Gagamaru Masaru
| 臥牙丸勝 Gagamaru Masaru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Teimuraz Jugheli February 23, 1987 Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 198 kg (437 lb; 31.2 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Kise, Kitanoumi |
| Current rank | see below |
| Record | 180-131-0 |
| Debut | November 2005 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 6 (January, 2011) |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| * Up to date as of July 2011. | |
Gagamaru Masaru (born 23 February 1987 as Teimuraz Jugheli) is a professional sumo wrestler from Georgia. The third Georgian national after Kokkai and Tochinoshin to make the top makuuchi division, he made his professional debut in November 2005, reaching the jūryō division in November 2009 and makuuchi in July 2010. Originally from Kise stable, he now fights for Kitanoumi stable. His highest rank has been maegashira 6.
Career
Jugheli was born in Tbilissi, he originally trained in judo and sambo, winning national junior championships in both sports by the age of 16.[1] Invited to train by the Georgian junior sumo team, he accompanied them to the 2005 World Junior Sumo Championships in Osaka. (Also on the team was the future Tochinoshin). He came third in the individual and second in the team competition.[1] Staying in Japan after the tournament, he joined Kise stable and made his first professional appearance in November 2005.
The shikona Gagamaru was derived by the Kise stablemaster from Jugheli's nickname "Gaga". He moved quickly through the lower divisions, reaching makushita one year later in November 2006. He had made plans to return home to visit his family, but his father was tragically killed in a car accident.[1] He was determined to honour his father's memory (and emulate his fellow Georgian wrestlers) by reaching sekitori status. This he achieved in September 2009 after winning the makushita division yusho with a perfect 7-0 record.[2] He paid tribute to his father at a press conference.[2]
Gagamaru came through with a kachi-koshi 8-7 score in his debut jūryō tournament and won the yusho in the following tournament in January 2010 with a 12-3 record. In May he scored 10-5 from the jūryō 1 rank, ensuring promotion to makuuchi. However he made his debut in the top division in July out of a newly enlarged Kitanoumi stable after his old stable was closed due to his stablemaster's Kise Oyakata involvement in a scandal involving selling tournament tickets to alleged yakuza members. Ranked at maegashira 12 he could only manage a 5-10 record, losing his last four bouts, but he remained in the division for the following tournament in September 2010 and produced a winning score of 10-5. In the November tournament in Kyushu he recovered from a 1-5 start to score 9-6, which earned him promotion to his highest rank to date of maegashira 6.
The January 2011 tournament was not a good one for Gagamaru. Having struggled to a 2-4 record after six days he went out drinking with fellow Georgian wrestler Kokkai and the pair allegedly got into a fight at an Indian restaurant in Tokyo's Sumida ward, causing damage to the property.[3] Both were reprimanded by the Sumo Association for staying out late during a tournament.[3] Gagamaru finished with a poor 5-10 record, resulting in demotion to maegashira 14. In the May Technical Examination Tournament he recovered from 4-7 down to win four in a row and get a winning record.
Fighting style
Gagamaru is an oshi-sumo specialist who mainly employs pushing and thrusting techniques. His most common winning kimarite is oshi-dashi or push out. He is the heaviest man in the top division at around 200 kg.
Top division record
| Year | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | x | x | x | East Maegashira #12 5–10 | East Maegashira #15 10–5 | East Maegashira #10 9–6 |
| 2011 | West Maegashira #6 5–10 |
East Maegashira #14 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 |
East Maegashira #14 8–7 |
West Maegashira #7 5–10 |
x | x |
| Record given as wins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi; P=Playoff(s) |
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See also
- Glossary of sumo terms
- List of active sumo wrestlers
- List of sumo tournament second division winners
References
- ^ a b c "madorosumaru" (14 January 2009). "Once He Learns More About Sumo, He Will Be Unstoppable". Sumo Forum. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Georgian sumo wrestler Teimuraz Djugheli (Gagamaru) was promoted to the sekitori status". Embassy of Georgia to Japan. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
- ^ a b "Sumo wrestlers in restaurant clash". Japan Times. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
- ^ "Gagamaru Masaru Rikishi Information". Sumo Reference. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
External links
- Gagamaru Masaru's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage