‘Yokozuna’ Hakuho said on Thursday he will not take part in the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, which starts Sunday (10th of September) in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, because of injuries. Winner of the Nagoya tournament, ‘Yokozuna’ Hakuho, aged 32, suffered an injury to his left knee. 

‘Yokozuna’ Kisenosato, aged 31, and Kakuryu, aged 32, also have injuries that will force them to skip the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. If all three ‘yokozuna’ miss the tournament, it would mark the first time since the beginning of the Showa era (1926-89) that such a strange turn of events has occurred.

Hakuho underlined his status as the most successful wrestler in sumo history in July, as the Mongolian yokozuna claimed a record 1,050th win at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Grand Tournament.