Hakuōhō Tetsuya

Hakuōhō Tetsuya (伯桜鵬 哲也) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Kurayoshi, Tottori. After a successful amateur career, he turned professional in January 2023, via makushita tsukedashi system, winning that division's championship and being promoted to sumo's top division in July 2023. Nicknamed "Reiwa monster" thanks to his record-breaking promotions, his highest rank has been maegashira 9. A member of Miyagino stable, under the guidance of former yokozuna Hakuhō, he currently wrestles for Isegahama stable.

Early life and sumo background
As a kid, Ochiai played football from the first grade to the fourth grade. Because of his physique and poor playing habits, he was nevertheless advised to quit the sport. While in second grade at Seitoku Elementary School in Kurayoshi, the same school as former yokozuna Kotozakura, he took part in the "Sakura-zumo" children's tournament and decided to take up the sport when he won the individual competition as a fourth grader. It was only during that time he began to wrestle regularly. He entered Tottori Nishi Junior High School, the sister school of Tottori Jōhoku High School, but had to hang in there, calling his father at the end of his first sumo training session to throw in the towel, the rigors of training being too much for him. Encouraged by Ichinojō, who was Jōhoku High's club captain, he nevertheless kept at it and during the junior high school national championships in his second year, he defeated the reigning champion, citing this moment as the one that made him love sumo. In ninth grade, he won the Hakuhō Cup junior high school tournament. However, it was also during these years that he injured his shoulder, a condition that has not yet fully healed. He then entered Tottori Jōhoku High School and won the title of high school yokozuna in his second and third year of high school competition; in his third year, he was in the top eight at the All-Japan Championships and thus was eligible for sandanme tsukedashi. After graduating from high school, he focused on healing his shoulder injury and worked at his father's metalwork machinery company Noda Gumi in Tottori. By virtue of winning the All Japan Corporate Sumo Championship in September 2022 (and thus being named Corporate Yokozuna) he was eligible to enter professional sumo as makushita tsukedashi'.

Recruitment and historical promotion
At the invitation of Miyagino oyakata (the 69th yokozuna Hakuhō), Ochiai joined the Miyagino stable. He made his professional debut in January 2023 at the rank of makushita 15 to reflect his amateur success (makushita tsukedashi). He won the makushita title with an undefeated record of seven wins and was subsequently promoted to the jūryō division for March, becoming the first wrestler to earn a jūryō promotion after just one tournament in 90 years. Since the abolition of the makushita tsukedachi system for promotion to the top of the makushita division in September 2023, Ochiai is likely to be the last wrestler to be promoted to the jūryō division in just one tournament in sumo's modern history. Given Ochiai's quick rise to the second-highest division, Miyagino confessed he hadn't had the time to think of a shikona for his apprentice. Thanks to his record-breaking promotion, Ochiai began to be nicknamed Reiwa no kaibutsu (令和の怪物), meaning 'Reiwa monster', in reference to ōzeki Musōyama who was nicknamed 'Heisei monster' after he too was promoted to jūryō after being undefeated as a makushita.

Jūryō career
Ochiai experienced his first defeat in professional sumo on day 2 of the Osaka tournament (in March 2023) against the other newly promoted jūryō, Tamashōhō. On the 6th day of the same tournament, he announced that he had made the unusual decision to become the tsukebito of makuuchi wrestler Hokuseihō because he wanted to experience this role himself and considered it a learning experience. He finished the March 2023 tournament with 10–5 record.

Ochiai was promoted to jūryō 8 in the May 2023 tournament. He finished the tournament with 14 wins along with Gōnoyama, who defeated Ochiai on Day 11. The two wrestlers were thus competing for the jūryō championship and Ochiai would have been the first wrestler under the age of 20 to win the title since his master Hakuhō's victory at the 2004 tournament. Ochiai was however beaten again by Gōnoyama in the jūryō championship playoff. It marked the first time since 1949 that the jūryō championship was decided in a playoff between two wrestlers with 14–1 records.

After the May 2023 tournament it was announced that Ochiai received the shikona Hakuōhō (伯桜鵬) from his stablemaster. The ring name is a combination of "Haku" (伯), referring to the province of Hōki (伯耆国) which became Tottori Prefecture, "Ō" (桜) from "Sakura-zumo" (桜ずもう), a sumo tournament in Kurayoshi in which he participated when he was a schoolboy and finally "Hō" (鵬) to refer to Ochiai's master, Hakuhō.

Top division promotion
On 26 June 2023, Hakuōhō's name appeared on the July 2023 sumo tournament rankings at the position of west maegashira 17, ushering his entry into sumo's top division in just his fourth professional tournament. Hakuōhō is the sixth-youngest wrestler since 1990 to reach the top division, doing so at the age of 19 years and 10 months, as well as the second wrestler since the Shōwa era to reach makuuchi in three tournaments since their debut (the other being Endō). Upon his promotion, Hakuōhō told reporters that his goal for his first top division tournament was 12 wins and the Shukun-shō (Outstanding Performance prize), which his stablemaster Miyagino achieved in his first makuuchi appearance in May 2004. Hakuōhō said that he hadn't gotten used to his new name yet, but said that it felt fresh. He said he was satisfied with his performances in his first three tournaments, but that from now on it would not be so easy.

