Ota Goki

Ota Goki - 太田 剛希 (born August 8, 1987) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishii, Tokushima. He made his debut in March 2003 and wrestled for Yamahibiki stable. His highest rank was makushita 20 and he retired in March 2021.

## **Early Life**

Ota began sumo wrestling from an early age during his time at Ishii Choritsu Takagawara Elementary School and he won the Wanpaku National Sumo Tournament three years in a row from his fourth year to sixth year. This earned him the title of Elementary Yokozuna for three consecutive years. He then attended Ishii Choritsu Ishii Junior High School where he earned the title of Junior High School Yokozuna in his second year.

## **Career**

Due to his success in elementary and junior high school, Ota received offers from many stables and he subsequently joined Kitanoumi stable (later renamed Yamahibiki stable). He was below the minimum height requirement of 173 cm but was allowed to make his debut after passing a secondary physical exam. He made his professional debut in March 2003 and was given the shikona "Kagemaru" (影丸). In July 2003, he won his first six matches, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Morishita in his final match.

Prior to the May 2004 tournament, Kagemaru injured his knee and had to miss the following three tournaments. He returned to sumo in November 2004 and had to redo maezumo (pre-sumo). In the January 2005 tournament, Kagemaru finished with a 6-1 record and was placed in a three-way playoff for the jonokuchi yusho, however, he lost to Nakatani in the final round. In the following March 2005 tournament, he finished with a perfect 7-0 record, but missed out on the jonidan yusho after losing to Fudoyama in a playoff. In March 2008, he began wrestling under his surname Ota after a poor 1-6 record in the previous January 2008 tournament.

Ota reached makushita in May 2010, but could only manage one win in his makushita debut. In May 2012, he won the sandanme yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. As a result, he was promoted to upper makushita in July 2012. In that tournament, he finished with a 5-2 record and was promoted to a career-best makushita 20 for the following September 2012 tournament.

He fell back down to jonidan in January 2014 and eventually fell down to jonokuchi in November 2020. By then Ota weighed only 93 kg (205 Ib) and stood 1.64 m (5 ft 4 in m) compared to his prime of 150 kg (330 Ib) and 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in). In March 2021, there was a COVID-19 outbreak in his stable and he had to miss the tournament. He retired from professional sumo after the tournament.

## **Fighting Style**

Ota was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He favored a migi-yotsu (left hand outside, right hand inside) position when gripping his opponent's mawashi (belt). His most common kimarite was yorikiri, or force out.

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 332-375-28/707 (107 basho)
* **Makushita:** 9-19/28 (4 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 180-219/399 (57 basho)
* **Jonidan:** 127-125-14/252 (38 basho)
* **Jonokuchi:** 16-12-14/28 (6 basho)

## **Shikona History**

* Kagemaru Goki (2003.03 - 2008.01)
* Ota Goki (2008.03 - 2021.03)

## **Gallery**

Ota during his time as the Junior High Schoo Yokozuna (c. 2001)Ota congratulated after winning the Sandanme Yusho (c. 2012)Ota's retirement ceremony (c. 2021)
## **Sources**

* Ota Goki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Ota Goki Rikishi Information