotion to the salaried juryo division.

### **Juryo Career**

Sensho made his juryo debut in March 2012. The 65 tournaments he took to reach the salaried ranks was the slowest progress at the time for any foreign sekitori. (The record was overtaken four months later by fellow Mongolian Oniarashi who took 71 tournaments).

In his juryo debut, he was 2-1 by the third day, but went on to lose his following 6 matches. On the ninth day he fractured his left thumb in a match against Tokushinho and withdrew from the tournament on the tenth day. As a result he was demoted back down to makushita and he continued to sit out the following tournament. He returned and produced four consecutive winning records (kachi-koshi) which earned him a promotion back to juryo for the March 2013 tournament.

In his return back to juryo, Sensho produced a disappointing 4-11 record and was demoted back down to makushita. This would be his last appearance in juryo.

### **Later Career**

Sensho would remain in makushita for another two years where he produced mainly 4-3 and 3-4 records.

## **Retirement from Sumo**

After producing a 1-6 record in the January 2015 tournament, Sensho announced his retirement after the tournament. His danpatsu-shiki, or retirement ceremony, was held on February 14, 2015, at a hotel located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. All three yokozuna's, Hakuho, Harumafuji, and Kakuryu attended his danpatsu-shiki.

It was reported that Sensho was enrolled in correspondence courses at Mongolian University of Life Sciences since the fall of 2013 when he was still an active sumo wrestler. After retirement, Sensho plans on entering the agricultural industry while continuing his studies.

## **Personal Life**

* Sensho is close friends with yokozuna Hakuho as they both came to Japan together and made their debut in the March 2001 tournament. Sensho considers Hakuho to be like a "big brother" even though he is two years older than Hakuho.
* Sensho's favorite food is sushi. His hobbies are playing online games and fishing. He is also a fan of the Chelsea football team.
* According to Sensho's FaceBook profile, he is currently engaged.

## **Fighting Style**

Sensho is a yotsu–sumo wrestler who prefers a hidari–yotsu, or right hand outside and left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi. His most common winning kimarite are the two most popular techniques in sumo, yorikiri or force out, and uwatenage or overarm throw.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 300-250-41/548 (83 basho)
* **Juryo:** 6-19-5/24 (2 basho)
* **Makushita:** 197-168-21/364 (55 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 62-42-15/104 (17 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 25-17/42 (6 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 10-4/14 (2 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (November 2011)
* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (March 2010)

### **Achievements**

* **Record:** **3rd** Slowest progress to the juryo division for a foreign wrestler (65)

## **Shikona History**

* Sensho Hideki (2001.03 - 2005.03)
* Daisogen Hideki (2005.05 - 2007.05)
* Sensho Hideki (2007.07 - 2015.01)

## **Gallery**

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

Sensho Hideki - 2013 (Retrieved from the JSA)Sensho Hideki - 2012 (Retrieved from the JSA)Sensho's tegata
### **Career Overview**

Sensho's early career in the unsalaried ranks (c. 2001)Sensho prepares for his upcoming match as a Juryo visitor (c. 2009)Sensho wins his first Makushita Yusho (c. 2011)Sensho throws and defeats Jokoryu (c. 2012)Sensho ensures promotion to Juryo (c. 2012)Sensho after promotion to Juryo (c. 2012)Sensho trains with Yokozuna Hakuho (c. 2012)Sensho battles fellow Mongolian Arawashi (c. 2012)Sensho gives advice to stablemate Baraki (c. 2012)Sensho defeats Takamisakari (c. 2013)Sensho (left) battles Terutsuyoshi in his final tournament (c. 2015)Sensho's retirement ceremony (c. 2015)

## **Sources**

* Sensho Hideki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Sensho Hideki Rikishi Information