Kinbozan Haruki

Kinbozan Haruki - 金峰山 晴樹 (born June 24, 1997) is a Kazakhstani professional sumo wrestler from Almaty City. He made his debut in September 2021 and currently wrestles for Kise stable. He reached the makuuchi division in March 2023 and has one special prize. His highest rank as of 2023 is maegashira 5.

## **Early Life**

Baltagul Yersin was born in the Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. Prior to coming to Japan, Yersin practiced judo, but was scouted for sumo by former Yokozuna Asashoryu. He subsequently transferred to Meguro Nihon University High School where he began sumo wrestling. After graduating, he enrolled at Nihon University's Sport Science Department and was also a member of the sumo club.

    Yersin did not produce any strong results during his college career until his third year where he was runner-up at the All Japan Sumo Championship. In his fourth year, he placed third in the Student Championships and also qualified for the for the All Japan Sumo Championship. He also won the East Japan Student Championships, which was the first major amateur tournament which he won.

Upon graduating, he was advised from Nihon University to try out for professional sumo. Yersin was recruited by Kise stable as Kise Oyakata (former maegashira Higonoumi) was a fellow alumnus of Nihon University. Coincidentally, Kise stable's foreign-born wrestler Gagamaru had just retired which meant that the stable's one foreigner slot could be used for Yersin. He officially joined the stable in September 2021, making him the second Kazakhstani professional sumo wrestler, after Kazafuzan, who wrestled from 2003 to 2014.

## **Career**

### **Early Career**

He was given the shikona, or ring name, "Kinbozan" (金峰山) which was derived from a Mountain in his stable master's hometown of Kumamoto, Japan. Due to his amateur accomplishments, Kinbozan was granted sandanme tsukedashi status which allowed him to make his debut at the bottom of sandanme. In his first official tournament in November 2021, Kinbozan won the sandanme yusho with a perfect 7-0 record and was promoted directly to makushita in January 2022.

In his makushita debut, Kinbozan finished with a solid 5-2 record, but in the following March 2022 tournament, Kinbozan won the makushita yusho with a perfect 7-0 record. Due to his strong performance, Kinbozan was promoted to the rank of makushita 4 which put him well into the "juryo-promotion range." In the March 2022 tournament, Kinbozan posted a 5-2 record, but since he lost on exchange match on the final day to juryo-ranked Kitanowaka, he was denied promotion to juryo. Nevertheless, he was promoted to the top of makushita in July 2022 where he finished with a strong 6-1 record.

### **Juryo Career**

After a strong showing in July, Kinbozan was promoted to juryo 12 in September 2022, making him the first Kazakhstani sekitori. In his juryo debut, Kinbozan finished with a strong 10-5 record. He followed with two more winning records and was promoted to the top makuuchi division in March 2023, becoming the first wrestler from Kazakhstan to do so. At a press conference following his top division promotion, Kinbozan said that he wanted to wrestle his own style of sumo, adding he was motivated to become stronger following a recent visit to Kazakhstan to visit his mother, who was unwell.

### **Makuuchi Career**

In his top-division debut he secured 11 wins and was awarded with the Kanto-sho (Fighting Spirit prize), which is one of the special prizes awarded at the end of every tournament.

During the soken of May 2023, Kinbozan admitted that he was prone to breathing problems when put under stress or too much effort after he appeared to be genuinely uncomfortable after a butsukari session with more senior wrestlers. In the following tournament Kinbozan notably won his match against Ozeki Takakeisho, handing him his fourth defeat on Day 10. This victory is the first time a maegashira ranked wrestler has inflicted a defeat on an ozeki without having a fully grown oichomage. The last occurrence of such a victory was in July 2016 when Mitakeumi earned a victory over then ozeki Terunofuji. Kinbōzan nevertheless finished the tournament with a score of 4–11. After two successive tournaments, in which he recorded a negative score (make-koshi), Kinbozan also withdrew from the jungyo of August, reporting a sprained cervical vertebrae requiring 30 days of rest, an injury which he had already contracted at the May tournament and which really limited his capabilities.

## **Fighting Style**

Kinbozan is proficient in both fighting on the mawashi (yotsu-sumo) or with pushing and thrusting techniques (oshi-sumo). His most common techniques are oshidashi (push out), yorikiri (force out) and tsukidashi (thrust out).

## **Record**

### **Division Results**

* **Total:** 98-57/155 (13 basho)
* **Makuuchi:** 39-36/75 (5 basho)
* **Juryo:** 29-16/45 (3 basho)
* **Makushita:** 23-5/28 (4 basho)
* **Sandanme:** 7-0/7 (1 basho)

### **Championships**

* 1 **Makushita** Championship (March 2022)
* 1 **Sandanme** Championship (November 2021)

### **Achievements**

* **Special Prizes:** Fighting Spirit (1)
* **1st** Kazakhstani sekitori
* **1st** Kazakhstani to reach Makuuchi

## **Gallery**

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

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

Kinbozan gets measured upon joining sumo (c. 2021)Kinbozan wins his first Sandanme Yusho (c. 2021)Kinbozan wins his first Makushita Yusho (c. 2022)Kinbozan ensures promotion to Juryo (c. 2022)Kinbozan after promotion to Juryo (c. 2022)Kinbozan presented with his kesho-mawashi (c. 2022)Kinbozan defeats Kagayaki (c. 2022)Kinbozan prepares for his upcoming match (c. 2023)Kinbozan after promotion to Makuuchi (c. 2023)Kinbozan pushes out and defeats Abi (c. 2023)Kinbozan with his first sansho (c. 2023)
## **Sources**

* Kinbozan Haruki Japanese Wikipedia Article
* Kinbozan Haruki Rikishi Information