{"id":20640,"date":"2026-01-23T08:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/?p=20640"},"modified":"2026-02-15T18:34:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T09:34:35","slug":"en-information-aonishiki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/en-information-aonishiki\/","title":{"rendered":"Aonishiki: The Ukrainian Sumo Star Rising to Ozeki Status"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>A New Star from Ukraine Shines in the Sumo World<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the traditional world of Japanese Grand Sumo, a new name is making history: <span class=\"swl-marker mark_blue\"><strong>Aonishiki<\/strong>.<\/span> Originally from <span class=\"swl-marker mark_blue\">Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Danylo Yavhusyshyn<\/span>\u2014now known by his shikona (wrestler name) Aonishiki Arata\u2014has captured the hearts of fans with his incredible speed, skill, and resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>From War-Torn Ukraine to the Sumo Ring<\/strong> Aonishiki\u2019s journey is one of immense courage. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, he sought refuge in Japan to pursue his passion for sumo. With the support of the Kansai University Sumo Club and his former rival, he trained relentlessly, eventually joining the Ajigawa stable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A Record-Breaking Ascent<\/strong> Since his professional debut in July 2023, Aonishiki\u2019s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. He dominated the lower divisions with consecutive championships (yusho) in Jonokuchi and Jonidan. By November 2025, he achieved a historic victory in the Kyushu Basho, defeating Yokozuna Hoshoryu in a playoff to claim the top-division championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This remarkable feat led to his promotion to <strong>Ozeki<\/strong>, the second-highest rank in sumo, in just 14 tournaments\u2014one of the fastest promotions in the modern era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2697\" style=\"width:309px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1006412.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Continuing the Legacy<\/strong> Interestingly, Aonishiki is not the first person with Ukrainian roots to leave a mark on sumo history. The legendary Yokozuna Taiho, often cited as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, also had a Ukrainian father. Aonishiki is now carrying that legacy forward, proving that the spirit of sumo transcends borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Next?<\/strong> At just 21 years old, Aonishiki has already stated his next goal: reaching the ultimate rank of <strong>Yokozuna<\/strong>. With his technical prowess in <em>migi-yotsu<\/em> (right-hand inside grip) and his unwavering determination, the entire sumo world is watching to see how far this young Ukrainian star will go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span class=\"swl-marker mark_orange\">Keep an eye on Aonishiki in the upcoming tournaments\u2014he is truly a symbol of hope and strength!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2702\" style=\"width:344px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/759299.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A New Star from Ukraine Shines in the Sumo World In the traditional world of Japanese Grand Sumo, a new name is making history: Aonishiki. Originally from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, Danylo Yavhusyshyn\u2014now known by his shikona (wrestler name) Aonishiki Arata\u2014has captured the hearts of fans with his incredible speed, skill, and resilience. From War-Torn Ukraine to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"swell_btn_cv_data":"","footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20640"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21796,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20640\/revisions\/21796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multipoints.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}