Ukrainian refugee inspires Japan as a sumo wrestler

Surprising title win

Ukrainian refugee impresses as a sumo wrestler in Japan

At the age of 17, Danylo Yavhusishyn fled Ukraine for Japan. There he is now inspiring the country as a successful sumo wrestler.

Danylo Yavhusishyn has written a very unusual sports story: the 21-year-old is the first Ukrainian to win a sumo tournament in Japan. Yavhusishyn won the Kyushu tournament and defeated Mongolian Hoshoryu, an opponent who has the highest ranking in sumo wrestling with the title of “Yokozuna”.

Yavhusishyn, who competes under the ring name Aonishiki Arata, began sumo wrestling in Ukraine at the age of seven and rose to become national champion there. After the start of the Russian war of aggression on his homeland, Yavhusishyn narrowly escaped conscription at the age of 17 and fled first to Germany and then to Japan, where he quickly rose in his sport.

After just one and a half years he had reached the higher leagues and the fourth highest rank in sumo wrestling. After his tournament victory, the American Sumo Association will soon elevate him to the second highest rank of “ozeki,” according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

The 1.83 meter tall and 140 kilogram sumo wrestler didn’t speak a word of Japanese when he arrived, but after his victory at the Kyushu tournament he addressed the audience in the local language. “I am very happy that I was able to achieve one of my goals,” said Yavhusishyn.

After arriving in Japan, Yavhusishyn initially trained and lived with the Japanese sumo wrestler Arata Yamanaka, whom he met at the Junior World Championships. His parents stayed in Germany. “I only met him once in person and he welcomed me even though I didn’t know a word of Japanese,” Yavhusishyn said of his host last year. “I was surprised when he agreed. If it had been the other way around, I would have declined.”

Yavhusishyn is only the second professional sumo wrestler from Ukraine after Serhii Sokolovskyi, who goes by the name Shishi. Its rise to the higher leagues is the fifth fastest since the current six-tournament-a-year system was introduced in 1958. But Yavhusishyn hasn’t had enough yet: “I’m happy, but there’s still a higher rank. I want to work towards that,” he said.