Hakuōhō began his tournament with a win over Aoiyama, and went on to win the majority of his matches although he also lost to former san'yaku Takarafuji (on Day 3) and Ryūden (Day 5). On Day 6, he overcame Gōnoyama, who had beaten him twice for the jūryō division title in the previous tournament; defeating him by hatakikomi and bringing his 5-match winning streak to a halt. In September 2023, Hakuōhō revealed to the press that during the tournament his shoulder would dislocate after days of fighting, having dislocated a total of three times during the duration of the tournament. Wishing to continue to wrestle to satisfy the expectations of those around him and the public, Hakuōhō reached a positive kachi-koshi record on Day 11, with a victory over the former ōzeki Takayasu. He then went on to defeat komusubi Abi the following day. This victory marked the first time a newly-promoted makuuchi had won a match against a wrestler currently in san'yaku since Ichinojō defeated then-ōzeki Kisenosato at the September 2014 tournament. Hakuōhō then went on to achieve back-to-back victories on Day 13 and 14 over tournament leaders maegashira Nishikigi and Hokutofuji, strengthening his own chances of claiming the makuuchi championship. At the end of the tournament, Hakuōhō faced Hōshōryū, both recording 11 wins to 3 losses. The winner of this match would have to challenge Hokutofuji, who, with 12 wins and 3 losses had secured a place in a playoff for the makuuchi championship. Hōshōryū nevertheless defeated Hakuōhō by uwatenage, effectively eliminating Hakuōhō from the title race. On the fifteenth day of the tournament Hakuōhō was however announced as the recipient of the sanshō awards for Technique and Fighting Spirit. These prizes, awarded in just four tournaments, make Hakuōhō the fastest prize winner in sumo history, breaking the records set by former sekiwake Ichinojō and former ōzeki Miyabiyama, who had won the awards in five tournaments since their professional debuts.

Injury and demotion
A few days after end of the July tournament, it was announced that Hakuōhō would withdraw from the summer regional tours because of left shoulder pain. On 29 August, one day after the September banzuke was released, he told reporters that he was not in very good condition. At the time he did not rule out the possibility of withdrawing from the September tournament, saying that even if he did and subsequently dropped in the rankings, his goal was not to be in makuuchi but to pursue his dream and do his best. On September 4, it was confirmed that Hakuōhō would indeed be absent for the September tournament. His master Miyagino had already raised the possibility of an absence on August 27 due to a possible operation to treat pain caused by a subluxation of the left shoulder, an old injury of Hakuōhō's. The operation in question finally took place on August 31, forcing Hakuōhō into a period of remission that could last until the end of the year to achieve complete recovery. After his first away tournament, he confided to Yahoo! Sports his frustration at not being able to take part when the others promoted at the same time as him to makuuchi (Shōnannoumi, Gōnoyama and Atamifuji) were able to participate and performed quite well.

Hakuōhō was demoted on the November 2023 banzuke to the jūryō division. Shortly after the rankings were released, it was announced that Hakuōhō would withdraw from that tournament to continue rehabilitation. Stablemaster Miyagino said that the objective was for Hakuōhō to compete in the January 2024 tournament. Five days before the start of the January 2024 tournament, Hakuōhō—demoted to the rank of makushita 5—was medically cleared to compete. Miyagino decided to wait a few more days before giving Hakuōhō permission to enter the tournament.

Return to competition
Hakuōhō was still unsure whether he would be able to compete in the January 2024 tournament, but confided afterwards that despite his master's cautious advice he decided to take part to gamble on his chances of once again being promoted to jūryō in one tournament, having been relegated to the top of the makushita division. Having resumed competition, he suffered defeat on his third match to Ōnomatsu stable's Ōnokatsu, the last wrestler to turn professional using the status of makushita tsukedachi 15 before the system was abolished in September 2023. He later cited this match as his highlight of the tournament, having lost even though he felt his performance was the best of his seven matches. Despite this defeat, Hakuōhō recorded, on the ninth day of competition, a kachi-koshi record by beating (younger brother of Kotoshōhō) by shitatenage. Hakuōhō continued to improve his score, ending the tournament with a score of 6–1, his last victory coming when he defeated upper-division and former makuuchi-ranked wrestler Chiyomaru on Day 13. After the tournament, he commented that he was not at all satisfied with his performance and that his results had been down to luck. Later in January, it was announced that Hakuōhō's score would be enough to promote him back into the jūryō division for the March tournament.

Hakuōhō began his return to sekitori status in the spotlight after the abuse case and the retirement of his senior stablemate Hokuseihō, making him the most senior wrestler in Miyagino stable at the time. In his first match, in which he appeared with a chonmage for the first time, he defeated Kitaharima, his senior by 17 years. Hakuōhō ended the tournament with a barely-reached kachi-koshi refusing, however, to attribute his score to the atmosphere surrounding the possible forthcoming closure of his stable. In the last week of March, it was confirmed that Hakuōhō and all the wrestlers and coaches from Miyagino stable would be transferred to Isegahama stable for an indefinite period of time.

On the second day of the May 2024 tournament, Hakuōhō suffered a torn right biceps in his match against Tamashōhō. He took the decision to continue competing, nonetheless suffering defeat against Chiyosakae Eita on Day 3. On the eighth day he declared himself absent from the tournament due to a COVID-19 infection, the medical report prescribing five days' rest.

Fighting style
Hakuōhō is recognised as a wrestler who can adapt to any technique. Just before his makuuchi debut, he defined his fighting style as relying mainly on speed and a low stance, enabling him to easily reach his opponent's mawashi. His profile on the official website of the Japanese Sumo Association defines his favourite hold as hidari-yotsu, a right hand outside, left hand inside grip on his opponent's mawashi.

To perfect his technique, he regularly watches the old matches of his master (former yokozuna Hakuhō), particularly for the latter's ability to quickly seize his opponent's mawashi and destabilise him with throwing techniques.

Personal life
Hakuōhō is the youngest in his family and has two older brothers. His hobbies include enka, period drama and his favourite movies are The Chronicles of Narnia.