Ukraine-born sumo wrestler Aonishiki is the first from his country to win a top championship

TOKYO (AP) – Ukrainian sumo wrestler Aonishiki has become the first from his country to win an elite-level sumo championship.

Even more impressive: he defeated Hoshoryu on Sunday in the deciding match in the Kyushu tournament in western Japan.

Hoshoryu was born in Mongolia and is one of the top-ranked wrestlers in Japan’s national sport. The other is Japan-born Onosato.

Born Danilo Yavhushyshyn, he left Ukraine more than 3 1/2 years ago just after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of his country. He is only 21, has risen very quickly and wrestles under the ring name of Aonishiki Arata.

Non-Japanese sumo wrestlers have excelled in different periods in Japan. They have included Mongolians, Hawaiians and now a Ukrainian.

Aonishiki said he came to Japan after striking up a friendship with a Japanese wrestler at a tournament in 2019.

Ukraine has a very strong tradition in Olympic wrestling. Its last gold-medal winner was Zhan Beleniuk in the Greco-Roman category at the Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 by the pandemic.